Tuesday, 17th September 2024
3Rs centres WORKSHOP organized by COST Action IMPROVE
- 13:00 – 20:00: Workshop in the Loft of the MedCampus Linz
Detailed information and registration to be found via following link:
https://cost-improve.eu/event/3rs-centres-workshop/
Wednesday, 18th September 2024
- 10:00 Start of Registration
- 11:30 – 12:30: YOU Event – Meet-up for Young Scientists (Hall 3)
- 13:00 – 13:15: Opening
- 13:15 – 13:45: Keynote lecture (Hall 1), Paul Carmichael (Unilever): “NAMs and NGRA: It’s all going to end in Tiers”, Chairs: Horst Spielmann & Winfried Neuhaus
- 14:00 – 15:30 and 15:45: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “NAMs and NGRA implementation in industry”, sessions chairs: Dilyana Filipova & Abdulkarim Najjar
14:00 – 14:20 Abdulkarim Najjar: “Next Generation Risk Assessment: Mechanistic Insights and Implementation of NAMs for Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics Characterization”
14:20 – 14:40 Thomas Bertelsen: “Governance for ensuring Replacement at Novo Nordisk, a global pharmaceutical company”
14:40 – 15:00 Aurélie Thomas CANCELLED: “Reducing our reliance on animals through advanced technologies: today and tomorrow”
15:00 – 15:15 Laurence Walder: “Key elements for transitioning to non-animal science in the pharmaceutical sector”
15:15 – 15:30 Anne Kienhuis: “From research and development to uptake of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs): a landscape approach”
15:30 – 15:45 Dilyana Filipova: “Why do drugs keep failing? A systematic analysis of drug failure rates from 1963 to 2017”
Hall 2: Session “Inflammation & Infection models”, sessions chairs: Bettina Seeger & Christoph Wiesner
14:00 – 14:20 Bettina Seeger: “Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) infection during early brain development impairs neuronal migration in hiPSC-derived neurospheres”
14:20 – 14:40 Eva Reihs: “Engineering of a tissue-mimetic biochip model of the human synovial membrane for osteoarthritis research using non-animal-derived protocols and materials”
14:40 – 15:00 Puja Pandey: “Characterization of Alternative Methods for Intestinal Epithelial Cell Regeneration after Infection” – YSTA awardee
15:00 – 15:15 Christoph Wiesner: “An Optogenetic Approach to Investigating the Molecular Function of TLR4 and TLR10 in Mesenchymal Stem Cells”
15:15 – 15:30 Charlotte von Heckel: “Establishment of three-dimensional infection and cancer tissue models for the validation of laser-based diagnostic medical devices”
Hall 3: Session “Animal Methods Bias”, sessions chairs: Kathrin Herrmann & Melanie Ort
14:00 – 14:20 Catharine Krebs: “Animal methods bias and the COLAAB-orative effort to overcome it”
14:20 – 14:40 Ignacio Tripodi: “Inspecting the scientific literature for signs of animal methods bias”
14:40 – 15:00 Melanie Ort: “Animal methods bias in education”
15:00 – 15:15 Celean Camp: “Reviewer guidelines and trainings to mitigate animal methods bias”
15:15 – 15:30 Emily Trunnell: “Findings of a workshop to explore animal methods bias in funding”
- 15:30/15:45 – 16:15 Coffee break
- 16:15 – 18:00 Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “Methods for Toxicology”, sessions chairs: Klara Hilscherova & Christopher Faßbender
16:15 – 16:35 Klara Hilscherova: “In vitro assays for the assessment of thyroid hormone disruption – comparison of different models and detection methods”
16:35 – 16:55 Petra Labohá: “Towards the validation of an in vitro assay for gap junctional intercellular communication to identify non-genotoxic carcinogens”
16:55 – 17:15 Alexandra Schaffert: “A Comprehensive Approach to Cardiotoxicity Assessment using Adverse Outcome Pathways”
17:15 – 17:30 Christopher Faßbender: “Developing Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment for acute fish toxicity”
