Dr. Harvey Clewell is an internationally-recognized expert in science-based risk assessment, with particular emphasis on the use of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. More than anyone else, Mr. Clewell has provided concrete examples of how PBPK models can be used in developing chemical risk assessments. He has played a major role in the first uses of PBPK modeling in cancer and non-cancer risk assessments by U.S. EPA, ATSDR, OSHA, and FDA, and has developed models for such chemicals as acetone, arsenic, coumarin, isopropanol, manganese, methylene chloride, methylmercury, retinoic acid, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride. The Arnold J. Lehman award for 2007 is granted to Harvey Clewell in recognition of these outstanding contributions to toxicology and risk assessment.

Dr. Stephen H. Safe Distinguished Professor and Sid Kyle Professor of Toxicology at Texas A&M University, is the 2007 Distinguished Lifetime Toxicology Scholar Award winner. The societal impact of his research spans multiple areas including the environment, agriculture, and veterinary and human health. Of note are his contributions to advances in understanding the molec-ular toxicology of aryl hydrocarbon receptor, development of the toxic equivalency factor approach for human risk assessment, molecular endocrinology, and development of novel mechanism-based drugs for cancer chemotherapy. Dr. Safe is a significant contributor to the field of toxicology world-wide and highly deserving of this recognition.

Dr. Torbjörn Malmfors trained at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, receiving his M.B., Ph.D., and M.D. Dr. Malmfors has been a facility member at the University of Melbourne and associate professor at NIOH in Stockholm. In 1972 he was appointed head of the Toxicology Laboratories at AB Astra Pharmaceuticals, and in 1980 he started Malmfors Consulting AB to work as an independent consultant in toxicology and risk assessment. He continues on in this position. He has authored or co-authored about 120 scientific articles on histology, pharmacology, toxicology and risk assessment.

He has been active in various toxicological societies (e.g., President of the Swedish Society of Toxicology, Secretary General of the Federation of European Societies of Toxicology, and Treasurer of the International Union of Toxicology-IUTOX). Of particular relevance for this Education Award, Dr. Malmfors has played an instrumental role in defining risk assessment education at an international level and as a toxicologically-based discipline through his efforts as designer and course director of the Risk Assessment Summer School (RASS), a program of IUTOX. RASS was conceived as a summer school by Dr. Malmfors and adapted from the successful models of Gordon Research conferences and Nobel Laureate student mentoring. The extensive international student and faculty participation and phenomenal success of RASS are a testament to Dr. Malmfors’ commitment to international teaching. There have been 281 students representing 45 countries, including many developing countries. As one of the recent students commented on the course evaluation, “RASS should serve as a model for the UN,” and then described the rigorous, but harmonious interaction during RASS XI.

Dr. Malmfors has been an important advocate that risk assessment be embraced and defined by toxicologists. In addition, he has had a long standing commitment to improving the scientific and philosophical base of our discipline. By defining a curriculum for RASS that included a psychologist, he was also one of the first toxicologists to recognize the critical role that risk perception and risk communication plays in our discipline.

We honor Dr. Malmfors with the 2007 Education Award because of his personal dedication and willingness to foster international training in toxicology and risk assessment.

Dr. Thomas Hartung is currently the Head of ECVAM (European Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods), European Commission Joint Research Centre. As the Head of ECVAM, Dr. Hartung has been integral in accelerating the alternative methods validation process. He has established a network of 400 experts from all stakeholder groups to facilitate the international harmonization with U.S. ICCVAM (Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods) and OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). In addition, Dr. Hartung has authored more than 200 scientific papers and has served on the Editorial Board of ATLA (Alternatives to Laboratory Animals) and ALTEX (Alternativen zu Tierexperimenten). Dr. Hartung is also Vice President of the Middle-European Society for Alternatives to Animal Experiments.

It is the high privilege of the Society of Toxicology to recognize Dr. Mario Molina for induction as an Honorary Member of this Society. This induction stands as one of the greatest honors the Society can bestow. Its purpose is to recognize Dr. Molina’s groundbreaking contributions to human and environ-mental health and safety. Dr. Molina’s research spans the fundamental sciences of chemistry and physical chemistry, and extends to the far-reaching domains of human and environmental health. Dr. Molina embodied the importance of the “Roadmap” decades before our appreciation developed for this concept, and propelled it to the forefront of current research. Dr. Molina is a rare visionary. His discoveries became translated into broad actions that have improved the health of millions of humans by increasing the safety of the air, and thereby decreasing many environmental diseases.

Through his work with colleagues, Dr. Molina’s research convinced governments around the world to eliminate chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from spray cans and refrigerators, agents that were contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. His research led to receipt of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with his Postdoctoral mentor Dr. Sherwood Rowland, and with Dr. Paul Crutzen. Dr. Molina has held teaching and research positions at UC Irvine, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, before arriving at MIT in 1989 as a professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and the Department of Chemistry, and most recently UC San Diego. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

The Society of Toxicology is pleased to induct Dr. Molina as an Honorary Member.

Dr. James Swenberg has made significant contributions to the field of toxicology through his research, mentoring of students and young scientists and as an advisor to numerous government agencies. Dr. Swenberg is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Professor of Nutrition, and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also serves as the Director of Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, and the Curriculum in Toxicology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining the University of North Carolina, he was a Department Head at the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology for more than ten years, Research Scientist at the Upjohn Company from 1972-1978, and prior to that, Assistant and Associate Professor of Veterinary Pathology at the Ohio State University. Dr Swenberg has been active in the Society of Toxicology serving on Council, on Membership Committee, on the Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Committee and serving as president of the Carcinogenesis Specialty Section.

