SYNnet Stories

Since its inception, PARC has expanded its synergies with leading institutions and research initiatives, strengthening SYNnet as a platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange, and scientific advancement.

One key collaboration is with the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) ↗, a globally recognised non-profit organisation that brings together experts from academia, industry, and government to advance health and environmental safety. This partnership aims to bridge the gap between science and policy, ensuring that the latest research informs risk assessment frameworks and regulatory decisions.

Another important addition is the RISK-HUNT3R project ↗, a European initiative focused on next-generation chemical risk assessment. By prioritising non-animal testing strategies and integrating innovative methodologies, this synergy supports the development of modernised approaches aligned with evolving regulatory expectations.

The GOLIATH project ↗, which specialises in the assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), contributes essential expertise in developing alternative testing approaches. Given the increasing concern about the impact of EDCs on health and the environment, this collaboration enhances PARC’s ability to address emerging regulatory challenges in this area.

A further synergy was established with the INSIGHT project ↗, which focuses on refining chemical exposure assessment and toxicological evaluation. As attention grows on the long-term impacts of chemical exposure, INSIGHT’s contributions help to strengthen the scientific foundation of chemical risk management in Europe.

The collaboration with the NORMAN Association ↗ — a network promoting the exchange of information on emerging contaminants — connects laboratories, research institutions, and regulators. NORMAN supports the harmonisation of monitoring strategies, risk assessment methodologies, and early warning systems. Its partnership with PARC reinforces efforts to identify and manage chemical risks through shared data and coordinated research activities.

The ASPIS Cluster ↗ is working on animal-free safety assessment of chemicals, and its results are closely related to some PARC projects. Synergies exist in the focus on creating alternative testing approaches that reduce the reliance on animal models and on validating and scaling quantitative systems toxicology and AOPs across different chemicals and biological contexts.

KIST-EUROPE ↗ is the European branch of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. It conducts research in environment, energy, and bio and nanoengineering. It also supports Korean businesses in European regulatory compliance (REACH/CLP). Its collaboration with PARC provides expertise on chemicals leachable from plastics.

TerraChem ↗ is a three-year project (2023-2026), aiming to understand chemical pollution in terrestrial wildlife in Europe. It brings together real-world monitoring, modelling of chemicals, source-to-damage pathways, applications for chemical risk prevention and mitigation, and big data management for early warning of emerging chemical risks. The synergy between TerraChem and PARC focuses on novel methodologies, regulatory recommendations and data exchange in the field of NGERA: chemical monitoring, mixture assessment, environmental risk assessment and biodiversity, Early Warning System and science to policy.

The Antarctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme ↗ (AnMAP) has been established to facilitate sufficient and reliable chemical data from the Antarctic region, in support of global chemical policy. AnMAP’s synergy with PARC is based on the sharing of data and of expertise on sampling and analysis.

The ONTOX ↗ Consortium aims to provide a functional and sustainable solution for advancing human risk assessment of chemicals without the use of animals in line with the principles of 21^st century toxicity testing and next generation risk assessment. A synergy was established with PARC to identify (eco)toxicology laboratories contributing to the establishment of the (eco)toxicology laboratory network.

With the European Chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science, ISES Europe ↗ - more specifically with the Human Biomonitoring Working Group ↗, a synergy was established to share knowledge about laboratory quality assurance and exchange information with multidisciplinary experts in chemical analysis and quality assurance. This network encompasses professionals from various fields, such as exposure sciences, environmental, and occupational epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, occupational hygienists, biologists, analytical chemists, risk assessors, toxicologists, as well as policy makers and specialists from European Agencies such as EFSA, ECHA, EEA, among others.

LABWEB – VUP, Network of German Laboratories ↗ is a German association of testing and calibration laboratories. The objective of the synergy created with PARC is to share information about laboratories of chemical analysis. LABWEB can provide information about more than 700 German laboratories working in different domains.

The MERLON project ↗ focuses on the development of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity (DART) testing, with particular emphasis on endocrine disruption. It also develops Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) and case studies demonstrating how AOP frameworks can support NAM-based identification of endocrine disruptors and chemical testing. The synergy with PARC promotes knowledge exchange on NAM development, AOP implementation, and their application to next-generation chemical risk assessment.

The MACRAMÉ project ↗ aims to improve the assessment of advanced materials by developing harmonised approaches for generating, managing, and reporting scientific data throughout the material life cycle. The collaboration with PARC focuses on the harmonisation of metadata and data reporting, contributing to improved data interoperability, traceability, and reuse, while supporting the implementation of FAIR data principles across both initiatives.

The CHIASMA project ↗ is developing and validating New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to improve chemical safety assessment while advancing data management practices to support their regulatory uptake. Its collaboration with PARC promotes the exchange of knowledge on NAM development, validation, and harmonised data management approaches, contributing to more robust and transparent next-generation risk assessment.

The PINK project ↗ supports the implementation of the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework through the harmonisation of data models, ontologies, and digital tools. The synergy with PARC focuses on aligning data structures and semantic interoperability, facilitating the exchange of information and supporting the development of harmonised approaches for chemical risk assessment and sustainability.

The SynAir-G project ↗ addresses indoor air quality and its impacts on human health, with particular attention to children's exposure to air pollutants. The collaboration with PARC strengthens the exchange of knowledge between researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders, increasing the visibility of PARC's work on health-based guideline values for indoor air pollutants and supporting the uptake of scientific evidence in policy discussions.

These collaborations reflect PARC’s mission to connect scientific research with regulatory processes, ensuring that innovative approaches to chemical safety translate into tangible policy improvements.