17:30 – 17:45: Christian Schlechtriem: “Development and implementation of the Hyalella azteca bioconcentration test (HYBIT)”
17:45 – 18:00 Christoph Schür: “Machine learning-based prediction of fish acute mortality”
Hall 2: Session “Animal-free human based cell culture”, sessions chairs: Tilo Weber & Jeffrey Bajramovic
16:15 – 16:35: Jeffrey Bajramovic: “An integral approach to replace animal-derived products for cell culture”
16:35 – 16:55 Tilo Weber: “A new animal-product-free, defined, and universal cell culture medium: Easy to use, do-it-yourself and beneficial for 2D and 3D culturing of normal and cancer cells”
16:55 – 17:15 Joachim Wiest: “Evaluation of chemically defined cell culture media with the cellasys #8 assay”
17:15 – 17:30 Sara Santos: “Advanced allogeneic porous scaffolds for personalized xeno-free cell culture and tissue engineering”
17:30 – 17:45 Beat Thalmann: “First ever animal-free, cell line-derived human S9 fraction for in vitro drug metabolisation”
17:45 – 18:00 Johannes Hackethal: “Translation and Reproducibility – Standardized HUMAN Biomaterials”
Hall 3: Session “3R Research Funding in Europe”, sessions chairs: Herwig Grimm & Martijn Nolte
16:15 – 16:35 Herwig Grimm: “The Swiss National Research Programme «Advancing 3R – Animals, research and society» (NRP 79)”
16:35 – 16:55 Martijn Nolte: “A Dutch perspective on funding the transition towards animal-free innovations”
16:55 – 17:15 Erica van Oort: “Non-animal approaches in biomedical research and testing of pharmaceuticals: an ERA Policy Agenda proposal”
17:15 – 17:30 Jenny Sandström: “Promoting Applied 3Rs Research – Insights from Switzerland”
17:30 – 17:45 Sandra Paschkowsky: “Funding 3R research in Germany – a key to new innovative methods”
17:45 – 18:00 Kristina Wagner: “What have we achieved? – retrospective assessment of 3Rs projects funded by the set foundation”
- 18:30 – 21:00: Welcome Reception (Aula)
- 20:00 – 21:00: YOU Event – Meet the Mentor (Hall 3 – Seminar room first floor)
Thursday, 19th September 2024
- 9:00 – 9:30: Keynote lecture (Hall 1), Pandora Pound: “Rat Trap: A popular science book about the limitations of animal research and the technologies available to replace it”, Chairs: Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga & Arti Ahluwalia
- 9:40 – 11:25: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “The Value of Transition Approaches in Animal Free Scientific Research”, sessions chairs: Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga & Ingrid van Visseren
09:40 – 10:00 Love Hansell: “Safety Assessment through Animal Free Evolution (SAFE): The Role of Transformative Governance in the Transition to Animal-Free Regulatory Reseach”
10:00 – 10:20 Anne Kienhuis: “Pathways to regulatory acceptance of New Approach Methodologies for Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals”
10:20 – 10:40 Phil Macnaghten: “Valuing Testing: Understanding societal and stakeholder perspectives in developing and validating animal-free models for toxicological studies”
10:40 – 11:00 Giorgia Pallocca: “Toward Regulatory Transformation in the Biological and Chemical Sectors Globally: Progress and Challenges”
11:00 – 11:25 Panel discussion
Hall 2: Session “Stem cell models”, sessions chairs: Verena Charwat & Horst Spielmann
09:40 – 10:00 Nina Graffmann: “Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived hepatocyte like cells: An essential tool for disease modelling and toxicity tests”
10:00 – 10:20 Maximilian Schinke: “Generation of Human Sensory Macrophages to Replace Animal Research in Preclinical Pharmacology and Drug Safety Application”
10:20 – 10:40 Verena Charwat: “Arrhythmogenic Drug Evaluation in a High Throughput 3D Cardiac Microtissue System”
