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National Academy Releases Report On
Incorporating
Emerging Science In Risk Assessment
In the current age of big data sets and increased
computational power, many scientific fields are now faced with new
tools and the challenges that come along with them. In the context of
human health risk as a result of chemical exposure, risk has
historically been assessed using animal models extrapolated to human
scenarios. Many of the limitations to this approach are being
addressed by recent advancements in a host of technologies that allow
researchers to ask entirely new and complex questions to better assess
the risk posed by environmental and chemical exposures.
Addressing the Advancement of Chemical Risk Assessment
Published in early January, a National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine report outlines the very advancements that
are improving and complementing the data from whole animal models such
as new genetic techniques, high-throughput in vitro tests, and
computational modeling. Chair of the report committee, Jonathan
Samet, epidemiologist at the University of Southern California,
says the report "... identifies critical challenges to be addressed in
using 21st century science to better characterize the risks of
chemicals for human health." Data from these new approaches can
improve risk evaluations by doing a better job of accounting for the
high degree of disease complexity related to exposure and causation.
Building on Increased Awareness
The report comes on the heels of twoprevious reports (Toxicity
Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy and
Exposure Science in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy).
Written at a time when many began to realize how the advancements in
biology and basic science might improve our understanding of chemical
risk, these two reports spurred the scientific community to apply more
advanced methods to chemical risk evaluation. Knowing the full
potential of the new techniques and data now rapidly being generated,
last month’s National Academy Report was commissioned to “recommend
the best ways to incorporate the emerging science into risk-based
evaluations.” Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Food And Drug Administration, National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, and National Center for Advancing Translational
Sciences, the report focuses on the scientific advances impacting
several related fields: Exposure Science, Toxicology, and
Epidemiology. Within each field, technology is driving new directions
with respect to integrating emerging evidence that will improve the
four elements of risk assessment: hazard identification, dose-response
assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.
Examples of 21st Century Science
Molecular advancements in -omics technologies are allowing
scientists to get a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of
biological responses, and identify biomarkers of exposure that are
critical in connecting the dots from exposure to outcome.
Computational advances are improving the ability to estimate risk from
novel chemicals and exposures and probe chemical interactions, as well
as helping model the intricacy of individual responses based on
multi-route exposure and physiological variability. Lastly, new
analytical techniques and assays are helping characterize chemical and
environmental exposures by both broadening the scope of chemical
exposure data (non-targeted analyses) and also improving targeted
analyses.
Impact on Epidemiology
Epidemiology, due to its interdisciplinary nature, is benefiting from
developments in all of the above areas. Molecular advancements in the
-omics technologies (in particular) are changing the way
epidemiology is practiced and strengthening our understanding of the
biological plausibility of exposure and disease. While genome wide
association studies have been helpful in understanding the genetic
basis disease in some situations, now epigenomics, proteomics,
transcriptomics, and metabolomics are adding enormous amounts of
additional data for epidemiologists to consider in their efforts to
improve public health.
Integration of Advanced Approaches
Advanced approaches can be combined with powerful results, but as the
field matures these advanced techniques necessitate a host of new
solutions in and of themselves. For example, new statistical methods
must be used to properly analyze and interpret the data.
Infrastructure needs to be in place to handle the loads of samples and
biobank data produced by these integrative studies. Harmonization and
validation of platforms and results is required to not only assist
with basic data comparison but also to potentially allow for better
data-sharing and powerful meta-analyses. And perhaps more
importantly, it also requires collaborations between experts to
complete the picture.
A
Multidisciplinary Path Forward
The report summary concludes by emphasizing this last piece; the
necessity for a multidisciplinary approach. “Exposure scientists,
toxicologists, epidemiologists, and scientists in other disciplines
need to collaborate closely to ensure that the full potential of 21st
century science is realized to help to solve the complex environmental
and public-health problems that society faces.” Data generation and
collection is occurring at an unprecedented pace and the only way to
keep up will be for the experts to work together to tackle these
challenges. “Although the challenges to achieving the visions of the
earlier reports often seem daunting, 21st century science holds great
promise for advancing risk assessment and ultimately for improving
public health and the environment.”
EurekAlert! Coverage:
https://tinyurl.com/jhw4m3m
Link to Report:
https://tinyurl.com/jyvdqk9
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