Peer-Reviewed Publications

      Systems toxicology: The future of risk assessment

      Sauer, J. M.; Hartung, T.; Leist, M.; Knudsen, T. B.; Hoeng, J.; Hayes, A. W.
      Published
      Mar 23, 2015
      DOI
      10.1177/1091581815576551
      PMID
      25804424
      Topic
      Summary

      Risk assessment, in the context of public health, is the process of quantifying the probability of a harmful effect to individuals or populations from human activities. With increasing public health concern regarding the potential risks associated with chemical exposure, there is a need for more predictive and accurate approaches to risk assessment. Developing such an approach requires a mechanistic understanding of the process by which xenobiotic substances perturb biological systems and lead to toxicity. Supplementing the shortfalls of traditional risk assessment with mechanistic biological data has been widely discussed but not routinely implemented in the evaluation of chemical exposure. These mechanistic approaches to risk assessment have been generally referred to as systems toxicology. This Symposium Overview article summarizes 4 talks presented at the 35th Annual Meeting of the American College of Toxicology.