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Spring Issue 2007
Undergraduate Poison Squad Exposed to Diverse
Toxicological Agents
The 19th Annual Undergraduate Education Program was hosted
by the Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI) at the 2007
Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology in Charlotte,
NC. This program continues to bring some of the country's
top undergraduate students from groups under-represented
in the sciences, and from schools receiving low levels of
federal science and math funding, to the meeting. These
students are exposed to multiple toxicology disciplines
and members within our Society, with over 100 people participating
this year, including 41 undergraduate awardees, 8 invited
faculty advisors from undergraduate programs, and numerous
active members of our Society including Practicing Toxicologists
serving as speakers and Host Mentors, and graduate students
in the role of Peer Mentors. The focus: to foster undergraduate
awareness about toxicology and the opportunities available
in this field.
The program kicked off on Saturday evening with an energetic
ice breaker session where groups identified students who
did too much of one thing, for example, which student "stayed
up the latest most often" while stressing the concept
that "too much of a good thing can be harmful. "In
the end students holding the "records" were identified
as the 2007 Poison Squad and were rewarded with top hats
to resemble those worn by the original "Poison Squad" in
1902 (http://www.fda.gov/oc/history/2006centennial/poisonSquad.pdf).
The CDI also took great pleasure in honoring SOT staff member Betty
Eidemiller for her continuous efforts in keeping
the Undergraduate Education Program running for the past
nine years. The students were then greeted with a delightful
dinner and the evening ended with keynote presenter Craig
Marcus of the University of New Mexico, who lit
up the room with animated scenes from TV/film media that
best explain "What is Toxicology?"
The Sunday event initiated with opening remarks by SOT
President Jim Popp, who welcomed the awardees
and emphasized the importance of research in the toxicological
sciences. Moreover, the Sunday session was open to any undergraduate
student attending the SOT Annual Meeting. The morning session
was charged with presentations in the field of toxicology. Judy
Zelikoff, New York University School of Medicine,
Tuxedo, New York presented "Maternal Smoking and Cancer:
Are your Children Paying the Price?" and Martin
Philbert, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
presented, "Nano-a-Nano: The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly. " Thereafter, Kesha Martin,
an undergraduate student from Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn,
New York, presented her recent research project entitled, "Control
of the Lateral Ciliated Gill Epithelium of Crassostrea
virginica and Mytilus edulis (Bivalvia) and the Neurotoxic
Effects of Manganese. " The awardees were then taken
through a hands-on, thought-provoking exercise with Charles
Miller, III, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana,
who guided the students to think like scientists in the
field of "Receptor-Mediated Toxicity. " The undergraduates
and invited advisors then engaged in breakout sessions.
Awardees spent time inquiring about "What is Graduate
School?" with guidance from graduate students Adrian
Nañez and Enrique Fuentes,
while Heather Kleiner, Louisiana State
University, Shreveport, Louisiana, and former Program awardee Antonio
Baines, North Carolina Central University, Durham,
North Carolina, steered students through "How do I
get into Graduate School?" While the undergraduates
were busy with questions, invited advisors spent their time
in a roundtable discussion on tips for successfully advising
undergraduate students led by Mary Kanz,
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, and Alice
Villalobos, Texas A&M University, College Station,
TX. Beyond the scope of understanding the ins and outs of
graduate school came the Career Opportunities in Toxicology
Discussion. With speakers from industry (former Program
awardee, Vanessa Silva, Procter and Gamble),
government (Nigel Fields, U. S. EPA), and
academia (Jose Manautou, University of
Connecticut), this session provided students with insight
to the many opportunities available to them. After an intense
day of toxicology exposure, awardees were able to attend
an "Open Time with Academic Toxicology Program Directors
and Internship Sponsors" and speak with academic advisors
on immediate opportunities for internships and graduate
school. This year's program included over 31 institutions,
whose representatives attempted to attract students through
raffles, pens, candies, literature, and, of course, enthusiasm!
Monday started with attendance at the Plenary Lecture where
awardees listened to Mario Molina speak
about "The Impact of Human Activities on the Atmosphere." Thereafter,
the awardees attended the annual "Poster Session for
Visiting Students" where they learned or extended their
knowledge about the "scientific method" and also
interacted with selected poster presenters. Poster presenters
generously gave their time to display their posters in this
special session in addition to their scheduled session.
This year the awardees had some time to attend SOT symposia,
workshop sessions, and Tox Expo—a visit to our Society's
scientific sessions and world of networking! The awardees
were most amazed at the size and depth of the SOT conference
outside the program they were attending. The program also
took advantage of existing events at the SOT. The awardees
attended the In Vitro Luncheon where Cynthia
Afshari, Amgen, Inc., discussed the "Integration
of Exploration of the Genome to Refine In Vitro Screening
Models." The program ended with many students exchanging
information and taking pictures with their new friends,
Host Mentors, and Peer Mentors. The effectiveness of this
year's program demonstrates that the CDI is committed to
support the immediate and growing objectives of the SOT
to maintain diversity. It also shows that the CDI continuously
adjusts the program to try new strategies to improve the
awardees' and advisors' experience and help orient their
personal career objectives.
Undergraduate Program
volunteers
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