Webinar series: Non-animal approaches across Europe
The Togeth3R Consortium is a group of eight 3Rs centres from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Members of the group have been collaborating since 2020 to host webinar series showcasing 3Rs research and innovation across Europe.
This new 2025 edition will showcase non-animal approaches in research fields associated with high levels of animal use across four sessions: infection and immunity (26.02.25), oncology (05.03.25), neuroscience (12.03.25) and cardiovascular science (19.03.25). Each webinar will feature three researchers presenting the scientific and 3Rs benefits of their approach, before a panel discussion on the latest developments and overcoming barriers to adoption. From organoids to microphysiological systems, using patient-derived samples or computational modelling, the series will showcase the efforts across Europe to deliver better science and replace animal models.
Accreditation for 0.5 day of continuing education from the Swiss Association of Cantonal Veterinarians for attendees who participate in at least 3 out of 4 webinar sessions in their entirety.
Register now:
Infection and immunity: Wednesday 26 February, 14.00 – 15.20 (CET)
This webinar explores the development and application of non-animal approaches in infection and immunity, including organoids to research host-microbe interactions, using human cells in vaccine development and digital twins of autoimmune disease.
Prof Sina Bartfeld – Technische Universität Berlin, Germany: Infection, Innate Immune Signaling and Cancer in the Gut - Organoids as models.
Dr Rachel Tanner – University of Oxford, UK: A cross-species ex vivo assay for tuberculosis vaccine testing.
Prof Anna Niarakis – University of Toulouse III, Paul Sabatier, Center of Integrative Biology, France: Building a virtual twin of the rheumatic joint.
Oncology: Wednesday 5 March, 14.00 – 15.20 (CET)
This webinar explores the development and application of non-animal approaches in oncology, including organoids to study lung cancer and leukaemia, microphysiological systems and using patient samples to improve translation.
Dr Sanae El Harane – University of Geneva, Switzerland: AirLiwell technology: development and perspectives in oncology replacement.
Dr Deepali Pal – University of Bristol, UK: Patient-derived leukaemia organoids.
Prof John Greenman – University of Hull, UK: Tissue-on-chip models using patient biopsies to study patient response.
Neuroscience: Wednesday 12 March, 14.00 – 15.20 (CET)
This webinar explores the development and application of non-animal approaches in neuroscience, including using human neurons and organoids to better understand and treat Alzheimer’s disease and computational models of neuronal networks.
Prof Ivan Nalvarte – Karolinska Institutet, Sweden: Brain organoids to study Alzheimer’s disease – a comparative approach.
Prof Selina Wray – University College London, UK: Human neuronal models of Alzheimer’s disease for understanding disease mechanisms and developing novel therapies.
Prof Dmitri Rusakov and Dr Leonid Savtchenko – University College London, UK: BRAINCELL, a computational platform to explore in silico realistic 3D brain cells and their interactions.
Cardiovascular science: Wednesday 19 March, 14.00 – 15.20 (CET)
This webinar explores the development and application of non-animal approaches in cardiovascular science, including using human cardiac tissue and stem cells and computational modelling of cardiovascular disease.
Prof Milica Radisic – University of Toronto, Canada/Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Germany: Advanced heart-on-a-chip models in disease modeling and drug screening.
Prof Chris Denning – University of Nottingham, UK: Human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for cardiotoxicity screens.
Dr Caglar Ozturk – University of Southampton, UK: High fidelity computational approaches to model cardiovascular diseases.