Dr. Swenberg earned his D.V.M. degree from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. degree in Veterinary Pathology from the Ohio State University. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Association of Neuropathologists, American Society for Investigative Pathology, Society of Toxicologic Pathologists, and the Society of Toxicology. He has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors, Division of Cancer Etiology, NCI, Board of Scientific Counselors, National Toxicology Program, NIEHS, and Board of Scientific Counselors, NIEHS, as well as a member of the FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel, U.S. EPA. He was awarded the George Scott Award from the Toxicology Forum, the John Barnes Prize Lectureship from the British Toxicology Society, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Distinguished Research Alumnus Award from the University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Swenberg has published over 300 scientific papers and has served on the editorial boards of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention; Cancer Research; Carcinogenesis; Chemical-Biological Interactions; Chemical Research in Toxicology; Environmental Health Perspectives; Food and Chemical Toxicology; Fundamental and Applied Toxicology; Neuro-Oncology; and Toxicologic Pathology. His research focuses on mechanisms of carcinogenesis and toxicology, with emphasis on the roles of DNA damage and repair and cell proliferation. He has published extensively on the use of mass spectrometry for DNA and protein adducts, including those arising from environmental and endogenous chemicals. Most recently, he has been investigating direct and indirect DNA damage arising from oxidative stress.

The Awards committee is pleased to honor Dr. Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T. for embodying the attributes of the Communications Award throughout her distinguished career.

Dr. Birnbaum is currently the Division Director of the Experimental Toxicology Division in the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). As an upper-level manager, she sets the direc tion for the laboratory and for policy derived with the research results. This leadership can not be underestimated in its impact and value to the scientific and public health community at large.

Dr. Birnbaum has contributed by mentorship of new toxicologists as an adjunct professor at both the University of North Carolina and at Duke University. In addition to providing lectures, she has served as either the primary advisor or on the committee of close to 30 predoctoral students and 12 postdoctoral students.

A profound achievement recognized by this award is Dr. Birnbaum’s ambassadorship in the professional and public arenas. She received an ambassador award from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the SOT. As president of the SOT, Dr. Birnbaum was active in outreach efforts, both within the SOT itself and to other professional societies. Her attention to and abilities in showing respect for diverse opinions and creating venues for all voices to be heard and carefully considered has been a critical component in enhancing the credibility and value of toxicology to all stakeholders in the scientific and public policy arenas. Recognition of her valued input on behalf of toxicology, and of her professionalism and expertise, are evident by the large number of committees and consultative appointments that she holds, including the Executive Committee of the ISSX, the external advisory committee of the NIEHS, the ILSI Committee on pharmacokinetics, the NIOSH peer review board on dioxin studies, and various EPA oversight committees. Dr. Birnbaum served as the Vice President of the American Aging Association and as chairperson of the Division of Toxicology of the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. She is also an active member of the local NC Chapter of the SOT, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Gerontological Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma X.

Finally, Dr. Birnbaum’s own research career was considered for its contributions to public communications. She has authored over 650 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, abstracts, and reports; and has received numerous awards in recognition of her work’s quality and impact, including award as a fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, the U.S. EPA’s Health Science Achievement Award, a U.S. EPA bronze medal, numerous EPA Science and Technological Achievement Awards, best risk assessment manuscript from the SOT, a National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation, and a Diversity Leadership Award from the U.S. EPA.

By recognizing Dr. Birnbaum with this award, the SOT is assured that it benefits from an active and enthusiastic proponent of the value of clear and credible communication in meeting its mission.

Dr. Michael Denison is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California at Davis. His research interests are in the area of receptor-mediated mechanisms of action of environmental toxicants, specifically those related to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists, and their adverse species- and tissue-specific toxic and biological effects. He will use this award to present his most recent findings to well-established European scientists studying the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and the molecular mechanisms by which synthetic and natural chemicals bind to and activate the receptor-mediated signal transduction pathway. In addition, he will establish research collaborations with these scientists and become familiar with new information and directions regarding these chemicals in the Europe.

The Board of Publications has selected the body of work encompassed by a trio of companion articles as the best paper published in Toxicological Sciences during the past year. The articles are entitled Thiamethoxam induced mouse liver tumors and their relevance to humans: Part 1: Mode of action studies in the mouse, Part 2: Species differences in response and Part 3: Case Study: Weight of evidence evaluation of the human health relevance of thiamethoxam-related mouse liver tumors. The authors of this collective body of work are Trevor Green, Timothy Pastoor, Alison Toghill, Robert Lee, Felix Wachter, Edgar Weber, James Noakes, Richard Peffer, Mervyn Robinson, Patrick Rose and Sara Lloyd.

The extrapolation of mode of action data for toxic effects in facing all toxicologists. The development and use of a standardized scientific weight of evidence approach to evaluate the human relevance of rodent carcinogens has long been advocated, and several retrospective assessments have contributed to the development of a recommended framework for this purpose. After finding that thiamethoxam increased the incidence of liver tumors in mice, the authors developed a comprehensive investigative research program to determine the mode of action thiamethoxam-induced liver tumors. Importantly, the authors identified the key role of a metabolite that initiated a cascade of events progressing from hepatotoxicity to regenerative hyperplasia. Hepatotoxicity was exacerbated by a second metabolite that inhibited inducible nitric oxide synthetase. These key events were characterized in other species including rats and humans using in vivo and in vitro tools, and the results demonstrated quantitative differences across species that supported the conclusion that thiamethoxam was not likely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans. In its tumors is noteworthy toxicological research. More importantly, the work represents an important contribution to toxicology by presenting the research in a framework that provides an objective and logical approach for evaluating whether the data were sufficient to establish the mode of action in animals and whether this mode of action was relevant to humans. The outcome is a major advancement in applying a scientific weight of evidence approach in human risk assessment.