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ShareOne major focus area for the Science Consortium is developing effective and efficient approaches to assess inhalation toxicity that protect human health without using animals. In 2015 and 2016, we hosted webinars and two workshops focused on alternative approaches for inhalation toxicity testing. Experts from industry, government agencies, academia, and NGOs attended and presented at these workshops and webinars, which were co-organized with the US NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM). Following these workshops, we launched various initiatives, including:
- Funded the development and characterization of EpiAlveolar, a 3D human tissue model of the lower respiratory tract (see here)
- Conducting proof-of-concept testing to show how in vitro approaches can be used to assess the toxicity of inhaled materials (INSPiRE Initiative, see here)
- Funded research to show that human precision-cut lung slices can be used following cryopreservation (manuscript submitted)
- Hosting webinars on non-animal approaches for inhalation toxicity testing, which can be viewed here
- Donated in vitro inhalation exposure devices to laboratories (see here and here)
- Awarding researchers with free 3D human tissue models to assess the effects of inhaled substances (see here)
- Established working groups to collect data for a publicly-available database
