TOXICOLOGY - THEN AND NOW

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TOXICOLOGY -THEN AND NOW

• Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD, DABT, ATS
• Past President SOT/NCSOT
• Director, Experimental Toxicology Division, U.S.
  EPA

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Toxicology is Old!

• First written records c.1500 BC (Ebers)
• Hippocrates, Aristotle, Nicander, Galen,
  Ramazini, etc.
• Paracelsus The dose makes the poison

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Recognition of Toxicology as a Distinct
Discipline

• Originally, subsumed as part of medical and/or
  pharmaceutical curricula
• Toxicology - distinct and important fundamental
  and applied science with university departments
  and degrees
• SOT founded 45 years ago!
• Prime mover for recognition of Toxicology

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Long Range Plan Goals

• SOT will advance the science of toxicology to
  enhance human, animal, and environmental health.
• Increase excellence in science
• Increase the quality, standards, and scientific
  content of SOT meetings, programs, and
  communications

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Long Range Plan Goals

• Promote the use of science in regulatory and
  legislative decision making
• Encourage increased investment of resources in
  toxicology

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Long Range Plan Goals

• SOT will be essential to the scientific and
  professional development of its members
• Increase access to relevant scientific and
  professional resources
• Increase diversity and inclusiveness of the
  organization

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Long Range Plan Goals

• Ensure the long-term stability of the Society
• Exercise sound financial stewardship
• Maintain commitment to annual strategic planning
• Increase student awareness of toxicology,
  participation in SOT, and pursuit of careers in
  toxicology
• Continually improve organizational effectiveness

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Long Range Plan Goals

• SOT will be a definitive scientific resource for
  human, animal, and environmental health
• Increase the impact of the discipline of
  toxicology within the scientific community and
  among the public
• Increase the impact of SOT publications and
  communications
• Increase the public relations competency of SOT

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Then and Now
Founders at the 1st Annual Meeting in
Williamsburg, VA. In 1961. Membership consisted
of 124 members.
Annual meeting attendees now number almost 6,000.
Current membership is 5,795.
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Sites of Annual Meetings

• Atlantic City 62
• Cincinnati 63, 97
• Williamsburg 64-66, 69, 72, 75
• Atlanta 67, 70, 71, 76, 84, 89
• Washington, DC 68, 72, 74, 80, 87
• New York City 73
• Toronto 77
• New Orleans 78-79, 86, 93, 99, 05
• San Diego 81, 85, 06
• Boston 82
• Las Vegas 83

• Dallas 88, 91, 94
• Miami Beach 90,
• Seattle 92, 98
• Baltimore 95, 04
• Anaheim 96
• Philadelphia 2000
• San Francisco 01
• Nashville 02
• Salt Lake City 03
• Charlotte 07

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Annual Meeting Abstracts
Year 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
Abstracts Presented 1935 1907 1767 1874 1940 1805
Symposia/Workshops/Roundtable Abstracts 298 234 197 _ 201 165
Total 2233 2141 1964 1874 2141 1970
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SOT Finances

• Current Expenses 5M
• Current Revenue and Income 6M
• Opportunities for New Programs, Reinvestments,
  Diversification
• Conservative Strategy
• Weve been in the red before (more than once!)

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SOT Publications

• Communiqué
• Journals
• Past
• Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
• Fundamental and Applied Toxicology
• Present
• Toxicological Sciences

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Toxicological Sciences

• Top Quality Papers that are Widely Distributed
  and Read
• Over 5680 subscribers and institutions with
  journal access worldwide
• Over 685,000 full-text downloads in 2005
• Highly Cited
• 4517 citations in 2004 alone
• High Impact Factor (3.391 in 2004)
• One of the top toxicology research journals in
  the world

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Impact Factor Trends
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Growth in SOT

• Members
• 1962 124 from US
• 2006 gt 5795 from across the world
• Annual Meeting
• 1962 Williamsburg, VA lt 200 participants
• 2006 Charlotte, NC gt 6000
• Focus
• 1962 Descriptive
• 2006 Mechanistic Risk/Safety Assessment
  Molecular

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Who Are Our Members?

