Innovative Methodologies in Environmental Toxicology: Bridging Pharmacodynamics and High-Throughput Assessments

Environmental toxicology is an evolving multidisciplinary field dedicated to understanding the impact of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and environmental contaminants on living organisms and ecosystems. Despite significant progress in analytical technologies and bioassay design, traditional testing models often face limitations in extrapolating laboratory findings to real-world ecological systems, where exposure patterns, chemical mixtures, and species variability complicate risk assessment. Recent advances in pharmacodynamic-based approaches, particularly those focused on receptor interactions, pathway perturbations, and quantitative dose-response relationships, together with high-throughput screening and predictive modeling, have provided new opportunities for mechanistic interpretation of environmental toxicity. However, the integration of these tools into environmental regulatory frameworks remains inconsistent, and critical knowledge gaps persist regarding standardization, data interpretation, and cross-species applicability. Bridging pharmacodynamics and toxicodynamic approaches with high-throughput methods therefore represents a pivotal step toward more accurate, efficient, and ecologically relevant toxicological evaluations.This Research Topic aims to advance mechanism-based environmental toxicology by integrating pharmacodynamic principles with high-throughput assessment technologies to improve predictive accuracy, biological interpretation, and ecological relevance in chemical risk assessment. It seeks to encourage contributions that refine predictive models of environmental toxicity, improve mechanistic understanding of chemical interactions across species, and enhance the translation of molecular-level data into ecosystem-level outcomes. Furthermore, this initiative aims to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue among toxicologists, pharmacologists, computational scientists, and environmental regulators to strengthen the scientific and practical foundations of environmental risk assessment.To gather further insights into the evolving interface between pharmacodynamics and environmental toxicology, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Integration of pharmacodynamic parameters into high-throughput toxicity testing frameworks• Mechanistic modeling of chemical interactions and dose–response relationships in environmental species• Development of computational and machine learning tools for predictive ecotoxicology• Cross-species extrapolation and comparative toxicology based on pharmacodynamic data• Assessment of cumulative and mixture toxicity using multi-omics and automated bioassay approaches• Methodological advances supporting the regulatory adoption of high-throughput and mechanism-based assessments*Disclosure: Dr. Luigi Margiotta-Casaluci’s academic research has been, and continues to be, partially co-funded by industry partners. He also occasionally provides consultancy services to private-sector organizations in the areas of predictive toxicology and chemical safety assessment. Topic editors: Mohamed A. Ghorab, Luigi Margiotta-Casaluci, Fátima Brandão, Fernanda Rosário Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81512/innovative-methodologies-in-environmental-toxicology-bridging-pharmacodynamics-and-high-throughput-assessments