Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

1.10 - Fish Model Species in Human and Environmental Toxicology

Description

Keywords: Aquatic, Molecular Toxicology, Predictive Toxicology

Fish models are central tools in human and environmental toxicology. Over the past decade, fish species such as Zebrafish and Medaka have become well-established in mechanistic (eco)toxicology, offering a unique insight into whole-organism responses to chemical stressors. Their use spans developmental biology, neurobiology, endocrinology, and immunotoxicology, making them powerful vertebrate models to bridge mechanistic insights with population-level effects relevant for human and environmental health.
Recent innovations—ranging from gene editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR-Cas9) and transgenic lines to advanced omics and high-content imaging—have greatly enhanced the mechanistic depth and throughput of fish-based studies. These advances are being used not only to uncover novel Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs), but also to refine effect-based monitoring and effect-directed analysis (EDA) of complex environmental mixtures. Notably, fish early life stages (FELS) continue to serve as a highly relevant, ethically acceptable, and scalable in vivo tool with predictive value for both ecological and human health risk assessment.

There is also renewed interest in applying fish models to study developmental toxicity and disease etiology relevant to humans, thanks to the evolutionary conservation of key molecular and physiological pathways. As chemical risk assessment increasingly shifts towards mechanism-based and non-animal approaches, fish embryo models occupy a unique niche: they allow for complex, system-level insights while supporting new approach methodologies (NAMs) development and validation in accordance with the 3R concept.

Being absent in 2025, we are pleased to bring this session back to SETAC! We aim to bring together an interdisciplinary community of researchers using fish models to tackle current and future challenges in environmental and human toxicology. This session will showcase recent advances in fish-based (eco)toxicological research, including novel model systems, testing strategies, endpoints, and high-throughput screening tools. We invite contributions on:
Toxicity of single chemicals and defined mixtures;
Mode-of-action and AOP development through omics and systems biology;
Effect-based monitoring, in situ and field studies;
Applications in regulatory science and human health risk assessment;
Novel cell-based fish models as replacement for fish tests;
Novel experimental approaches using fish embryos

Chairs

Jorke Kamstra Utrecht University Netherlands
Lisa Baumann VU University Amsterdam (VU) Netherlands
Laia Navarro-Martin Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research - Spanish National Research Council (IDAEA-CSIC) Spain