STAR Organotypic Culture Models for Predictive Toxicology Centers Kick-off Meeting

During the 2015 Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, EPA will host a grantee kickoff event to announce and congratulate the grantees receiving Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants. These research institutions will develop and evaluate Organotypic Culture Models (OCMs) for high-priority biological systems such as the brain, liver, kidney, testis, breast tissue, heart and neurovascular. OCMs, sometimes called ‘organ-on-a-chip’ are in vitro systems of three-dimensional cultures of two or more cells that will model biological interactions from a complex organ or tissues. OCMs can be used as a testing platform for research into the interactions of chemicals with important biological processes and provide new biological insight as to how tissues and organs function during chemical exposures. When developed and evaluated, OCMs will provide information needed to help predict chemical toxicities in human tissues.