{"id":4099,"date":"2024-07-29T14:49:26","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T11:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/?page_id=4099"},"modified":"2026-06-10T15:32:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:32:17","slug":"alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Course description:<\/strong> New approach methodologies (NAMs), comprising in vitro<\/em> and in silico<\/em> approaches, aim at adding an advanced mechanistical understanding in biomedical research. These methods support the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) and have gained increasing importance following regulatory changes, including the European Union\u2019s Directive 2010\/63\/EU, which promotes the reduction of animal experimentation and the FDA’s decision to no longer require animal testing prior to certain human drug trials. This course will provide postgraduate and doctoral students with a comprehensive overview of NAMs applied in biomedical research, pharmaceutical industry, toxicology testing, and regulatory decision making. The course will cover advanced human-relevant in vitro<\/em> models such as organoids and organ-on-chip systems, and in silico<\/em> approaches, including systems biology, machine learning, and AI-based tools for disease modelling and drug discovery. Recent technological developments and scientific findings arising from NAMs will be presented as well as approaches for their regulatory acceptance, and hands-on educational initiatives. Speakers from academia, industry, and regulatory bodies will present their work and discuss how experimental, computational, and AI-driven approaches can be integrated to improve translational relevance and regulatory decision-making. Students will have the opportunity to engage in informal discussions with invited speakers and visit a local biomedical research company to gain practical insights into the implementation of NAMs in industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit points<\/strong>: 1-2 (1 ECTS for attendance at lectures; 2 ECTS for attendance at lectures and a written report) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Course director:<\/strong> \u0160\u00e1rka Lehtonen (UEF \/ A.I. Virtanen Institute), Board member of Finnish 3R for replacement  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Course co-organizers:<\/strong> Stefanie Klima (UEF \/ A.I. Virtanen Institute), Katja Sirvi\u00f6 (Ferring Ventures Oy) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venue: <\/strong>University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, Snellmania building, room SN201, Yliopistonranta 8, Kuopio <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration:\u00a0https:\/\/link.webropolsurveys.com\/S\/684FA91C5AB8CC75<\/a><\/a><\/strong> by 10th<\/sup> August 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAY 1. (25.8.2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

08.30 – 09.00  Registration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

09.00 – 09.15  Welcome<\/strong> \u0160\u00e1rka Lehtonen, University of Eastern Finland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SESSION 1: Education and Basic Science<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

09.15 – 10.00 Advancing microphysiological systems adoption through targeted education and training formats<\/strong> Pauline Jeckel, University of Tubingen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.00 – 10.30  NAMs in toxicological testing<\/strong> Nadine Dreser, University of Konstanz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.30 – 10.50  Break and exhibition<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.50 – 11.20  Chips to omics: microtechnology for tissue-chips and ultra-sensitive diagnostics <\/strong>Prateek Singh, Finnadvance & Proteins1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.20 – 11.50   Novel animal-free hydrogels for investigating human breast cancer<\/strong> Johanna Englund, University of Helsinki      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.50 – 13.00   Lunch (at own cost) and exhibition<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SESSION 2: Regulatory Bodies and Computational Modelling \/ AI<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13.00 – 13.15 Introduction of Fin3R<\/strong> Vassileios Stratoulias, University of Helsinki<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13.15 – 13.45  TBA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13.45 \u2013 14.00 Sponsored talk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14.00 – 14.30  Coffee and exhibition<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

14.30 – 15.00  Use of alternative methods in medicines development \u2013 a regulatory view<\/strong> Jaana Palom\u00e4ki, FIMEA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15.00 – 15.30  Predicting bioactivity via modeling: fact and fiction<\/strong> Antti Poso, University of Eastern Finland & University of Tubingen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15.30 – 16.15 Panel discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAY 2. (26.8.2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SESSION 3: Companies <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

09.00 – 09.30  AI in Drug Development at Pharma: Overview of strategy, applications, and scientific impact <\/strong>Melina Malinen, Orion Pharma<\/p>\n\n\n\n

09.30 – 10.00  From World-Class Research to Real-World Patient Impact at Scale<\/strong> Noora Hujala, Solid IO<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.00 – 10.30  Break and exhibition<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.30 – 11.00\u00a0 Non-animal methods in pre-clinical drug development<\/strong> Jussi Rytkonen, IQVIA Laboratories Finland<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.00 – 11.30  From bench to patient: leveraging patient-derived ex vivo models for preclinical efficacy assessment<\/strong> Olga Gurvich, Ferring Ventures Oy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.30 – 12.00  Refinement in the models that we do not currently have an alternative in vitro model<\/strong> Anni Tenhunen, Experimentica Ltd<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12.00 – 12.15  Wrapping up the course<\/strong> \u0160\u00e1rka Lehtonen, University of Eastern Finland     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

12.15 – 13.00  Lunch (at own cost) and exhibition<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SESSION 4: Company visit<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13.00 – 16.00  Visit to Ferring Ventures Oy and Experimentica Ltd<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 x 45 min 12 students each Katja Sirvi\u00f6 (CMC Manager (Pharm & Manufacturing of ATMP)) and Ritva Tumelius (Senior scientist)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Course description: New approach methodologies (NAMs), comprising in vitro and in silico approaches, aim at adding an advanced mechanistical understanding in biomedical research. These methods support the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) and have gained increasing importance following regulatory changes, including the European Union\u2019s Directive 2010\/63\/EU, which promotes the reduction of animal experimentation and the FDA’s decision to no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1034,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4099","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0 - Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0 - Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Course description: New approach methodologies (NAMs), comprising in vitro and in silico approaches, aim at adding an advanced mechanistical understanding in biomedical research. These methods support the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) and have gained increasing importance following regulatory changes, including the European Union\u2019s Directive 2010\/63\/EU, which promotes the reduction of animal experimentation and the FDA’s decision to no […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T12:32:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/286\/2026\/05\/Ad_picture-1024x681.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"681\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/\",\"name\":\"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0 - Lehtonen lab\\\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/286\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Ad_picture-1024x681.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-29T11:49:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-10T12:32:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/286\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Ad_picture.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/286\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Ad_picture.png\",\"width\":2177,\"height\":1448},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lehtonen lab\\\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sites.uef.fi\\\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0 - Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0 - Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group","og_description":"Course description: New approach methodologies (NAMs), comprising in vitro and in silico approaches, aim at adding an advanced mechanistical understanding in biomedical research. These methods support the 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) and have gained increasing importance following regulatory changes, including the European Union\u2019s Directive 2010\/63\/EU, which promotes the reduction of animal experimentation and the FDA’s decision to no […]","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/","og_site_name":"Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group","article_modified_time":"2026-06-10T12:32:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":681,"url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/286\/2026\/05\/Ad_picture-1024x681.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/","name":"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0 - Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/286\/2026\/05\/Ad_picture-1024x681.png","datePublished":"2024-07-29T11:49:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-10T12:32:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/286\/2026\/05\/Ad_picture.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/286\/2026\/05\/Ad_picture.png","width":2177,"height":1448},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/alternative-non-animal-methods-in-biomedical-research\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alternative non-animal methods in biomedical research\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/","name":"Lehtonen lab\/ Human Brain Disease Modelling Research Group","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1034"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4099"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4297,"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4099\/revisions\/4297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/human-brain-disease-modelling-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}