UL Environment experts to serve as advisory board member of Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing

UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science leader, announced today that UL Environment’s Craig Rowlands, PhD, DABT, senior toxicologist, will serve as an advisory board member of Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) and UL Environment’s Anne Bonhoff, PhD, global head of chemistry, will serve as an advisory board member of the European branch (CAAT-Europe) located at the University of Konstanz, Germany.

Led by Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD, the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Professor and Chair for Evidence-Based Toxicology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, CAAT is dedicated to research, validation and advancement of alternative methods of testing, and has been operating in the U.S. for 35 years. CAAT has extended its reach and now provides invaluable opportunities for collaboration between industry partners and research institutions. It is also a means of providing information to key policy makers in both Europe and the U.S. to promote the coordination of regulation on both sides of the Atlantic.

“UL is pleased to be part of the CAAT board because we can further the advancement of research and tools that will reduce reliance on animal testing and enhance the health of the public,” said Rowlands. He continued, “As a 120-year-old safety science company, UL is committed to addressing the safety risks that chemicals can pose, and we look forward to advancing solutions for the market.”

Advisory Board Members participate in discussions on alternative testing methods with noted scientists and key regulators in the U.S. and abroad. The Board also reviews applications to the CAAT research grant program, allowing members the opportunity to consider cutting-edge research and technology in its early stages of development. And the Board is instrumental in setting CAAT’s annual agenda by articulating priorities as they relate to toxicity and product safety testing.

“We are excited to welcome UL Environment to the CAAT board to share their knowledge of chemicals used in products, which will help facilitate discussions between industry, regulatory bodies and the general public,” said Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD. “We are currently collaborating with UL’s scientists and toxicologists on a read across tool that can predict the toxicity of more than 90,000 substances in consumer products that are not catalogued. The tool will provide accurate data on potential health effects of products, thereby achieving our mission to reduce the need for animal testing.”