Xeno-Free Reagents in Chemical Assessments

Tuesday, June 2, 2026
10:00 am to 12:15 pm ET / 14:00 to 16:15 UTC

Featuring:

Clive Roper, BSc, PhD, CBiol, CSci, ERT, FRSB
Director, Roper Toxicology Consulting Limited

Angela Hvitved, PhD
Director, Alternatives Research & Development Foundation (ARDF)

John Curd, MSc, PhD
CEO & Co-Founder, PeptiMatrix

Katharina Nitsche, MSc
PhD Candidate, Wageningen University & Research

Stina Oredsson, PhD
Professor Emerita & Researcher, Lund University

Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, PhD (moderator)
Regulatory Testing Specialist, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)

Training Overview

Researchers commonly rely on animal-based reagents for their work; from biomedical science to toxicology—even human-based in vitro assays—scientists regularly use them in their protocols. However, these reagents introduce unnecessary variation within data that animal-free alternatives can avoid. In this webinar, experts in the field will discuss some of the problems with animal-based components and highlight the advantages of xeno-free reagents. Attendees will also hear from experts who are successfully using alternatives to animal-based reagents to improve the reliability of their data. This training will conclude with ample time for discussion amongst the presenters and an audience-led Q&A.

Presentation Topics & Learning Objectives

Clive Roper: Improving data with Animal Free Chemically Defined Media (AFCD)

Scope, problems, and innate variability of animal-based components
Advantages of chemically defined media
Overview of animal free solutions

Angela Hvitved: Advantages of Advocating Xeno-free

Why should we invest?

John Curd: Animal-free 3D cell culture for more reproducible science

The problem with animal-derived matrices and how it impacts your data
The solution: fully-defined and reproducible matrices
Example data and potential applications

Katharina Nitsche: Exploring animal-free hydrogels under static and dynamic culture conditions with HepaRG cells

Dynamic culturing, not only with MPS
Basal liver function and how to potentially improve them with alternative hydrogels

Stina Oredsson: Beyond Black Box Cell Culture: 2D and 3D Models of Normal and Cancer Cells in Open-Source, Animal-Product-Free Media

Presenter Bios

Clive Roper, BSc, PhD, graduated with a PhD (in vitro dermal absorption, 1994) followed by a post-doctoral position (human nutrition). In 1996, he joined CRL performing in vitro skin penetration studies, followed by promotion to Director, In Vitro Toxicology, leading a diverse in vitro testing services portfolio. In 2021, Clive started a consulting business aiding clients in gaining adoption and regulatory acceptance of NAMs. Clive is Chairperson of PeptiMatrix, a board member of 3RsC, NC3Rs and ESTIV (VP), a member of the Roundtable of Toxicology Consultants and Society of Toxicology, a European Registered Toxicologist, and a chartered Fellow of Royal Society of Biology.

Angela Hvitved, PhD, is Director of the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation (ARDF). Dr. Hvitved manages ARDF’s grant programs and policy activities aimed at promoting the development and implementation of non-animal research methods. Previously, she was a scientific review consultant for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), managing the review of clinical trial proposals. Earlier in her career, Dr. Hvitved held positions in both policy and regulatory offices in the federal government. She served as a Public Health Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and was a Health Science Policy Analyst at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she covered a broad range of policy areas. Dr. Hvitved received a PhD in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University and a PhD in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.

John Curd, MSc, PhD, has a background in translational research and innovation strategy. He has led the commercialisation of academic breakthroughs into scalable, real-world solutions and is the CEO of PeptiMatrix. PeptiMatrix is a team of matrix biologists, cancer scientists, toxicologists, and biomaterial engineers who have worked together to develop an innovative, animal-free solution for 3D cell culture. Their mission is to empower researchers to achieve more predictive and reproducible results with their animal-free hydrogels, delivering deeper insight into the mechanisms of disease and accelerating the development of safer and more effective therapies. Under his leadership, PeptiMatrix has secured major grant funding, launched multiple tissue-specific hydrogel products, and attracted significant investment to accelerate its mission of transforming in vitro research and reducing reliance on animal models.

Katharina Nitsche is a PhD candidate in the Toxicology Division at Wageningen University & Research, specialising in the implementation of microphysiological systems into Next-Generation Risk Assessment. In collaboration with Unilever SEAC, her research addresses critical challenges associated with microphysiological systems, from quantifying chemical losses due to non-specific binding to modelling chemical-induced cholestatic injury with different cell culture platforms. In 2024, she joined the Rusyn Group at Texas A&M University to contribute to the public-private TEX-VAL consortium that assesses microphysiological systems within the context of safety decision-making.

Stina Oredsson, PhD, has worked with cell culture–based experimental models since 1980 at Lund University, Sweden, where she remains active as Professor Emerita. Throughout her career, she has held several administrative positions, received academic awards, and published numerous scientific papers. However, she regards teaching as her most significant and rewarding contribution to Lund University. Professor Oredsson has been extensively engaged in undergraduate, graduate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral education, providing both theoretical and practical training in cell culture techniques. Her teaching and research focus on applying cell culture models to questions in toxicology and fundamental cancer research.

Eryn Slankster-Schmierer, PhD, is a regulatory testing specialist at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, where she works to replace animal testing on a global scale with more effective, human relevant, nonanimal methods. She does this by coordinating the NURA (NAM Use for Regulatory Application) program which provides free toxicology training to regulators and scientists throughout industry, government, and academia. She is also the coordinator for the International Council on Animal Protection in OECD Programmes (ICAPO), working globally to advocate for the adoption of non-animal methods into OECD programs.

Additional resources will be made available at www.pcrm.org/ReagentTrainingResources.

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