Newsletter.1 - Focus On HEROIC Partners

The Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT, www.scaht.org) was created in 2009 with the vision to contribute to public health and safety by advancing the science of human toxicology in Switzerland. Supported by the Swiss Confederation and the universities of Basel, Geneva and Lausanne, the SCAHT is a network of scientific professionals who bring insight, skill and experience to critical questions related to human safety of xenobiotics.

The directorate and the regulatory toxicology group are based at the University of Basel (UNIBAS) with research and teaching located at the partner universities. The Centre’s Director is Prof. Martin F. Wilks, a medical toxicologist with an M.D. from the Medical School Hannover, Germany, and a Ph.D. from the University of Surrey, UK.

The Centre has four core fields of activity covering regulatory toxicology, applied research, education and third party services. As an expert resource we provide regulatory toxicology assessments of scientific data to support the federal and local authorities in risk assessment and risk management decisions, and to anticipate new trends in human toxicology which may need to be incorporated into a regulatory framework. SCAHT promotes applied research in human toxicology, with a focus on areas relevant to public health. Our toxicology network consists of research groups based in four Swiss universities and covers key problem areas in human toxicology. Over the last 3 years, the SCAHT’s research programme has focused on core research projects related to exposure and effect biomarkers of toxicity, endocrine disrupters and male infertility, and drug-induced allergic and non-allergic toxicity. The Centre organises and contributes to education and training in human toxicology, in particular undergraduate and advanced postgraduate level education programmes in Toxicology (MSc, MAS), in Food Safety (MAS) and in Regulatory Sciences (CAS). We closely collaborate with other risk-related institutions such as the Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology and the Centre for Xenobiotic Risk Research, particularly in the area of continuing professional development. SCAHT also provides independent toxicology services to support third parties in their risk assessment and risk management decisions related to human safety.