What is the TEA Global Challenge?
The HESI Committee to Transform the Evaluation of Agrochemicals is pleased to announce the TEA Global Challenge, a competition designed to solicit CREATIVE and CUTTING-EDGE solutions to the modernization of the risk assessment paradigm for crop protection products.
HESI TEA Global Challenge Winner
The HESI Transforming the Evaluation of Agrochemicals (TEA) Committee is happy to announce Dr. Huan Yang as the inaugural winner of the TEA Global Challenge. This international competition was launched to promote innovative thinking around the future of agrochemical safety assessment. The Challenge aimed to showcase the feasibility of new approach methodologies (NAMs), encouraged cross-sector collaboration, and fostered global knowledge sharing.
Dr. Yang, an independent consultant with a PhD in Applied Mathematics, impressed the TEA Committee with his case study applying scalable digital tools to support next-generation risk assessment (NGRA). His work integrates physiologically based kinetic models and quantitative effect modeling within the adverse outcome pathway framework, leveraging both in vitro and in vivo data. Dr. Yang’s background includes collaborative projects funded by EU Horizon 2020, NC3Rs, Dutch NWO, and BMBF-ZonMW.
As the inaugural awardee, Dr. Yang received $2,000 in travel support, which he used to attend SETAC Europe, where he further engaged with the international environmental science and chemical safety community.
The Objectives of the TEA Global Challenge are to:
- Showcase the feasibility of a new approach for agrochemical safety assessment,
- Encourage knowledge sharing,
- Foster collaboration across disciplines, and sectors.
Anyone is welcome to submit a proposal to solve the problem posed by the TEA Committee. Competitors are encouraged to work in teams, preferable multidisciplinary, although this will not be a selection criterion.
Finalists will be invited to present their case study at the HESI TEA Symposium, in Washington, DC (2025 date TBD), where they will have the opportunity to meet professionals from academia, government and industry with expertise in the field of agrochemicals.
$2000 in travel funds to be used towards a relevant scientific conference (e.g., World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences, SOT) will be awarded to the winners, chosen by the TEA Symposium attendees.
Winners will also be provided support to publish their work if they so desire (pre-publication review by Committee members, contribution to open access fees)