10:40 – 10:55 Nicole Schupp: “hiPSC differentiating into renal proximal tubular cells are more sensitive to nephrotoxins and oxidants than iPSC and iPSC differentiated into renal proximal tubular cells”
10:55 – 11:10 Gianluca Ciardelli: “3D cardiac tissue models for pollutants toxicity testing”
11:10 – 11:25 Petra Stahlschmidt-Allner: “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells vs Healthy Fish Stem Cells for Comprehensive in vitro Toxicology”
Hall 3: Session “Culture of Care: Enhancing Communication among Stakeholders for 3Rs Progress “, sessions chairs: Fernando Gonzalez Uarquin & Katharina Ameli
09:40 – 10:00 Katharina Ameli: “Transforming Culture: Culture of Care in Animal Research focussing communication”
10:00 – 10:20 Thomas Bertelsen: “Culture of Care at Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company – caring for animals and people”
10:20 – 10:40 Paul Friedemann Pohlig: “Fostering Effective Communication and Collaboration in Animal Research Facilities”
10:40 – 10:55 Adrian Smith: “Culture of Care: where are the resources I need to improve conditions at my workplace?”
10:55 – 11:10 Barney Reed: “How good communication can advance a good culture of care”
11:10 – 11:25 Fernando Gonzalez Uarquin: “Appreciation is key: improving the 3Rs by optimizing communication with young researchers”
- 11:25 – 11:45: Coffee break
- 11:45 – 13:15: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “Cancer models”, sessions chairs: Beate Rinner & Jens Kurreck
11:45 – 12:05 Beate Rinner: “Modeling glioblastoma: from primary tumors to relapse and the use of post-mortem sample for translational research”
12:05 – 12:25 Jens Kurreck: “Bioprinting of vascularized cancer model for drug testing”
12:25 – 12:45 Michael Ausserlechner: “3D bioprinted tumor-on-chip models to study tumor microenvironment for drug testing and disease modelling”
12:45 – 13:00 Karolina Pokrzywka: “Do extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stem cells inhibit cancer development?”
13:00 – 13:15 Pedro Pinto: “Novel Microfluidic Prostate-Cancer Model: a tool to a study MicroRNA secretion and their potential as diagnostic biomarkers”
Hall 2: Session “Novel in silico tools”, sessions chairs: Sharon Bryant & Arti Ahluwalia
11:45 – 12:05 Sharon Bryant: “The NeuroDeRisk 3R In Silico Toolbox: De-Risking Neurotoxicity and 3D-Pharmacophores”
12:05 – 12:25 Luca Gerardo-Giorda: “Digital twinning as an alternative to animal experimentation in the treatment planning of cardiac arrhythmias”
12:25 – 12:45 Chiara Magliaro: “Digitoids: a novel computational platform to assess the metabolic-electrophysiological behaviour of neurons cultured in monolayers”
12:45 – 13:00 Beata Ondrusova: “Framework for identifying the origin of premature ventricular contractions using patient-specific electrocardiographic imaging”
13:00 – 13:15 Ermes Botte: “Between Heisenberg and Schrodinger: a novel approach to quantify measurement-induced perturbations in cell cultures”
Hall 3: Session “3Rs Implementation: Progress and Barriers”, sessions chairs: Barney Reed & Masaki Nishikawa
11:45 – 12:05 Shujun Cheng: “Regulatory Advances in China Alternative Toxicology Methods”
12:05 – 12:25 Masaki Nishikawa: “JSAAE Activities toward the formation of the Asian Federation”
12:25 – 12:45 Barney Reed: “Supporting Replacement in Academia: Examining the social and cultural barriers and opportunities around the acceptance and uptake of non-animal methods”
12:45 – 13:00 Kathrin Herrmann: “Germany’s political goal of “reducing animal experimentation” – are we making progress?”
13:00 – 13:15 Julia Pochat: “From the meaning of words to the power of actions: What changed for animals in laboratories in the last EU political term and what can we expect from the new term?”
