This is a proposal to organize a conference on Prenatal Programming and Toxicity (PPTox), to be held in Torshavn, Faroe Islands, 28-30 May, 2018. PPTox refers to a burgeoning research field that addresses the crucial developments during early life, where cells and organs become fully functional, in part via epigenetic mechanisms, thus laying the groundwork for the optimal functions of the mature organism. This will be the sixth such conference, with a renewed focus. The site of the PPTox conference is appropriate, as the Faroe Islands are well known for the prospective birth cohort studies, which have contributed important environmental health insights. The First PPTox conference was held in Torshavn in May 2007, and was attended by 200 participants from 21 countries. Prominent international speakers were recruited to author Mini-Reviews for publication in BCPT. The 25 articles in the special issue included a consensus statement, which has been cited more than 90 times so far. Given the impact of the Faroes statement and the continued expansion of the field, we believe that the time has come to return to the Faroe Islands to look back at the first, innovative agenda and the Mini-Reviews to update the major topic areas with a view to their current stage of understanding, the likely developments and the main research needs. All speakers will be asked to draw conclusions on research priorities and on the public health implications of the most recent research findings. The overall aims of the conference are: - to disseminate front-line information on developmental toxicity and fetal programming, in regard to environmental health research; - to enhance discussion and synthesis of information, thereby leading to discussions on improved research approaches to elucidate and unravel ambiguities in current understanding; and - to stimulate improved interaction between research strategies and needs for documentation that can inspire decision-making to protect against adverse effects from developmental exposures to environmental hazards. Building upon the successful experience from previous PPTox conferences, we intend to collaborate with BCPT or another appropriate scientific journal to publish key articles from the 2018 conference. We will also collaborate with WHO, EEA and other international organizations as well as scientific societies. PPTox's multidisciplinary approach and the link to research strategies and decision-making on preventable hazards make this conference a different and innovative endeavor.
This is a proposal to organize the sixth conference on Prenatal Programming and Toxicity (PPTox VI), to be held in Torshavn, Faroe Islands, 28-30 May, 2018. PPTox refers to a burgeoning research field that addresses the crucial developments during early life, where cells and organs become fully functional, in part via epigenetic mechanisms, thus laying the groundwork for the optimal functions of the mature organism. We plan to look back over the last 10 years of research to update the major topic areas with a view to the most promising research strategies and the translation of the new findings into documentation for prevention efforts.
| Grandjean, Philippe; Abdennebi-Najar, Latifa; Barouki, Robert et al. (2018) Timescales of developmental toxicity impacting on research and needs for intervention. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol : |
