RIFM Highlights Cutting-Edge Chemical Clustering at Society of Toxicology’s Annual Meeting
3.11.25
Experts to Share Read-Across Strategies for discrete chemicals and natural complex substances
The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) will showcase its latest advancements in chemical clustering and read-across strategies at the Society of Toxicology’s (SOT) 64th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo in Orlando, Florida, March 16–20, 2025.
On Tuesday, March 18, Senior Scientists Holger Moustakas, PhD, and Jake Muldoon, PhD, will present their poster, “Chemical Clustering and Read-Across in Natural Complex Substance (NCS) Safety Assessments,” from 9:15 to 11:45 AM EDT.
“This study builds on our work with discrete chemicals,” Dr. Moustakas explained. “Clustering helps prioritize ingredients, apply read-across—leveraging data from one ingredient to assess another—and advance predictive toxicology. We believe this approach will bring similar benefits to NCS materials.”
Dr. Muldoon added, “Our pilot study revealed that clustering by genus alone is insufficient. Factors like plant part and processing method significantly impact an NCS material’s composition. We’re excited to share our findings and gather valuable feedback at SOT.”
On Thursday, March 20, from 8:30 to 11:15 AM EDT, Dr. Moustakas will co-chair the workshop “Unlocking the Power of Read-Across for Safety Assessment” alongside Dr. Cathy Lester of Procter & Gamble. He will also present on the “Development and Application of Structural Activity Groups (SAGs) for Chemical Clustering and Read-Across in Nonanimal Safety Assessments.”
“I am excited to co-chair this read-across session with our collaborator from Procter & Gamble, Dr. Cathy Lester,” Dr. Moustakas said. “We’ve seen growing interest in read-across at SOT, and this session brings together experts from industry, academia, and government to explore how read-across is applied to assess safety across diverse chemical spaces.”