WELCOME TO ASPIS
“Animal-free Safety assessment of chemicals: Project cluster for Implementation of novel Strategies” ASPIS cluster is a joint collaboration of the H2020 funded projects ONTOX, PrecisionTOX, RISK-HUNT3R and represents Europe’s €60M effort towards the sustainable, animal-free and reliable chemical risk assessment of tomorrow.
NEW GENERATION RISK ASSESSMENT OF CHEMICALS
A new generation of risk assessment combines many sources of evidence into a single, transparent judgement.
Traditional chemical risk assessment often depends on long animal studies and fixed testing rules. The cluster explores how in vitro data, computer predictions and existing toxicological records can be combined to give a fuller picture of risk.
Each project contributes a different part of this picture, and together they test how these tools work across many chemical families. The result is a framework that aims to be faster, more reliable and more open to scrutiny.
Data integration
Combining laboratory results, models and historical records into one assessment.
Read about goals
Faces of ASPIS
Meet the researchers and coordinators who guide the cluster’s work across the three projects.
Meet the team
Work with us
Questions about the cluster’s methods or partnerships can be sent to the coordination team.
Contact the clusterIMPLEMENTATION OF 3Rs CONCEPTS
The 3Rs principle of replacement, reduction and refinement guides much of the cluster’s work. Instead of relying on traditional animal studies, the projects develop cell-based tests, computer models and integrated testing strategies that can replace animal data in many safety assessments.
Putting these concepts into practice means testing new methods against existing knowledge, checking that they predict real-world effects, and making sure that regulators can accept them. The cluster works to turn promising laboratory tools into practical approaches for everyday chemical evaluation.
Animal-free testing in practice
Concrete steps that move chemical safety science away from animal studies.
Animal-free testing relies on a set of linked tools. Cell cultures, tissue models and computer simulations each capture part of how a chemical acts, and combining them gives researchers a more complete view than any single method can provide.
The ASPIS projects test these tools side by side, comparing their predictions with known outcomes. This comparison shows where each method is strong, where it needs improvement, and how it can be trusted in regulatory decisions.
Cell-based assays
Laboratory tests that show how human cells respond to chemical exposure.
Computer models
Predictive tools that estimate how substances move and act inside the body.
Integrated strategies
Combined testing plans that bring different data sources into one decision.
DISEASE PREVENTION
Preventing disease starts with understanding which chemical exposures matter and how they act.
Many long-term health problems are linked to repeated exposure to chemicals. Identifying these links early allows preventive measures to be designed before large numbers of people are affected.
The cluster’s methods are intended to highlight mechanisms of harm, such as disruption of cell signalling, so that risks can be recognised in the laboratory rather than discovered after years of human exposure.
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“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
RESEARCH
The research carried out within the ASPIS cluster combines the work of three H2020 funded projects in one shared effort to move chemical safety testing away from animals.
The partner projects bring together expertise in toxicology, computational modelling and risk assessment. Their combined approach aims to build evidence that regulators and industry can rely on when they decide whether a chemical is safe for people and the environment.
Primary Areas of Interest
The cluster focuses on a small number of core areas. Each area shapes how the projects design their experiments, share their data and report their results to the wider scientific community.
IMPLEMENTATION OF 3Rs CONCEPTS
Replacing, reducing and refining animal use in toxicity testing.
PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Safeguarding people and ecosystems from harmful chemical exposure.
NEW GENERATION RISK ASSESSMENT OF CHEMICALS
Modern, data-driven methods for judging chemical risk.
DISEASE PREVENTION
Understanding how chemicals may affect health before harm occurs.
Reliable chemical risk assessment for tomorrow
The cluster’s long-term aim is a chemical risk assessment that is sustainable, animal-free and dependable. Such an approach would keep pace with the growing number of substances in use while respecting the principles of animal welfare.
Reaching this goal requires agreed standards, transparent data and close dialogue between scientists, regulators and industry. The ASPIS cluster works to build these foundations so that new methods can be adopted with confidence.
Working together across three projects
ONTOX, PrecisionTOX and RISK-HUNT3R share one purpose and many methods.
Each of the three H2020 funded projects follows its own research plan, yet all of them contribute to the same vision of animal-free chemical safety. Sharing methods and results across the projects speeds up learning and avoids duplicated effort.
Regular exchange between partners helps the cluster present a single voice to the scientific community. It also makes it easier for future projects to build on the tools and findings already developed.
Shared scientific goals
The cluster aligns the goals of the projects so that results can be compared and combined.
View goals
Stay informed
Follow the cluster’s progress through its news updates and contact the coordination team for more information.
Get in touchPROTECTION OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Chemicals are part of modern life, from household products to industrial processes. Protecting human health and the environment depends on knowing how substances behave in the body and in nature, and on identifying risks before they reach people or wildlife.
The ASPIS projects aim to give authorities more precise information about hazard and exposure. Better predictions allow safer decisions to be made earlier, reducing the chance that harmful substances are released or used without adequate control.
Upcoming Events
Join the ASPIS community at its next gathering.
ASPIS Cluster meeting 2022
Melia Hotel, Carrer de Joan Salvat Papasseit, 38, 08870 Sitges, Barcelona, Spain. 24. 11., 14:00 – 25. 11., 16:30.
Kick-off meeting of ASPIS cluster
The cluster’s first joint meeting marked the start of collaboration between the three H2020 projects.
Kick-off meeting of ASPIS cluster
A first look at how the projects planned to work together.
The kick-off meeting brought the partners of ONTOX, PrecisionTOX and RISK-HUNT3R together to align their goals. It set the foundation for shared reporting, joint communication and coordinated research activities.
Since then, the cluster has used this early agreement to organise its work around common themes, from animal-free testing to reliable chemical risk assessment for the future. Read more on the ASPIS blog.