The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP) is hosting a Risk e-Learning webinar series focused on the use of innovative, human-relevant technologies to better characterize the biological effects of chemicals. New technologies, including advanced cell-based assays, organoids, and computational modeling approaches, are expanding the toolbox researchers use to answer previously difficult or unanswerable questions. Presenters will discuss how these emerging methodologies are being applied to uncover mechanistic insights, improve predictive accuracy for human health outcomes, and refine risk assessment frameworks. The third and final session, titled Innovative Methods for Understanding Chemical Toxicity, will feature three speakers discussing innovative approaches to understanding the dose at which chemicals trigger biological responses and the mechanisms behind them. Speakers include:Ana Maretti Garcia, Ph.D., University of Southern California: In this presentation, Dr. Maretti Garcia will discuss recent advances using advanced 3D human liver spheroid models to characterize the biological effects of multiple per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on human liver metabolism and their contribution to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). She will highlight key findings recently published in Environment International (PMID: 40914107) and Communications Medicine (PMID: 41162609), focusing on molecular and cellular mechanisms identified through the integration of in vitro models with human-relevant data.Guru Ulaganathan, Duke University: Developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) is challenging to study due to the intricacy of human brain development, the dependence on the timing of exposure, and the emergence of effects long after the initial exposure. This presentation will discuss advances in human iPSC modeling using three-dimensional brain models that can be leveraged to mechanistically investigate neurodevelopmental perturbations at both a molecular and functional level.Weihseuh A. Chiu, Ph.D., Texas A&M University: Chemical contamination after disasters presents a plethora of challenges to risk assessment and risk management. Dr. Chiu will present several case studies from the Texas A&M Superfund Research Center of new approach methodologies (NAMs) to address this challenge by rapidly characterizing hazards and risks from individual chemicals and environmental mixtures. Lessons learned from these studies inform a general strategy for NAMs-based solutions for next generation risk assessment. To learn more about and register for the other sessions in this webinar series, please see the SRP site. To view this archive online or download the slides associated with this seminar, please visit http://www.clu-in.org/conf/tio/SRP-BioChem-3_012126/

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