About us

The goal of the 5-year SEURAT-1 Research Initiative is to develop a consistent research strategy ready for implementation in following research programmes. This includes establishing innovative scientific tools for better understanding of repeated dose toxicity based on in vitro tests, and identifies gaps of knowledge to be bridged by future research work. The end result would be testing methods which, within the framework of safety assessment, have a higher predictive value, are faster and cheaper than those currently used, and significantly reduce the use of animal tests.

The cluster-level objectives of the SEURAT-1 Research Initiative are:

  • to develop highly innovative tools and methodology that can ultimately support regulatory safety assessment
  • to formulate and implement a research strategy based on generating and applying knowledge of mode-of-action
  • to demonstrate proof-of-concept at multiple levels – theoretical, systems, and application
  • to provide the blueprint for expanding the applicability domains – chemical, toxicological and regulatory

The research work in the SEURAT-1 projects includes the development of organ-simulating devices, the use of human-based target cells, the identification of relevant endpoints and intermediate markers, the application of approaches from systems biology, computational modelling and estimation techniques, and integrated data analysis.