who we are

About the cluster

The ASPIS Cluster is made up of three research projects funded by the EU  Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme: ONTOX, PrecisionTox and RISK-HUNT3R.

It is the largest public funding of research in Europe towards advancing safety assessment of chemicals without the use of animal testing

(SC1-BHC-11-2020)

€60 Million,
3 Projects,
5 Years

ASPIS – A shield used in ancient Greece; revolutionary defensive tool enabling advancing legions to join forces for better protection

The cluster

ASPIS brings together the three consortia funded under the European Commission’s call for projects advancing the safety assessment of chemicals without the use of animal testing. Collectively, we represent more than 70 institutions across 16 European countries and the U.S. delivering on a €60 million investment in providing timely answers about chemicals’ effects on human health.

 

PrecisionTox:

Leveraging evolutionary diversity to reveal the molecular basis of toxicity

RISK HUNT3R:

Human-centric chemical safety assessment utilizing systems toxicology

ONTOX:

Synthesizing toxicology knowledge to support next-generation risk assessment

Read more about the projects

Our shared goals

We are committed to utilizing all available knowledge across disciplines to improve the accuracy, speed, and affordability of chemical safety testing without the use of laboratory animals. Building on advances in the omics fields including genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics; robust in vitro and in silico methodologies; and artificial intelligence (AI) analysis strategies; we provide New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to rapidly accelerate and improve chemical risk assessment in the EU.

Our impact

The safety of hundreds of thousands of chemicals in market products remains untested due to the high cost and slow pace of traditional animal testing. By demonstrating and validating NAMs, ASPIS introduces a new era of toxicology in which the biological effects of chemicals can be understood on a molecular level. This knowledge allows for precisely informed decisions that safeguard human and environmental health while facilitating the development of safe and sustainable products.

1

Enhanced international cooperation leading to cutting-edge discoveries

2

Contribution to the development of an international strategy and guidelines for testing chemicals, drugs and biologicals and assessing associated hazard and risk

3

Improved risk assessment of chemicals integrating human centric next generation testing strategies promoting the 3Rs

4

Development of novel, sustainable tools for toxicity testing and drug discovery without the use of experimental animals.

Working in groups

We synergistically combine our efforts by organising joint trainings and workshops, sharing data and tools, collaboratively mapping findings, disseminating results across our varied networks, and working together toward regulatory uptake of NAMs. Taking a bottom-up approach in which consortium members from all three projects directly collaborate within specific domains of activity, ASPIS is powered by seven Working Groups focusing on:

  • Chemical Selection and ASPIS Database

  • Kinetics and Exposure

  • Omics

  • Computational Approaches

Explore working groups

  • Quantitative Adverse Outcome Pathway

  • Risk Assessment

  • Communication and Dissemination

The three projects will rotate responsibility for ASPIS coordination and administrative support.

See who leads the ASPIS

Make sure to check our factsheet!

Check our fact sheet

Want to know more about the project

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