Current research

The aim of the international PrecisionTox project is to better protect the health of people and the environment by establishing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for chemical safety testing using a mix of genomics, metabolomics, evolutionary theory, quantitative genetics, data science, toxicology, and law. The University of Birmingham leads the €19.3M PrecisionTox project, working with 15 European and US organisations to transform the future of regulatory toxicology. 

• Total budget: € 19,305,583.75
• Start date: February 2021
• End date: January 2026

The EU Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) is seeking to develop next-generation chemical risk assessment to protect health and the environment, and the University of Birmingham joins 200 partners in 28 countries and at the EU level to formulate €400m of investment dedicated to developing the future of chemical safety testing.

• Total budget: €400,000,000.00
• Start date: May 2022
• End date: April 2029

Advanced characterisation methodologies to assess and predict the health and environmental risks of advanced materials (MACRAMÉ)

The MACRAMÉ Project is aligned with EU ambitions to secure the safety and sustainability of new chemicals, materials, products and processes in order to strive for zero pollution and toxic-free environments. MACRAMÉ focusses on methodologies that are applicable to nanomaterials, and widens them to ‘Advanced Materials’ (AdMas) ⎼ a material category that includes but surpasses that of ‘nanomaterials’ – in commercialised products and that are aligned with the future-oriented innovation, safety and sustainability considerations of the OECD, the EU and several of its Member States. 

• Total budget: €4,201,652.50
• Start date: December 2022
• End date: November 2025

Circular and bio-based solutions for the ultimate prevention of plastics in rivers integrated with elimination and monitoring technologies (UPSTREAM)

The UPSTREAM project addresses the targets of the Mission by overcoming challenges related to the monitoring, prevention, elimination, and valorisation of litter, plastics, and microplastics. It couples the technical demonstrations with the analysis of circular (bio-based) value chains, environmental and economic sustainability assessments, and focuses efforts on knowledge co-creation and replication and stakeholders engagement at all levels – industry, government, and citizens.

• Total budget: €7,958,026.65
• Start date: September 2023
• End date: August 2027

Provision of integrated computational approaches for addressing new market goals for the introduction of safe-and-sustainable-by-design chemicals and materials (PINK)

The PINK Project combines computational models and a decision support system (DSS) that exploit the combined power of first-principles simulation and pre-existing data, which – in itself – is further improved by advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology; this provides PINK with the capability to significantly decrease the time needed for SSbD AdMas&Chems development. However, this requires the integration of tools from different and (hitherto) partly independently developed areas. PINK provides this integration in the form of an open innovation platform, the PINK In Silico Hub (PINKISH) based on an advanced Interoperability Framework, giving access to all information and knowledge, and executing SSbD workflows customisable to (a) the application area of the AdMas&Chems, (b) their safety and sustainability concerns of the existing materials, and (c) the status of the relevant development project (from early design ideas to registration and market entry). This is achieved by following a tiered approach, with respect to the throughput and confidence levels of the methods used. 

• Total budget: €6,218,132,55
• Start date: January 2024
• End date: December 2027