Course
"Making sense out of (bio)analytical data in chemical mixture assessment"
Registration is now open for the next course that will take place in April/May 2023.
This course is designed to introduce the fundamentals of in vitro assays.
It is a self-paced online course consisting of 4 modules. Each module focuses on a different aspect of in vitro assays.
Module 1 provides basic knowledge for cell-based bioassays.
Module 2 deals with mixtures and environmental applications of in vitro bioassays.
Module 3 high-lights the importance of quality control and quality assurance of bioassays – after all: Your results are only as good as your methods.
Module 4 covers applications of in vitro assays for the risk assessment of chemicals.
The course can be taken as a 1 to 4 day course – if you do not wish to take the entire course, you can specify this in your registration.
1 day: module 1
2 days: modules 1 & 2
3 days: modules 1 & 2 & 3 or 1 & 2 & 4
4 days: modules 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
The course is based on the book "Bioanalytical Tools in Water Quality Assessment" which you can access by clicking on the link.
Each of the modules consists of some required reading, some recommended reading, exercises and an online session for discussions. In the table below you find these details for each module.
Introduction to course Wednesday 22 March, 4-6 pm CET (UTC+1) via zoom
Please note that on 22 March, Europe still is on regular time (CET = while the US already has daylight saving time (EDT). The week after, Europe switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST) and the time schedule is actually in CEST (not CET as previously announced).
| Module |
Book chapter (re- quired) |
Addi- tional chapters (not re- quired) |
video available at website |
Exer- cises |
Discussion meetings on Zoom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Basic knowledge for cell-based bioassays | |||||
|
I) Introduction to cell-based bioassays II) Principles of cell based bioassays III) Concentration-response modelling |
1 10 7 |
4, 5, 6 |
Unit 1.mp4 Unit 10.mp4 Unit 7.mp4 |
Q&A chap. 1 Q&A chap. 10 Q&A chap. 7 |
Thursday 30 March 2023, 4-6 pm CEST (UTC+2) |
| 2. Mixtures and environmental applications of in vitro bioassays | |||||
|
I) Mixtures II) Design of test batteries and interpretation of bioassay results |
8 13 |
14 |
Unit 8.mp4 Unit 13.mp4 |
Q&A chap. 8 Q&A chap. 13 |
Wednesday 5 April 2023, 4-6 pm CEST (UTC+2) |
| 3. Your results are only as good as your methods | |||||
|
I) Quality control/quality assurance of bioassays II) Sampling and dosing |
11 12 |
15 |
Unit11.mp4 Unit12.mp4 |
Q&A chap. 11 Q&A chap. 12 |
Wednesday 12 April 2023, 4-6 pm CEST (UTC+2) |
| 4. Application of in vitro assays for the risk assessment of chemicals | |||||
|
I) Risk assessment of chemicals II) Water Quality Assessment and whole effluent toxicity testing III) In vitro assays in risk assessment |
2 3 9 |
16 |
Unit2.mp4 Unit3.mp4 Unit9.mp4 |
Q&A chap. 2 Q&A chap. 3 Q&A chap. 9 |
Wednesday 18 April 2023, 4-6 pm CEST (UTC+2) |
The exercises for each chapter can be found on this website on the corresponding chapter pages. For some chapters there is also a presentations and/or a video available which can also be found on those pages.
The course is held by Prof. Beate Escher. Prof. Escher presently teaches at the University of Tübingen and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in the areas of environmental chemistry, toxicology and risk assessment, which are also her research areas.
To register for the course, please send an email to bioanalytical-tools@ufz.de . You will then be given the access code for the discussion meetings on zoom.
After this course, participants have a basic understanding of the fundamentals and the underlying principles of in vitro assays and their application in environmental monitoring.