- 13:15 – 14:00: Lunchtime – Business Lunch sponsored by
- 14:00 – 15:30: Poster session 1 (first floor)
- 15:30 – 17:15: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session ” 3Rs: ethical conceptual considerations and harmonisation”, sessions chairs: Monique Janssens & Johan Lauwereyns
15:30 – 15:50 Dominik Hajosi: “Mission impossible accomplished? On the incoherent implementation of the harm-benefit analysis as a requirement of Directive 2010/63/EU”
15:50 – 16:10 Monique Janssens: “What would Miffy do? Applying informed consent by proxy to all sentient animals”
16:10 – 16:30 Nico Müller: “Monkeys and moonshots: Exploring mission-oriented policies for animal-free research”
16:30 – 16:45 Johan Lauwereyns: “Toward an expansive interpretation of the 3Rs across areas of animal use”
16:45 – 17:00 Leah Haut: “Dealing with surplus animals – What to do instead of killing millions of animals annually in Europe”
Hall 2: Session “Outer Biological Barriers”, sessions chairs: Helena Kandarova & Shujun Cheng
15:30 – 15:50 Hanna Glasebach: “Novel 3D in-vitro psoriasis model based on specific genetically engineered keratinocytes” – YSTA awardee
15:50 – 16:10 Claus-Michael Lehr: “Human in vitro models for developing drugs against bacterial infections of lung and skin”
16:10 – 16:30 Sabina Eibichova: “Application of silicone flow bioreactors for dynamic cultivation of in vitro and ex vivo corneal models”
16:30 – 16:45 Helena Kanďárová: “Assessment of cytotoxicity, skin and oral irritation of medical devices with hygroscopic properties. Case study”
16:45 – 17:00 Mahmoud Galal: “CAMSkin Model: Re-vascularized Human Skin after Cultivation on the Chorioallantoic Membrane”
Hall 3: Session “Refinement”, sessions chairs: Özge Selin Cevik & Györgyi Szabo
15:30 – 15:50 Annemarie Lang: “Repeated injection of sustained-release buprenorphine for pain management in mouse femoral fracture models”
15:50 – 16:10 Katharina Hohlbaum: “Lockbox enrichment—manipulative and cognitive activities for laboratory mice”
16:10 – 16:30 Thomas Bertelsen: “Non-aversive handling of research animals at Novo Nordisk”
16:30 – 16:45 Karolina Krehl: ” Rumination behavior as an animal-based indicator in sheep”
16:45 – 17:00 Özge Selin Cevik: “Enhancing anxiety behavior research in rodents with network meta-analysis”
- 17:00 – 17:30: Coffee break
- 17:30 – 19:00: Round table/panel discussion (Hall 1, ground floor)
with 17:30 – 17:45 Johan Lauwereyns: “Can we agree on what the 3Rs mean?”
