Foreword
Given the ever-increasing panoply of human and animal drugs, food products, and
environmental chemicals, the need for science-based risk/safety regulation is
greater than ever. From a pharmaceutical perspective, accurate and effective toxicity
evaluation is critical in several areas such as dose–response characteristics including
organ exposure and first-in-human dosages, reproductive and carcinogenicity toxicity, exposure assessment, and biological pathway characterization. Food product
assessment requires understanding of gastrointestinal delivery, metabolic breakdown into metabolites, context of use, and dietary exposures. Lastly, environmental
toxicity necessitates system-level approaches considering chemical mixtures and
chemical transport into target organs in multiple species. Despite these extensive
efforts, idiosyncratic toxicities can occur, suggesting the need for personalized
toxicity approaches.
Conventional approaches along with some new methodologies like “organor-a-chip” have been developed to address key questions in this area. Many of these
approaches are limited in cost, time, translational accuracy, and scalability.
Consequently, scientific endeavors in the computational space have inspired new
and powerful tools, ushering in the era of computational toxicology. This exciting
field facilitates the paradigm shift from bench-based toxicology to the computational assessment and will provide regulators globally with the benefit of fast,
accurate, and low-cost methods to supplement conventional toxicity assessment.
Moreover, integrative predictive approaches may enhance personalized toxicological prediction to prevent idiosyncratic events.
To inform not only regulators around the world but also key stakeholders,
industry, and academic trainees, this textbook provides a deep dive into computational toxicological approaches needed to advance toxicological regulation
through research. It includes sections outlining theory, methods, applications, as
well as tangible examples and covers development through implementation.
Information in this book will apprise the reader with a greater understanding of
computer-based toxicological predictive capabilities. Information in this book will
also enable the reader to develop their own cutting-edge computational strategy to
address a toxicological question of interest. The provided information may also
v
Given the ever-increasing panoply of human and animal drugs, food products, and
environmental chemicals, the need for science-based risk/safety regulation is
greater than ever. From a pharmaceutical perspective, accurate and effective toxicity
evaluation is critical in several areas such as dose–response characteristics including
organ exposure and first-in-human dosages, reproductive and carcinogenicity toxicity, exposure assessment, and biological pathway characterization. Food product
assessment requires understanding of gastrointestinal delivery, metabolic breakdown into metabolites, context of use, and dietary exposures. Lastly, environmental
toxicity necessitates system-level approaches considering chemical mixtures and
chemical transport into target organs in multiple species. Despite these extensive
efforts, idiosyncratic toxicities can occur, suggesting the need for personalized
toxicity approaches.
Conventional approaches along with some new methodologies like “organor-a-chip” have been developed to address key questions in this area. Many of these
approaches are limited in cost, time, translational accuracy, and scalability.
Consequently, scientific endeavors in the computational space have inspired new
and powerful tools, ushering in the era of computational toxicology. This exciting
field facilitates the paradigm shift from bench-based toxicology to the computational assessment and will provide regulators globally with the benefit of fast,
accurate, and low-cost methods to supplement conventional toxicity assessment.
Moreover, integrative predictive approaches may enhance personalized toxicological prediction to prevent idiosyncratic events.
To inform not only regulators around the world but also key stakeholders,
industry, and academic trainees, this textbook provides a deep dive into computational toxicological approaches needed to advance toxicological regulation
through research. It includes sections outlining theory, methods, applications, as
well as tangible examples and covers development through implementation.
Information in this book will apprise the reader with a greater understanding of
computer-based toxicological predictive capabilities. Information in this book will
also enable the reader to develop their own cutting-edge computational strategy to
address a toxicological question of interest. The provided information may also
v