Topics Webinar | Animal-Free Innovation in Cosmetics and Drugs Safety Assessment
Topics Webinar | Animal-Free Innovation in Cosmetics and Drugs Safety Assessment
Part of the Topics Webinar series
Part of the MDPI Topics Webinars series
19 September 2025
3Rs, animal-free, replacement, validation, in vitro, in silico NAMs
Welcome from the Chair
Webinar on Topics
Animal-free Innovation in Cosmetics and Drugs Safety Assessment
On behalf of the journals Life and Cosmetics, it is a great pleasure to invite you to the following webinar: “Animal-Free Innovation in Cosmetics and Drugs Safety Assessment.”
This important event brings together leading voices and cutting-edge perspectives on the transition towards more ethical, sustainable, and scientifically advanced methods in safety testing. We are honored to be joined by a distinguished panel of experts, including Dr. Katrin Herrmann, a passionate advocate and specialist in biomedical ethics and humane science; Professor Emanuela Corsini, renowned for her work on immunotoxicology and human-relevant safety models; and Professor Thomas Hartung, a global pioneer in toxicology and alternative testing methods.
Together, they will explore the progress, challenges, and future of animal-free approaches in ensuring the safety of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals—topics that are not only scientifically urgent, but ethically imperative.
Together, we will make this webinar an opportunity to learn, engage, and contribute to a more humane and innovative future in safety science.
Date: 22 September 2025
Time: 3:00PM CEST | 9:00 PM CST (Asia) | 9:00 AM EDT
Webinar ID: 892 4787 8720
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Event Chair
Department Biochemistry and Physiology, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
Full Professor of Physiology at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona. Her scientific work is primarily dedicated to the development and validation of in vitro models as alternatives to animal experimentation, with particular emphasis on ocular and skin irritation, as well as skin sensitization and photosensitization. She has served as a member of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) and currently contributes to the OECD expert groups on skin sensitization and eye and skin irritation. She is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She has also played a leading role in the design and delivery of academic and professional training programs on non-animal testing strategies, both at the University of Barcelona and at various academic institutions in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and other Latin American countries.
Invited Speakers
PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Freie Universität Berlin and veterinary specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law. She is a Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), where she directs the Beyond Classical Refinement and Education programs. In this role, she leads international training initiatives that support the transition toward human-relevant, non-animal research methods. Dr. Herrmann’s work brings together science, education, and policy to foster a research culture grounded in animal ethics and a sense of moral responsibility toward nonhuman animals. She teaches next-generation approaches such as organ-on-chip systems and systems-biology ‘omics’ that can transform biomedical research and regulatory decision-making. Through her global advocacy and academic leadership, she advances a more compassionate and scientifically sound vision for the future of research and testing.
Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
Emanuela Corsini, PhD in Food and Environmental Toxicology, is Full Professor of Toxicology at the University of Milan. Her research focuses on refining alternative in vitro immunotoxicity tests and elucidating molecular mechanisms of immunomodulatory compounds. Her work includes studying allergens, irritants, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, and nanoparticles. She has authored over 240 publications and contributed to national and international projects. Active in scientific organizations (ESAC, EFSA, EMA, SCCS, OECD), she serves on editorial boards of toxicology journals. Secretary General of IUTOX since 2019, she became EUROTOX President-Elect in 2023
Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
Thomas Hartung, MD PhD, is professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Environmental Health and Engineering as well as Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, the Whiting School of Engineering and the School of Medicine In Cellular and Molecular Medicine, as well as Georgetown University, Washington D.C. in Environmental Metrology and Policy, and University of Konstanz, Germany in Pharmacology and Toxicology; he also is Director of Centers for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) in the US and Europe and Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in AI. He authored 730+ scientific publications with 52,000+ citations (h-index 124) and his COURSERA toxicology classes had 22,000+ active learners.
Registration
This is a FREE webinar, livestreaming on Microsoft Teams. After registering on the google form, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Program
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CEST |
Time in EDT |
|
Prof. Dr. Maria Pilar Vinardell (Chair) Chair Introduction |
3:00 - 3:10 pm |
9:00 - 9:10 am |
|
Dr. Kathrin Herrmann (Speaker 1) Recent Advances in Non-Animal Methods for Cosmetics and Drug Safety Assessment – from Scientific Innovation to Regulatory Uptake |
3:10 - 3:30 pm |
9:10 - 9:30 pm |
|
Prof. Dr. Emanuela Corsini (Speaker 2) Innovative 3R Approaches To Skin And Photo-sensitization Testing For Cosmetic Ingredients |
3:30 - 3:50 pm |
9:30 - 9:50 pm |
|
Prof. Dr Thomas Hartung (Speaker 3) Alternatives To Animal Testing – See What The Ugly Duckling Has Become! |
3:50 - 4:10 pm |
9:50 - 10:10 pm |
|
Q&A |
4:10 - 4:25 pm |
10:10 - 10:25 pm |
|
Closing of Webinar Prof. Dr. Maria Pilar Vinardell (Chair) |
4:25 - 4:30 pm |
10:25 - 10:30 pm |
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
