Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe 2026 Annual Meeting

If you are attending the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe 36th Annual Meeting in Maastricht, please come and say hello to the NC3Rs Toxicology and Regulatory Sciences team members at booth #68 in the exhibition space.

Across the conference, Natalie Burden, Head of NAMs Strategy, and Amy Marriott, Programme Manager for Chemical Safety Assessment will contribute to and shape discussions, building on our work in advancing the 3Rs in chemical and environmental safety assessment. By chairing sessions, delivering talks and presenting posters, they will highlight updates from our ecotoxicology programme, including: advancing confidence in the use of new approach methodologies (NAMs) for endocrine disruption assessment and fish acute toxicity testing; findings from a recent survey of 3Rs regulatory ecotoxicology practices in contract research organisations; and insights from our recent collaborative cross‑sector initiatives, such as the Innovate EcoSafety Summit and the PREMIER project. Natalie will also present and participate in panel discussions on the implementation of animal‑free approaches within European and UK policy frameworks.

NC3Rs sessions, presentations and posters

Monday 18 May, 11.35 – 12.55

Natalie will be chairing Session 1.08 – Democratization of big data: Live demonstrations of computational platforms and data resources to advance chemical safety assessment.

Monday 18 May, 17.00 – 19.00

Natalie will be chairing the Endocrine disruptor testing and risk assessment Interest Group meeting.

Tuesday 19 May, 9.30 – 16.45

Natalie and Amy will be presenting four posters: 

Session 1.03 – Bridging innovation and interpretation: New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and 3Rs alternatives in environmental toxicology

• Assessing the environmental safety of microbial pesticides: Opportunities to apply the 3Rs.
• Surveying regulatory ecotoxicology practices: Trends and 3Rs opportunities in contract research organisations.

Session 7.04 – Bridging the data-to-regulation gap: How to align NAMs with regulatory decision-making

• Advancing confidence in NAMs for fish acute toxicity assessment: Outcomes from the 2025 Innovate EcoSafety Summit.
• Towards NAM-based frameworks for assessing endocrine activity in aquatic vertebrates: Outcomes from the 2025 Innovate EcoSafety Summit.

We are also co-authors on the following posters in Session 7.04 summarising collaborative projects:

• Innovate EcoSafety Summit: A collaborative model for advancing environmental risk assessment – in collaboration with the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS).
• A regulatory window for animal-free environmental risk assessment: Integrating new approach methodologies for legacy pharmaceuticals – as part of our work within the PREMIER project scientific advisory committee and ethical review board.

Wednesday 20 May, 16.00 – 17.00

Animal alternatives Interest Group meeting:

• Amy will be presenting a brief overview of the findings from our recent survey on regulatory ecotoxicology testing trends and 3Rs challenges and opportunities in contract research organisations.
• Natalie will be presenting a summary of the recently published UK Government strategy on replacing animals in science, including the role the NC3Rs is playing in supporting its delivery.

Thursday 21 May, 11.35 – 12.55

Natalie is delivering a talk on 3Rs for endocrine disruption – a stakeholder view and participating in an expert panel discussion in Session 8.01 – Implementation of the European Commission Roadmap towards phasing out animal testing for chemical safety assessment: Advancing endocrine disruption and chronic fish toxicity.