Computational Toxicology

Superfund Basic Research Program

The Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP), in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI), presents the Spring/Summer 2009 edition of Risk eLearning: "Computational Toxicology: New Approaches for the 21st Century." This series of online seminars will provide an introduction to the key concepts of computational toxicology along with case studies demonstrating the utility of these approaches (e.g. high throughput screening, computer modeling, informatics) to risk assessment.

Computational Toxicology: An Introduction to Key Concepts and Approaches

Seminar web page (http://www.clu-in.org/training/#Computational _Toxicology:_An_Introduction_to_Key_Concepts_ and_Approaches_20090528)
May 28, 2009; 1:30 - 3:30 pm EDT

This seminar, the first of the series, is titled "Computational Toxicology: An Introduction to Key Concepts and Approaches" and will feature Dr. Kim Boekelheide, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University and Dr. Robert Kavlock, Director of the National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT/ORD/USEPA).

Dr. Boekelheide's presentation provides an overview of the 2007 National Academy of Sciences report on the future of toxicity testing (Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy (http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/Toxicity_ Testing_final.pdf)   ). As described in the report, toxicity testing in the future will utilize emerging technologies from the ongoing revolution in understanding biological processes to identify the effects of chemicals on toxicity pathways using in vitro approaches. The interpretation of chemically-induced alterations in toxicity pathways will depend upon sophisticated modeling that extrapolates from the measured dose-response in cell-based systems to human exposure.

Dr. Kavlock's presentation will cover the rationale behind EPA's desire to develop more efficient and effective means for assessing the hazards and risks of environmental contaminants. Assisted by use of technology used in drug discovery, we are now able to evaluate the interaction of large numbers of chemicals against multiple biological targets at relatively low expense. The challenges are to ensure that there is coverage of sufficient biological processes, that the systems employ realistic exposure conditions, and that the new toxicology will be as health protective as existing traditional methods.

• Moderator: William Suk Ph.D., Director SBRP, with introduction by Linda Birnbaum Ph.D., Director NIEHS.
• Presenter: Kim Boekelheide (http://biomed.brown.edu/facultydirectory/prof ile.php?id=1100923742) , Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, SBRP-Brown University.
• Presenter: Robert Kavlock (http://www.epa.gov/ncct/biosketches/kavlock_b io.pdf)   , Director of the National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT/ORD/USEPA).

Registration (http://www.clu-in.org/training/#Computational _Toxicology:_An_Introduction_to_Key_Concepts_ and_Approaches_20090528) is free - but space is limited!

Upcoming sessions will take an in-depth look at computational toxicological approaches and available tools, featuring researchers from EPA, NIH, and SBRP.
Additional session information will be posted as it becomes available, please check back.

For more information, contact:

Heather Henry (919) 541-5330 (henryh@niehs.nih.gov) or
Justin Crane (919) 794-4702 (cranej2@niehs.nih.gov)