Current announcements

5th International Conference on Developmental Neurotoxicity Testing (DNT5)

7-10 April 2024, Konstanz, Germany

Exposure of the developing human nervous system to chemicals can cause delayed and lasting neurological deficits.

At its 5th edition, the international conference on Developmental Neurotoxicity (DNT) Testing will bring together diverse stakeholders from around the globe, including research scientists, regulators, industry representatives, academics, and pediatricians to discuss the actions to take for:

• improving the development of time-efficient and human-relevant predictive in vitro and in silico DNT methods, and;
• boosting their use for risk assessment and regulatory decision-making.

More information on the event website.    

Press release available here [english] and here [german].

The Björn Ekwall Memorial Award 2023

Professor Dr. Marcel Leist is the recipient of the Björn Ekwall Memorial Award for the year 2023 'in recognition of novel and pioneering scientific work, dissemination and promotion of non-animal science with a determined and targeted goal to replace laboratory animals in research and regulatory testing.' (https://bemf.eu/winners)

Webinar Series of the 3R-Network Baden-Württemberg

The 3R-Center Tübingen together with its 3R-Network Baden-Württemberg partners, the CAAT-Europe of the University of Konstanz, the 3R-Center Rhine-Neckar at the University of Heidelberg and the ZI Mannheim as well as the University of Ulm, is involved in the organization and implementation of the collaborative 3R-webinar series.

This webinar series of the 3R-Network Baden-Württemberg takes place on a monthly basis every last Thursday of a month from 5-6 pm (CET).

Registration (free of charge) is possible via the event calendar.

In memoriam: Franz Paul Gruber

With deep respect and gratitute, we honour the memory of Franz Paul Gruber, "a leading light in the field of alternatives to animal testing" (Thomas Hartung).

His life accomplishments have been recently celebrated in an editorial published on the occasion of his 80th birthday (ALTEX 40, 1).

As president of the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation for animalfree research, Franz Paul Gruber was a valuable supporter of CAAT-Europe's t⁴ (the Transatlantic Think-Tank for Toxicology) activities since 2009. "With his passing, the 3Rs field has lost one of its most dedicated pioneers.

Thank you, dear Franz! Our time with you was an inspiration and a great privilege to us all. You will be greatly missed!" (ALTEX Edition, 18 April 2023).

28 September 2022

4:00 PM Berlin (GMT +2:00)

Webinar

Successful Alternatives to Animal Testing

Thomas Hartung will be presenting at the upcoming Elsevier Life Science Webinar. The webinar will focus on the history of animal testing mandates, the reasons why regulations are changing, and successful alternative methods that support the 3Rs. Free registration.

30 November 2021

10:00 AM - 13:00 PM EST

Webinar

Alternative approaches in Developmental Neurotoxicity - a farewell symposium for CAAT’s deputy director Helena Hogberg

There is a paucity of information concerning the developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) hazard posed by industrial and environmental chemicals, drugs and consumer products. New testing approaches will most likely be based on batteries of alternative and complementary (non-animal) tests.
This symposium has the objective to discuss and present the status of DNT and honor Helena Hogberg for her 12 years working at the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing and moving further to NICEATM at NIEHS.

21 October 2021

11:00 AM ET - 12:00 PM ET

Webinar

EU REACH Regulation, EU Cosmetic Regulation, and new animal tests on cosmetic ingredients

Presenters: Costanza Rovida, PhD, CAAT-Europe/Konstanz University and Jean Knight, White Rabbit Beauty

"EU Regulations are legislative acts that are immediately implemented in all 27 member states of the European Union. REACH is the most important regulation in the chemical area, requiring  all manufacturers and importers of chemicals in quantities above 1 ton/year to register the substances. The registration includes a detailed risk assessment, often based on new animal testing. Cosmetic ingredients are chemical substances that need full REACH registration. In addition to that, cosmetic ingredients are governed by the EU’s Cosmetic Regulation, which is focused on the protection of consumers when using cosmetics. Since 2009 for some endpoints and 2013 as a general rule, the Cosmetic Regulation has banned new in vivo tests of both finished cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients. This important ban has caused consumers to believe that EU cosmetics are not tested on animals. In a recent study, we demonstrated that this is not fully true, as many cosmetic ingredients are being tested in vivo for REACH purposes (https://doi.org/10.14573/altex.2104221).

