June 2017
Upcoming Events

Webinar:
June 1, 2017
1-3:30 pm CEST

Aug. 20-24, 2017
Seattle, WA

Aug. 20-24, 2017
Washington, DC

Sept. 10-13, 2017
Bratslava, Slovakia

American Society for Cellular and Computational Toxicology Annual Meeting
Sept. 21-22
College Park, MD


In the News


Our Contributors

Altria
ARDF
Avon
BAT
Caudalie
Colgate-Palmolive
Crabtree & Evelyn
The Dial Corporation, A Henkel Company
Estée Lauder Companies
Johnson & Johnson
Kimberly-Clark 
L Brands 
M.A.C. Cosmetics
Mary Kay 
PETA
PMI
Procter & Gamble
S.C. Johnson & Son
IIVS Opens New In Vitro Respiratory Toxicology Laboratory
June 12th marks the official opening of the IIVS
in vitro respiratory exposure laboratory. The state-of-the-art facility will allow the modeling of respiratory exposures of aerosols, smoke, particulates, vapors and gases onto  in vitro and  ex vivo tissue models to gain better insights into potential human health risks to inhaled chemicals and particulates.

With HEPA-filtered conditioned air and precise control of temperature and humidity, the laboratory will meet rigorous regulatory and research requirements. For example, the facility will support the stringent environmental requirements for both storage and combustion of tobacco products for testing (ISO 3402:1999).  Additionally, the air venting system effectively evacuates aerosols, vapors, chemical fumes, and combustion products during dosing and exposure operations between testing campaigns while maintaining an energy efficient "green" footprint.

In addition to aerosol exposure capabilities, IIVS has developed automated methodologies to deliver nanoliter microdroplets topically onto tissue models in a manner not previously achievable using conventional micropipettor dosing techniques. These procedures allow for extremely uniform, volume-controlled delivery of liquids to precisely model vapor droplet deposition onto a variety of epithelial tissue surfaces.

IIVS Capabilities:
  • Routine testing and specialized investigations using human relevant respiratory models:
    • Commercially-available 3D reconstructed human airway tissues
    • Precision cut human lung slices
    • Pulmonary-derived cells and cell lines
  • Collaborations to develop custom protocols to meet specific goals
  • Regulatory chemical and product hazard classification, industrial hygiene and worker safety programs, and assessments of hazards of environmental pollutants
By working with IIVS, industry will have the ability to rapidly evaluate potential respiratory hazards associated with novel ingredients and chemistries for use in fragrances, personal care products, household, automotive, and institutional cleaning products, and a wide range of traditional and emerging tobacco products.

For more information, or to discuss potential testing needs, contact Lindsay Krawiec, Client Services Manager.

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Rapidly Evaluate the Potential of Ingredients and Products to Modulate Skin Color
IIVS offers a testing strategy to rapidly evaluate candidate actives that modulate melanin production in human skin. Using the reconstructed human pigmented skin model, MelanoDerm TM  (MatTek Corporation), the optimized assay is designed to:
 
  • Assess the efficacy of ingredients and final formulations to modulate human skin pigmentation
  • Analyze melanin production in reconstructed tissue models of various phototypes
  • Rapidly obtain pre-clinical evaluation of actives for their ability to modulate melanin production
  • Address the increasing market demand for innovative, safe and efficacious skin lightening products capable of modulating pigmentation in human skin
As the cosmetic industry continues to look for safe and effective ingredients and formulations that can address a multitude of pigmentary skin conditions, IIVS provides optimized techniques that deliver reliable, fast, and relevant results regarding the safety and efficacy of promising prototypes. This specialized efficacy testing program has inherent flexibility to be adapted to specific testing needs, mechanistic approaches and can accommodate chronic/repeated exposures, which may be of interest to various industries. 

Related Articles

 
Costin GE. Decoding and modulating the color of human skin. Cosmetic Chemist. November 2016. 

To learn more about this program, please join our FREE webinar on Thursday, June 29 (see details below).


IIVS Marks 20 Years with June Celebration 


Join us on Monday, June 12 as we commemorate our 20th anniversary and opening of our new
in vitro respiratory toxicology laboratory. 

Schedule of Activities 
June 12, 2017
1:00-6:30 pm

1:00 p.m. Special Lectures:

A Strategy for Implementing the Vision for Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century,
Warren Casey, NICEATM

EPA-OPP's Initiative to Modernize the Acute "6-Pack", Anna Lowit, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs

Minimizing Animal Testing under the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, 
Kristie Sullivan, PCRM

IIVS: The Past, Present, and Future,
Erin Hill, IIVS President
3:30-4:30 pm Ribbon Cutting & Laboratory Demonstrations
4:30-6:30 pm Reception in IIVS Atrium

Registration is complimentary, but required.   Register online now .  

Questions?  Contact Laura Henning at  lhenning@iivs.org.

Nominations for the 2017 LUSH Prize are Now Open
Nominations are now being accepted through July 24th for the 2017 Lush Prize.  

Now in its sixth year, the annual £250,000 prize rewards initiatives across science and campaigning that work to end or replace animal testing, particularly in the area of toxicology research. 

Entries can be from anywhere in the world in the categories of Public Awareness, Lobbying, Science, Training and Young Researchers. The funding is split among winners in all categories. In 2016, there were 20 winners representing 11 countries. 

Nominations close on Monday, July 24.  Judges will meet in September to select the winning entries. The awards ceremony will be in November 2017.

Funding Opportunity from the Humane Society
Applications are being accepted by the Humane Society International and Humane Society of the United States for up to $10,000 in grants. The funds are to support the preparation and publication of in-depth critical reviews on research progress in key human disease areas.

The grant program is designed to support strategic scientific dialogue regarding the potential of extending the U.S. National Research Council vision of 21st century toxicology to the wider field of biosciences. 

The application deadline is June 30, 2017.  

IIVS Scientists to Present at 254th ACS Meeting
IIVS scientists will present at the 254th American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting, August 20-24, 2017 in Washington, DC. 
 
"Advanced in vitro test systems provide human-relevant results to support regulatory decision-making," Holger Behrsing.
 
"Changes in TSCA drive new strategies for eye irritation hazard assessments," Hans Raabe
 
"Relevance of the test system: When 21st century tools can't ensure test method acceptance," Quanshun Zhang
 
"In vitro methods available for chemical risk assessment under Amended TSCA for skin sensitization evaluation," Tinashe Ruwona

For more information about the ACS meeting, visit www.acs.org.

View Our Posters from SOT
Did you miss our posters at SOT, or want to take a second look?  View all of our posters on the IIVS website.

Addressing the Assignment of US EPA Hazard Categories of Dermal Safety by a Revised Prediction Model of the Validated In Vitro Skin Irritation Test  (OECD TG 439)

Precision Digital Dispensing of Patterned Picoliter Quantities of Test Material onto Apical Surfaces of Human 3D-Reconstructed Airway Tissues 


Using In Vitro Assays, the Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (DPRA), Keratinosens (KS), and Human Cell Line Activation Test (h-CLAT) to Assess Skin Sensitization Potential of Electronic Cigarette Liquids 
Read the Latest Publications of Interest