Outreach Activities
In order to facilitate the acceptance of new methods, IIVS actively reaches out to many constituencies. We design workshops and seminars targeted specifically to government regulators, the animal protection community, or the general public.
In the US most of the requirements for ocular and dermal testing come from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Thus IIVS maintains close contact with both agencies, working collaboratively with their scientists to share information on the performance, correct application, and data interpretation for new in vitro methods. IIVS staff members serve on several committees and advisory groups for these agencies.
New methods whose uses are of importance to more than one agency, can have their validation status assessed by ICCVAM (Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods). After submission of a validation document by the method's sponsor, ICCVAM will convene a peer review committee to review the application and determine if the method is valid. Because of this important function, IIVS has worked closely with IICVAM since its inception, with IIVS staff members having been chosen for several peer review committees and serving on the Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods which advises both ICCVAM and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences on priorities for alternatives development.
- Animal Protection Community
The activities of the animal protection community have had a significant role in driving the search for valid alternative, non-animal, methods. IIVS is aware that their involvement can be even more effective with a strong scientific knowledge of not only the capabilities but also the shortcomings of specific in vitro assays. To that end, IIVS has designed and conducted technical workshops, both in the US and in Denmark, specifically for animal protection groups.
The need for useful and validated in vitro assays is clearly international. Extensive information exchange and scientific cooperation is necessary for efficient acceptance and use in vitro systems in the international regulatory arena. IIVS recognizes this and has outreach programs to the European Union through the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM; the Head of ECVAM sits on the IIVS Scientific Advisory Panel) as well as national groups such as the Fund for Replacement of Animals in Medical Experimentation (FRAME; UK), Center for Documentation and Evaluation of Alternative Methods to Animal Experiments (ZEBET; Germany), and various trade associations.
IIVS also lends its assistance to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by serving as scientific experts on numerous technical working groups.
IIVS' outreach to the general public focuses on providing up-to-date, scientifically credible information on its website; providing speakers for local community events, supporting secondary students who desire to conduct cell-based science projects, and lecturing at summer courses for exceptional high school students.
