Sandra Coecke's Biography

Sandra Coecke, Laboratory Leader, Joint Research Center

1989 Degree of University Engineer in Chemistry and Agricultural Sciences (Specialisation Biotechnology) followed by PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences Free University of Brussels, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy. Joined in 1993 the Pharmaceutical Company Janssen Pharmaceutica, Beerse, Belgium, (daughter of Johnson and Johnson) were she got the lead of the In vitro Toxicology laboratory with focus on in vitro regulatory studies for eye and skin irritation. In 1994 she was awarded the International Price from Foundation for the Substitution of Animal Experimentation in Luxembourg based on her work in the field of metabolism and novel in vitro cell culture systems in general. In 1996 she joined the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, Ispra, Since her start at ECVAM her laboratory projects were mainly focused on development of in vitro neurotoxicity and developmental neurotoxicity models and assuring metabolic competence in in vitro toxicological models via her activities in her Key area of Toxicokinetics and Metabolism. Today, with 20 years experience in in vitro toxicology; she acquired a strong research background in the fields of in vitro metabolism/xenobiotic biotransformation in hepatocyte cultures, in vitro neurotoxicity/developmental neurotoxicity and in vitro topical toxicity (eye and skin irritation) test models, new advanced technologies in in vitro toxicology testing systems, GLP and in vitro methods and in the scientific steering of large international collaborative European research projects (Tox-drop and nanotechnological approaches for spotting hepatic nanodrops, Acutetox-in vitro acute toxicity integrated testing strategy, Vitrocellomics-omics and stem cell-based technologies). She also has run several prevalidation and formal validation studies. She is heading the Competence Group on In-house validation and Training, IHCP, at the Validation of Alternative Methods Unit/ECVAM and is responsible for all in-house carried out validation studies. She has published over 80 in vitro toxicological papers and has been invited speaker and plenary lecturer in many international scientific conferences.