History

Following an application by Prof. Denis Hochstrasser (University of Geneva) and Prof. Stephan Krähenbühl (University of Basel), the SCAHT was founded in 2009 to address gaps in applied toxicology research, consultation services, and training in Switzerland after the closure of the Swiss Institute of Toxicology. Financial support was provided by the Swiss Confederation with in-kind contributions from the Universities of Basel, Geneva and Lausanne.

In its first funding period (2009-2012), SCAHT consolidated its role as a national hub for human toxicology and risk assessment and strengthened Swiss presence in international toxicology under the founding Director Prof. Martin Wilks. In 2012, it was decided to form a foundation hosted by the University of Geneva, which was officially registered in 2014. SCAHT celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2019, and in 2020 the FHNW School of Life Sciences joined as a partner organisation.

Under the new director Prof. Ellen Fritsche, the centre continues to expand its national and international research networks, education programmes, and its contributions to regulatory toxicology. Particularly, SCAHT is committed to bring the newest developments in toxicology into regulatory practice.