Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser
Abstract
In field of inhalation toxicology there is a considerable lack of predictive and pre-validated in vitro lung models, which may be considered as substitutes for animal testing. A range of realistic, reliable, and predictive 3D lung models have been established over the last few years to investigate the potential hazard of aerosolized (nano)materials. Despite this significant progress in increasing complexity and physiological relevance, the models are still restricted for use in research environments. For the regulatory acceptance of in vitro lung models, robustness, reproducibility, and predictivity need to be demonstrated. Several approaches and efforts are currently ongoing to close these gaps such as projects that address standardization by testing the transferability and reproducibility of in vitro lung cell systems via interlaboratory comparison studies. This presentation will cover the challenges of pre-validation steps in the field of 3D lung model engineering and provide an overview of how these models can be used to assess the hazard assessment of (advanced) material aerosols.
About Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser
Prof. Dr. Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser received her Ph.D. in 1996 in cell biology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ). She worked as a postdoc and group leader at ETH Zürich and University of Bern, Switzerland. She is an expert in the field of cell-nanoparticle interactions, with a particular focus on 3D human lung tissue models. Since 2011, she is the co-chair of BioNanomaterials at the Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, the position is shared equally with Prof. Alke Fink. Prof. Rothen-Rutishauser has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, is an associate editor of “Particle and Fibre Toxicology”, and is currently president of the International Society of Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM).