Dr Brinda Poojary is the Science Advisor for the Research and Toxicology Department of Humane Society International – India.  Dr Poojary has a PhD from Mumbai University in Zoology. Having worked as an embryologist for more than half a decade, her PhD concentrated on the external physical and chemical factors affecting male infertility. Being a proponent of human-centric science from the start, her research was designed to study the effects of various factors only on human spermatozoa, rather than the commonly and widely used mice models. A firm believer in innovation and the ethical practice of science, she now applies her research knowledge to forward 21st century human-focused approachetoxicology studies and to bring about regulatory changes for the same.

Abstract OpenTox Asia 2019

Adverse Outcome Pathways – A holistic Tool for Better Predictivity & Eliminating Animal Usage

21st century science is moving away from the obsolete way of depending on animals for prediction and towards innovative and scientifically advanced new approach methodologies. There is growing need to replace animal methods with time-efficient, cost - effective assessment methods in order to enable the early recognition of potentially toxic molecules and reduce attrition rates encountered in drug testing.

There is more emphasis on in-depth explorations of mechanisms underlying toxicological actions which then identify key events in toxicity pathways. These can then be used to devise specific in-vitro tests to measure those events. The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) concept is one example of this new approach to toxicity testing and safety assessment. An AOP is comprised of a molecular initiating event, key events, key event relationships, and adverse outcomes. This can be used as a tool for collecting, organizing, and evaluating existing knowledge that describes the biology that links a molecular level perturbation of a biological system to an adverse outcome. The AOP framework has several different possible applications, from supporting weight of evidence arguments, designing integrated testing strategies for hazard and risk assessment, to informing the design of predictive models. This session will concentrate on the history, overview and importance of AOPs, OECD guidelines on development of an AOP, and upcoming funding opportunities in India.