The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 1990-1991

(1) Molecular Assay for Teratogens Using Amniotic Fluid Cells
(2) Detection of Teratogens by Utilization of β-Gal

Nicole Bournias-Vardiabasis, PhD
Foundation for the California State University, San Bernardino, California

Many agents harm a developing fetus and researchers need a reliable method to determine if a chemical is teratogenic or if injury is by other means. Bournias-Vardiabasis' work with a model - Drosophila embryonic cells - suggests a correlation between teragenicity and levels of the enzyme beta galactosidase. She's developing a simple assay for the enzyme. She also plans to transfer the Drosophila gene responsible for the response into cultures of human chorionic cells to see if the human cells respond similarly to test chemicals.