During the presentation we will describe both regulations and we will guide participants through the database of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) where all the studies performed for registering chemical substances are stored. We will also explain the conflict between the two regulations regarding the possibility to test cosmetic ingredients on animals, by presenting the results of our analysis. Among the in new in vivo tests performed on cosmetic ingredients, some were necessary for REACH compliance, but others should have been avoided."

9 September 2021

14:00 - 18:30 CEST

Webinar

A new toolbox for citizens’ protection: implementing science into EU policy

CAAT-Europe in collaboration with the Horizon 2020 toxicology programs PATROLS and EU-ToxRisk organized a workshop to highlight how the tools and methods developed within the two projects can be used to deliver the EU's chemicals strategy for sustainability. The chemicals strategy for sustainability towards a toxic-free environment is part of the European Commission’s zero pollution ambition, which is a key commitment of the European Green Deal.
This virtual workshop offered an opportunity for dialogue between scientists working on next generation tools and policymakers. For more details, please read the webinar report.

6 August 2021

LIVE SESSION  6:30 - 8:30 PM CEST

A walk through 10 years of CAAT-Europe’s highlights

CAAT-Europe is going to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its foundation, with a session focused on the most relevant CAAT articles that have been published in the last years. The presentations will cover several topics, as in vitro regulatory, systemic and investigative toxicology, including the application of omics, microphysiological systems and good practice guidance for supporting a human-centered toxicity testing paradigm change. Each speaker will introduce a single publication to tell the story behind its compilation and to discuss its implication and impact on the actual and future discussion in the 3Rs field.

Join via the WC11 conference portal or register here.

8 February 2021

Press release: Landesweites Netzwerk bringt Tierschutz und Forschung voran

3R network to promote animal welfare and research

The Ministry for Science, Research and Art in Baden-Württemberg announces the establishment of a wide 3R network (3R-Netzwerk BW) to promote both animal welfare and research.

CAAT-Europe housed at the University of Konstanz together with the 3R Center Rhein-Neckar of the University of Heidelberg, the 3R-US Network of the Stuttgart University and Robert-Bosch Hospital, the Interdisciplinary Center for Research on Intestinal Health at Heidelberg University, and the 3R Center Tübingen for In Vitro Models and Alternatives to Animal Testing, will form the research, information and networking structure of the “3R-Netzwerk Baden-Württemberg”.

This network will be rounded off by three research projects at the universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Ulm plus two projects at Ulm University and Reutlingen University.

Total funding amount: 3.8 million euros.

9 November 2020

4:00 PM CET

Special Webinar (free)

Centennial Celebration of Hildegard Doerenkamp

The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing invites you to join a webinar honoring Hildegard Doerenkamp, co-founder of the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation and showcasing the five active professors’ ongoing work as well as announcing the application process of next year’s Doerenkamp-Zbinden Award. You are warmly invited to register.

Video (YouTube) link available.

5 - 18 November 2020

Konstanz, Germany

5th International Conference on Developmental Neurotoxicity Testing (DNT5)

Important DNT5 Conference Update

As the Coronavirus disease COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, countries are imposing precautionary measures including the cancellation of international events and travel restrictions.

For this reason, we are extremely sorry to inform you that the 5th international conference on developmental neurotoxicity testing (DNT5) (and any satellite event) scheduled for 2020 had to be cancelled.

We are truly sorry for the associated inconveniences but we follow the local directive on this issue to minimize the spreading and not to expose our participants to any unnecessary risk.

We are currently clarifying logistical and administrative details regarding this issue.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The DNT5 steering committee

About the Conference

Exposure of the developing human nervous system to chemicals can cause delayed and lasting neurological deficits (=DNT). 

DNT5 will host symposia, interactive workshops, keynote speakers, and poster sessions, to discuss with the most important experts of the DNT field:

- Understanding of human disease mechanisms
- Application of ‘Novel Approach Methods’ / animal-free testing strategies
- Linking epidemiology to testing and regulations
- Novel screening strategies and projects
- Regulatory and risk assessment strategies

The conference is organized back to back with the annual meeting of the OECD DNT expert group and the ECETOC workshop on tyroid disrupters.    

Details