In the nearly two decades since the human genome was sequenced, the field of toxicology has undergone a transformation, taking advantage of the explosion in biomedical knowledge and technologies to move from a largely empirical science aimed at ensuring the absence of harmful effects to a mechanistic endeavor aimed at elucidating disease etiology based on an understanding of the biological responses to chemicals (including biochemistry) and the impact on organ系统。然而,机械毒理学的承诺及其对改善人类健康的实际影响之间仍然存在很大的差距。毒理学继续在单个终点,化学物质和生物学靶标的还原主义范式中起作用,而众所周知,生物学和病理学涉及各种各样的复杂相互作用,并额外认识到社会压力也有生物学后果。同时,科学和技术进步的速度导致了大量模型和数据,以理解毒理学暴露,危害和风险,这些毒理学暴露,危害和风险越来越具有挑战性,以评估,整合和解释。,存在着了解如何利用这些新的毒理学领域来实现改善人类健康的期望的长期影响的关键需求。这个基本问题解决了现在或将来发生什么暴露会导致疾病并呼吁进行人类宣传项目的问题。