• Academia 35
• Industry 35
• Government 20
• Consultants10
• Other 5

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Membership Data
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Growth in SOT (cont)

• Most important meeting in toxicology worldwide
• Extensive headquarters staff
• Officers Executive Council Committees
• Regional Chapters
• Specialty Sections
• Special Interest Groups

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Committees

• Strategic Committees
• Science
• Communication
• Membership
• Elected Committees
• Awards
• Education
• Membership
• Nominating

• Appointed Committees
• Animals in Research
• Board of Publications (BOP)
• Career Resource Development
• Committee on Diversity Initiatives
• Committee on K-12 Education
• Continuing Education (CE)
• Finance
• Historian
• IUTOX Councilors

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Committees (cont)

• Appointed Committees (cont)
• Post-Doctoral Assembly
• Program
• Regulatory Affairs Legislative Assistance
• Science Strategy Committee
• Student Advisory Committee
• World Wide Web Advisory Committee
• Council Subcommittee for Non-SOT Contemporary
  Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) Meeting
• Council Subcommittee for Regional Chapter Funding

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Task Forces

• Endowment Implementation
• Mixtures
• NIH Funding
• Special Interest Groups
• 45th Anniversary

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Specialty Sections

• Biological Modeling
• Carcinogenesis
• Comparative Veterinary
• Dermal Toxicology
• Drug Discovery Toxicology
• Ethical, Legal Social Issues
• Food Safety
• Immunotoxicology
• In Vitro
• Inhalation

• Mechanisms
• Metals
• Molecular Biology
• Neurotoxicology
• Occupa Public Health
• Reg Safety Evaluation
• Repro/Devpmtl Toxicology
• Risk Assessment
• Toxicologic Exploratory Pathology
• Women in Toxicology (WIT)

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Special Interest Groups

• Association of Scientists of Indian Origin
• American Association of Chinese in Toxicology
• African Society of Toxicological Sciences
• Hispanic Organization for Toxicologists
• Korean Toxicologist Association in America

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Regional Chapters Map
NE
PNW
NL
MI
LO
MA
NCa
MW
AE
CS
OV
MtnW
NCAC
SCa
NC
SC
SE
GC
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Student Opportunities

• SOT provides student and career development
  resources
• Programs to recruit undergraduates to toxicology
• Travel support and fellowships for graduate
  students and post-docs
• Leadership opportunities in student groups (SAC,
  SSSRC, PDA)
• SOT On-Line Job Bank
• Career workshops at annual meetings

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NC SOT

• One of the Largest Regional Chapters
• gt 300 members
• Feed to National Leadership
• 8 National SOT Presidents who were NCSOT
  Presidents
• Leon Golberg Tom Miya Bob Dixon Jim Gibson
  Roger McClellan Jim Bus Bill Greenlee Linda
  Birnbaum
• Many Executive Councilors
• Many National Committee Members

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NC SOT (cont.)

• Broad Membership
• National vs Local
• Full vs Student
• Lifetime
• Award Programs
• Student Travel Best Poster
• Postdoc Award PARC

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NC SOT Meetings

• Past - 3/year
• Fall Seminar
• Winter Poster Session and Symposia
• (Often) all day Saturday
• Spring - Symposia
• Present - 2/year
• Fall Seminars or Symposia
• Winter Poster Session and Symposia

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Get Involved!

• Activity in NC SOT National Recognition
• Volunteer
• NC SOT
• Specialty Sections/SIGs
• Committees

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Thanks

• Clarissa Wilson and HQ Staff
• Debbie Wales
• Ernie Hodgson
• And all of my students, postdocs, technicians,
  colleagues, and family over the years who have
  helped me to be involved!