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.
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CAAT Workshops
UPDATED: Alternatives for Developmental Neurotoxicity Testing Meeting Report now available
(from CAAT's 2006 TestSmart DNT Workshop/Symposium)
CAAT has been organizing symposia and workshops on alternatives since 1982. We offered our first technical workshop, on Technical Problems Associated with In Vitro Toxicity Testing Systems, in 1989. Subsequent technical workshops have addressed a range of issues, including structure-activity relationships in predictive toxicology, the validation of toxicity test procedures, and alternatives in monoclonal antibody production.
In 1998 CAAT, in conjunction with the NIH and ILAR, held a two-day workshop on focused on the science, ethics, assessment and alleviation of pain, stress and distress in animals involved in research.
Pain Management and Humane Endpoints Workshop
In 1999, CAAT introduced TestSmart, a new approach to risk assessment. TestSmart is intended to provide a new model for toxicology, one that is both more humane and more predictive. We seek to work with both the U.S. regulatory community and industry to identify newer, better testing methods than those commonly used or accepted today. Our short-term goal is to reduce the number of animals required for testing. Our long-term goal is to provide a process that will protect both people and the environment better than current methods can.
CAAT began by offering TestSmart-HPV chemicals and has offered workshops on TestSmart-Pharmaceuticals and TestSmart-Endocrine Disruptors. TestSmart-Acute Toxicity is under development.
In 2001 CAAT marked its 20th anniversary with a symposium "Celebrating Twenty Years of Humane Science."
CAAT 20th Anniversary Symposium Proceedings
Commemorative booklet: Celebrating Twenty Years of Humane Science