Spring Issue 2006
South Central Chapter and SOT Partner to Offer Hurricane Relief Awards
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita plus their associated inland storms and electrical
outages damaged many toxicological research facilities in Louisiana and
Mississippi, regions served by South Central Chapter (SCC). Consequently,
several of the region’s toxicologists were displaced from their home institutes
and had their research and graduate teaching activities suspended.
In response to this emergency, SCC partnered with SOT to offer $750 awards
to support temporary residency of affected toxicologists at host laboratories
of SCC members. Funds were available for travel, lodging, and supplies
to continue comparable research in the host lab and awardees would be
chosen based upon merit and need.
One SCC-SOT Hurricane Relief Award was awarded to Mr. Kan Chen
at the 2005 Fall meeting of the SCC on October 21 at Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mr. Chen is a graduate student at the University of New Orleans where
he had been determining methylenedianiline adducts in vascular smooth muscle
cell proteins. His pre-hurricane work utilized a mass spectrometer (FTMS,
Bruker Apex II) with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time
of flight (MALDI-TOF). This equipment was destroyed when New Orleans flooded.
After overcoming a series of personal trials while evacuating, Mr. Chen
has since temporarily relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he is continuing
his work with comparable equipment at LSU-Health Science Center. Dr. Tammy
Dugas, member of SCC and SOT, is his host.