- 20:00 – 24.00: Gala dinner
Friday, 20th September 2024
- 9:00 – 9:30: Keynote lecture (Hall 1), Anna-Dorothea Gorki (GST Antivirals): “Of mice and men: new tools to study respiratory tract infections”, Chairs: Winfried Neuhaus & Claus-Michael Lehr
- 9:40 – 11:10: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “Lung models”, sessions chairs: Emily Reis & Claus-Michael Lehr
09:40 – 10:00 Stefan Hippenstiel: “Microenvironmental acidification by pneumococcal sugar consumption fosters barrier disruption and immune suppression in the human alveolus”
10:00 – 10:20 Mariana Guedes: “Establishing a lentiviral reporter platform for screening 3D human lung organoids: a proof-of-concept approach” – EPAA and YSTA awardee
10:20 – 10:40 Tobias Neu: “The novel monoclonal human alveolar epithelial cell line “Arlo” for modeling the pulmonary air-blood-barrier in vitro” – YSTA awardee
10:40 – 10:55 Ludovica Cacopardo: “In silico-in vitro design of biomimetic alveolar models for high-throughput inhalation tests”
10:55 – 11:10 Emily Reis: “Development and characterization of reconstructed tracheo-bronchial tissue models from multiple species”
Hall 2: Session “Policy / networking”, sessions chairs: Anne Kienhuis & Winfried Neuhaus
09:40 – 10:00 Thomas Bertelsen: “The power of Animal Welfare Body networks to promote best practices”
10:00 – 10:20 Anne Kienhuis: “Interdisciplinary and multisectoral collaboration to stimulate acceptance of the Virual Human Platform for Safety Assessment (VHP4Safety)”
10:20 – 10:40 Jennifer Rosowski: “Emerging networks in Berlin: Charité 3R, Der Simulierte Mensch and Einstein Center 3R”
10:40 – 10:55 Alexandra Schaffert: “Innovative Animal-Free Approaches in Regulatory Toxicology: The OECD Advisory Group on Emerging Science in Chemicals Assessment – ESCA”
10:55 – 11:10 Winfried Neuhaus: “The COST-ACTION Networking Activity IMPROVE 3Rs Concepts to Improve the Quality of Biomedical Science”
Hall 3: Session “3Rs Implementation: Providing frameworks and tools”, sessions chairs: Kristina Wagner & Athanassia Sotiropoulos
09:40 – 10:00 Yiguang Zhu: “Advancing Validation Methodologies and Regulatory Acceptance of Microphysiological Systems”
10:00 – 10:20 Kristina Wagner: “The German Animal Welfare Federation’s “Guide to Animal-free science” – a comprehensive overview of scientific and ethical progress”
10:20 – 10:40 Bettina Bert: “SMARFIRA – Finding the needle in a haystack”
10:40 – 10:55 Athanassia Sotiropoulos: “French Centre for 3Rs: Promotion of Open Science”
10:55 – 11:10 Mareike Ahrends: “Introducing the HTCR Foundation: A Non-Profit Biobank of Human Biospecimens for 3R-Aligned Biomedical Research”
- 11:10 – 11:40: Coffee break
- 11:40 – 13:10: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “Emerging technologies I”, sessions chairs: Philipp Paulitschke & Markéta Dvořáková
11:40 – 12:00 Maddalena Collini: “A platform for in vivo label-free tissue histology to reduce the use of animals in biomaterial tests”
12:00 – 12:20 Philipp Paulitschke: “Advancing Cell-Based Assay Reproducibility Through Lensfree Imaging and AI Integration”
12:20 – 12:40 Juan Bejarano Rios: “Development of a bioreactor for dynamic culture and laser based non-destructive measurements of tissue models” – YSTA awardee
12:40 – 12:55 Francesco Fontana: “Multiscale and multimodal characterization of thymus structure and mechanics for biomimetic design approaches” – YSTA awardee
12:55 – 13:10 Isidora Loncarevic: “Optimizing endpoints for crystalline quartz silica exposure in a lung co-culture model” – YSTA awardee
Hall 2: Session “Musculoskeletal In vitro models”, sessions chairs: Annemarie Lang & Frank Schulze
11:40 – 12:00 Jonathan Strauss: “Advancement of human osteoarthritic cartilage-on-a-chip models by integration of glucose and lactate biosensors for monitoring of disease-related shifts in cell metabolism” – YSTA awardee
12:00 – 12:20 Anne Bernhardt: “3D printed in vitro bone models”
