Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI)

?? HESI Insights – November 2024 Edition is Here! Check out the latest HESI Insights newsletter, now live! This month’s edition includes: 1) Program Highlights: Celebrate the 2024 HESI THRIVE award winners and learn about the 2025 grant LOI call. 2) New Resources: Explore two new HESI publications offering insights for advancing safety science. 3) Recent Events: Discover how HESI collaborators have had a productive and impactful fall season. 4) Upcoming Events: Don’t miss future HESI-hosted sessions and workshops. 5) Opportunities: Check out our open call for project proposals, TEA Global Challenge and available positions at HESI! ? Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gbaRjYDN #HESIInsights #PublicHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #Collaboration

???? Big News: The Deadline Has Been Extended! ???? Are you ready to help revolutionize safety assessments in agrochemicals? ?? HESI’s Committee on Transforming the Evaluation of Agrochemicals (TEA) is calling innovators, scientists, and problem-solvers to join the TEA Global Challenge – a unique opportunity to shape the future of ecological and human safety assessments using non-animal methods. This year’s challenge focuses on the safety evaluation of VineGuard, a hypothetical grape fungicide. ????? Why should you care? ?? No experience in agrochemicals? No problem! The challenge is open to everyone who loves creative problem-solving. ?? Exciting perks await: → ?? $2,000 USD in travel funds to attend a scientific conference of your choice. → ?? Guidance from the HESI TEA committee to publish your work in scientific platforms. ?? Your mission: Propose innovative solutions to assess the safety of VineGuard and help pave the way toward a safer and more sustainable future. ?? Ready to get started? Check out the guidelines here: https://lnkd.in/gQizUNNr ?? What’s your big idea? Share your thoughts in the comments! Let’s innovate for change. Together. ???? #HESI #TEAGlobalChallenge #Innovation #Sustainability #EcologicalSafety #NonAnimalMethods #Agrochemicals

?? On World Pancreatic Cancer Day, Let’s Talk Innovation in Cancer Care ?? Every year, millions are impacted by cancer treatments that save lives but also bring challenges. How can we better predict, prevent, and reduce adverse effects from cancer therapy? ?? The HESI THRIVE 2025 Seed Grant Program is here to support breakthrough ideas addressing these critical questions. Starting Monday, November 25, 2024, we will begin accepting Letters of Intent for this unique funding opportunity. ?? Why apply? ?? Support for research aimed at improving patient outcomes. ?? Backing for innovative approaches that could redefine cancer therapy safety. Join the movement to transform cancer care. Let’s create solutions that make a real difference. ?? ?? Learn more and prepare to submit your Letter of Intent here: https://hesithrive.org/ On this World Pancreatic Cancer Day, let’s take one step closer to a future where life-saving treatments don’t come at such a high cost. ?? What’s one innovative idea you believe could change the game? Share in the comments! #WorldPancreaticCancerDay #CancerResearch #Innovation #HESITHRIVE #SeedGrantProgram #PatientSafety #CancerTherapy

ICYMI: Yesterday’s workshop, “Informing Risk of Infertility and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: Are Nonhuman Primates Really Needed?” spotlighted key insights from the ongoing #HESI #DART initiative exploring alternatives to NHPs in DART fertility studies. The room buzzed with energy as thought-provoking questions and diverse perspectives fueled a dynamic concluding panel discussion. The insights shared during the workshop are being compiled into a publication, slated for submission in early 2025. Stay tuned! A huge thank you to our global collaborators from industry and regulatory agencies for making this project and workshop a success!

?? Exciting Publication Alert! The HESI eSTAR Committee's latest review explores how transcriptomic points of departure (tPODs) can revolutionize toxicological safety assessments. ?? ?? Key Highlights: ? Efficiency & Innovation: Faster, health-protective assessments with reduced reliance on long-term animal studies. ? Bioinformatic Framework: A nine-step workflow for tPOD derivation, including data processing and normalization. ? Research Priorities: Addressing gaps in study design, platform standardization, and uncertainty quantification. ? Regulatory Impact: Insights into integrating tPODs into regulatory toxicology with tools like EPA’s ETAP and BMDExpress. This open-access article is a must-read for toxicologists, regulatory scientists, bioinformaticians, and anyone in molecular toxicology. ?? Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/t02450U7TmS #Toxicology #NAMs #Bioinformatics #RegulatoryScience

Join us TOMORROW, November 21, 2024, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. ET for a compelling session in the DyNAMic Discussions webinar series: "Using Omics for in vitro toxicology and drug discovery." This event will delve into the application of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in advancing toxicology and drug discovery. ??? Featuring expert presentations from members of the HESI Omics for Assessing Signatures for Integrated Safety Consortium (OASIS): Dr. David Rouquie, Bayer : OASIS: A multi-stakeholder collaboration leveraging robust omics data to evaluate liver toxicity. Dr. Jessica Ewald, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Cell Painting as an emerging omics tool for toxicology and drug discovery. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore cutting-edge omics techniques and gain insights from leaders in the field. ???? Register now to secure your spot: https://lnkd.in/g_K5ihBX #Webinar #Omics #Toxicology #DrugDiscovery #HESI #InVitro #NAMs #ScienceInnovation #ToxicologyResearch #PhysiciansCommittee

HESI DART’s rising star! Our HESI DART “Alternatives to NHP in DART studies WG”trainee, Puck Roos, was awarded a travel grant to present her outstanding work at this years ACT meeting. The DART committee is throughly impressed by her work and expect a bright future in science for such an extraordinary and tenacious scientist in training! #ACTOX2024 #HESI #DARTtraineeprogram #welcometothedartside

?? Exciting news! We are delighted to announce that Elena Kozlova, PhD candidate at the University of California, Riverside, and Parisa Varshosaz, PhD candidate at Laurentian University/Université Laurentienne have been awarded the prestigious 2024 HESI DART Professional Development Award! ?? This award provides each recipient with $2,000 USD to support their participation in professional meetings or training opportunities over the next year. Elena’s research explores the impact of early-life exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on social brain development, while Parisa’s work focuses on the role and regulation of retinoic acid (RA) signaling during cranial development. These awards embody the DART program’s mission: to increase awareness of career opportunities in Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology (DART), foster collaboration, and shine a spotlight on emerging talent in the field. ?? Congratulations, Elena and Parisa, on this well-deserved recognition of your outstanding contributions! https://lnkd.in/g7FJX95Y

The mission of HESI's #UVCB committee is to develop a tiered approach for the ecological risk assessment of substances of Unknown or Variable composition, Complex reaction products or Biological materials (UVCBs) and Multi-Constituents Substances (MCS). Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dPkPCeSQ

Dr. Bruce Levine from University of Pennsylvania - the co-developer of the first CAR-T therapy joined the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Cell Therapy Safety committee mtg today. Amazing to have him with us and to get his insights on such an incredible and rapidly evolving therapeutic field! #cancertherapy #innovation #safety