OpenTox Summer School 2026

Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) organise mechanistic knowledge from a molecular initiating event through a series of Key Events (KEs) to an adverse outcome, but connecting them to real molecular measurements remains a practical bottleneck. This session introduces the molecular AOP (molAOP) workflow through two free, browser-based tools developed within VHP4Safety. The Molecular AOP Builder curates and approves mappings between AOP KEs and biological pathways (WikiPathways) and Gene Ontology terms, using language-model similarity scoring to suggest candidates for expert review. The Molecular AOP Analyser consumes those curated mappings to test gene-expression datasets for KE enrichment (Fisher's exact test or GSEA, with false-discovery-rate correction), visualises the results as interactive AOP networks, and generates shareable reports.

After a short introduction to the AOP framework and the molAOP concept, participants work through a guided demonstration and hands-on exercises using datasets provided in the tools. Attendees will run an enrichment analysis end to end, interpret the resulting KE network, and curate a KE-pathway mapping using guest accounts. No installation, prior AOP experience, or programming is required; only a laptop and a web browser. By the end, participants will be able to map molecular data onto AOP KEs and interpret the outcome in a weight-of-evidence context.