Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek, TNO – Netherlands
TNO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO) is one of the major internationally oriented contract research and technology organisations in Europe. With a staff of approximately 3500 and an annual turnover of 580 million Euros, TNO is carrying out research in order to achieve impact on the following seven themes: Healthy Living, Industrial Innovation, Transport and Mobility, Energy, Built Environment, Information Society, and Defence, Safety and Security.
The department of Risk Analysis for Products in Development (RAPID) investigates human health risks of chemical substances, food ingredients/products, drugs and nanoparticles. Traditionally, research at RAPID takes place within (inter)national legislative frameworks but increasingly they are focusing on earlier process phases, such as the development of new ingredients and products (eg nanomaterials, drugs, new protein sources in food). The knowledge position of RAPID comprises combined in-depth knowledge of the field of risk analysis and statistics with practical experience of innovative experimental research (toxicology, chemical analysis, sensor technology, human exposure), and developing integrated strategies enabling maximal prediction of the health risks for humans and minimizing the need for animal testing. In order to reduce costs and time, computational modelling approaches increasingly lay at the basis for examining health risks posed to humans. With an increasing role for high-end statistics, they develop new methodology allowing for early indication of risks.
The department of Child health (LS) consists of about 50 professionals who have specific expertise in monitoring of health and health behavior, behavior change, planned development of evidence-based interventions with a focus on prevention and care, implementation strategies, and evaluation research regarding the (cost-)effectiveness of interventions, also with regard to sustainable participation and implementation fidelity. Within the department there is considerable expertise on online, tailored interventions and mobile health applications.