12:20 – 12:40 Katharina Wirsig: “Quadruple culture of primary human osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts and endothelial cells – an advanced 3D in vitro bone model” – YSTA awardee
12:40 – 12:55 Annemarie Lang: “Implementation of an in vitro angiogenesis assay to study mechanisms of vascular invasion during endochondral ossification”
12:55 – 13:10 Frank Schulze: “Development of a microfluidic perfusion bioreactor that enables culture of multiple 3D bone models under mechanical loading”
Hall 3: Session “Reduction: Planning and Reporting”, sessions chairs: Julia Menon & Adrian Smith
11:40 – 12:00 Sibylle Wenzel: “Even beyond animal testing – possibilities for an overall asessment of animal well-being”
12:00 – 12:20 Adrian Smith: “Quality, fast, cheap: choose two. Practical advice on how to conduct better science”
12:20 – 12:40 Tilo Weber: “Have the non-technical summaries of animal experiments in Europe improved? An update”
12:40 – 12:55 Julia Menon: “Preregistration of animal studies improves reporting quality”
12:55 – 13:10 Julia Menon: “Better Science through More Transparency – a mixed-methods case study of the Dutch’s research landscape”
- 13:10 – 14:00: Lunchtime
- 14:00 – 15:30: Poster session 2 (first floor)
- 15:30 – 17:00: Scientific sessions in Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3
Hall 1: Session “Emerging technologies II”, sessions chairs: Valeria Chiono & Mario Rothbauer
15:30 – 15:50 Mohammad Ghosheh: “A Microphysiological System for Simultaneous Neural and Oxygen Measurement in Brain Tissues Using Integrated Opto-Electrical Sensor System”
15:50 – 16:10 Valeria Chiono: “In vitro models of human cardiac fibrosis on biomimetic nanofibrous scaffolds: a novel preclinical testing platform for precision nanomedicine”
16:10 – 16:30 Gerardina Ruocco: “Engineered fiber-based anisotropic microenvironments for 2D and 3D in vitro models of skeletal muscle tissues” – YSTA awardee
16:30 – 16:45 Barbara Wolff-Winiski: “Patient-specific assays to identify and characterize new drugs for chronic wound therapy”
16:45 – 17:00 Mario Rothbauer/Eva Reihs for discussion afterwards: “Biomechanically loaded three-dimensional tissue-mimetic lab-on-a-chip models for human inflammation and fibrosis modelling”
Hall 2: Session “Inner organ models”, sessions chairs: Christina Fey & Nathalie Jung
15:30 – 15:50 Masaki Nishikawa: “Gas-permeable membrane-based direct oxygenation enables cellular aerobic respiration both in static culture and in perfusion microphysiological systems”
15:50 – 16:10 Ahmed Ali: “3D Bioprinting of Humanized Xeno-free Liver Models” – YSTA awardee
16:10 – 16:30 Christina Fey: “Synthetic fibrous scaffold-based 3D small intestinal mucosa in vitro model”
16:30 – 16:45 Nathalie Jung: “Exploring nanoparticle-tissue interactions in in vitro models of the intestinal mucosa in health and disease”
16:45 – 17:00 Adrián Klepe: “Challenges and insights of investigating small extracellular vesicle internalisation and permeation across the blood-brain barrier in vitro” – YSTA awardee
17:00 – 17:15 Pilar Samperio Ventayol: “A model to study human intestinal epithelium response to probiotics”
Hall 3: Session “Education about 3Rs”, sessions chairs: Nick Jukes & Debby Weijers
15:30 – 15:50 Monique Janssens: “Developing a Global Education Hub for animal-free methods”
15:50 – 16:10 Nick Jukes: “Case studies of innovation and replacement to illustrate the trajectory of an ideal, fully humane veterinary degree”
16:10 – 16:30 Maren Hülsemann CANCELLED: “Contribution of human organ models to COVID-19 research – A large-scale systematic review”
16:30 – 16:45 Maude Everaert: “RE-Place: a tool to stimulate the use of New Approach Methodologies in Belgium”
16:45 – 17:00 Debby Weijers: “Empowering researchers to take the leap from lab to business to increase the impact of animal-free innovations”
17:00 – 17:15 Maoling Wei: “A brief introduction to 3Rs education in China”
- 17:30 – 18:00: YSTA Awards/Announcement WC13/Farewell
POSTER numbers for THURSDAY, 19.9.2024 and FRIDAY, 20.9.2024 can be found via following link: