Advancing the BioActivity Database: Highlights from the NORMAN Workshop

Developing the BioActivity Database Through Collaboration

Over the past few years, KWR has been collaborating with NORMAN partners – UBA, EI, INERIS and others – to build the BioActivity Database as a joint project. Last year, we released a first demo version, marking an important step toward creating a harmonised resource for bioassay results of single compounds. Bioactivity data are increasingly recognised as a key component in interpreting monitoring results and supporting effect-based monitoring (EBM), especially for emerging pollutants and mixture assessments. The database enables easier and more straightforward interpretation of bioassay responses, supporting their practical use in a variety of monitoring and assessment workflows.

To build on this effort, KWR researcher Miina Yanagihara organised a hybrid workshop during the NORMAN WG2 meeting in Frankfurt. The workshop aimed to raise awareness of the database, present scientific applications enabled by bioactivity information, and gather input for the next development steps.

In-depth discussions and concrete next steps

In the afternoon, participants continued in three roundtable sessions, each focused on a key theme within the innovation chain.

At the table ‘Real-time water quality monitoring’, chaired by Bert Offereins, participants discussed the growing need for real-time water quality data. At the same time, it became clear that affordability, reliability and scalability remain major challenges. Participants stressed the importance of joint development and a standardised basic architecture to accelerate implementation.

Scientific Contributions and Forward-Looking Discussions

The workshop featured excellent presentations from several leading scientists, including Beate Escher, Abd El Rahman El Mais and Peter von der Ohe. They demonstrated how bioactivity data can support environmental monitoring and PARC initiatives, as well as how the database could be expanded in the future. Their contributions sparked lively exchanges and helped set the stage for more in-depth discussions on how the database can be used in research and regulatory contexts.

During the interactive breakout sessions, participants explored ideas for future development: how to expand the database and increase the number of entries, how to link bioassay results with other types of databases and datasets, and potential new modules that could support more advanced analyses. These discussions generated several concrete directions for future collaboration and confirmed the strong interest within the community in jointly advancing the database.

Overall, the workshop offered a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the database and to collectively reflect on the next steps for its continued development.