Recap of the OpenTox Summer School 2025
From 21–25 July, OpenTox hosted the OpenTox Summer School 2025, bringing together researchers from academia and industry to explore the practical application of in silico tools in predictive toxicology and risk assessment.
Approximately 35 participants from diverse regions, educational levels, and professional backgrounds joined the summer school. The training materials were designed for scientists and practitioners who may not yet be experienced in modeling but are using or planning to use such methods for data management, analysis, and modeling, and who wish to further develop their skills and confidence in applying relevant tools, models, and software.
The program featured introductory lectures and interactive, hands-on group exercises utilizing open science tools, aligned with our ongoing initiative to integrate OpenTox and related resources into the European Open Science Cloud.
Through a series of engaging sessions, participants gained valuable insights into both the scientific principles and practical approaches in predictive toxicology and risk assessment.
Key highlights from the program included:
- FAIR Data Management, Anastasios Papadiamantis (Entelos)
- A Data Preparation for Predictive Toxicology Modelling and Analysis, Thomas Luechtefeld (Insilica)
- QSAR Models from Simple Chemicals to Advanced Materials, Enrique Llobet & Martina Palomino (ProtoQSAR)
- Data Retrieval supporting Predictive Toxicology, Agnes Karmaus (Syngenta)
- In silico tools for AOP-driven hazard assessment - from target prediction to biological fingerprints, Palle Steen Helmke (University of Vienna)
- OCHEM - platform for winning Challenges, Igor Tetko (Helmholtz Munich and BIGCHEM GmbH)
- PARCopedia - building a community to innovate chemical risk assessment, Matthias Herzler (BfR)
- Reasoning language models for chemistry, Andrew White (FutureHouse)
- In Silico Toxicodynamics with VHP4Safety Services, Marvin Martens, David Poole, Linde Schoenmaker, Filippo Di Tillio (VHP4Safety consortium)
- Application of toxicokinetics in extrapolating in vitro new approach method data to in vivo using open-source online tools, Nynke Kramer (Wageningen University)
- How to set up and use Python machine learning environment for machine learning in chemistry/drug design at the privacy of your own computer, Wojtek Plonka (Fujitsu)
- Applications in Toxicology of predictive model combinations, Eric March Vila (UPF)
- Materials’ Toxicity Investigation using the freely accessible tools of Enalos Cloud Platform, Panagiotis D. Kolokathis (NovaMechanics)
- StopTox: In Silico NAM for Acute Systemic and Topical Toxicity, Cleber Melo-Filho (University of North Carolina)
Stay tuned for more updates and upcoming events from OpenTox.
Some impressions of the Summer School 2025:
