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Spring Issue 2007
NIEHS Director: Reflections on the SOT Annual Meeting
David A. Schwartz, M.D., Director, National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences, National Toxicology Program
As Spring in North Carolina
explodes in full force, it occurs to me that the recent SOT Annual Meeting
in Charlotte offered many of us two parallel opportunities: a chance
to experience the growth, expansion, and realized potential that is
Spring in the home state of the NIEHS, and the occasion to gather some
of the best scientific minds in the world together on the topic of the
growth, expansion, and potential of the synergistic fields of toxicology
and environmental health sciences. I am personally grateful to the Society
for the opportunity to engage its members in a direct and meaningful
way at the meeting, as well as the forum here to share what I regard
as some of the meeting's highlights and significance.
The opportunity presented by the meeting to hear, not one, but two,
Nobel Laureates discuss their groundbreaking work was a unique and unparalleled
experience. The fact that though widely disparate, the work of each
of these scientists has direct bearing on our fields, attests to the
importance of bringing a broad range of disciplines and approaches to
bear on the problems of environmental health. This was a theme that
seemed to me to be reflected throughout the meeting, and one that will
continue to resonate within our scientific community. The beauty and,
pardon the descriptive but it is so apt, the elegance of Robert
Horvitz's work on apoptosis in C. elegans establishes
a benchmark for the use of basic science in elucidating state-of-the-art
biology. As compelling as his science is, it is matched by the story
of how he and his laboratory translated their work on a simple organism
into discoveries with relevance for a broad range of human health questions.
To be sure, there are lessons to be learned from his experience, particularly
relating to the study of environmental toxicants that induce cell death.
Similarly, the presentation
by Mario Molina on global climate change and the
implications for environmental and human health could not be more prescient,
particularly in light of the Supreme Court decision, just days following
the SOT conference, ruling that the EPA has the authority, and indeed
the responsibility, to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions that create
global climate change. It is Molina's work, in large part, which has
propelled both the scientific and the public debate beyond a question
of "if" global warming is a real event to "how and when" this crisis
should be addressed. The example and the challenge Molina presents to
us as scientists are to be similarly foreword-thinking in our research
and our approaches. Although these two presentations were an eloquent
reminder to myself as an established researcher, I was even more gratified
by the rare opportunity they presented to the young investigators at
the meeting to hear in person from two such visionaries.
No less important to me was the opportunity I had to hear in person
from a broad range of attendees on the issues of importance to them
regarding the direction of the NIEHS under my leadership. My thanks
to the SOT Council for allowing me and members of the NIEHS staff several
forums in which to present these and other issues to Society members,
and more importantly to receive their invaluable feedback in return.
In a special session, I tried to lay out with full transparency the
budgetary situation of the NIEHS and its implications for our future
priority setting, particularly as it relates to funding for researchers
in the toxicology community. In doing so, I also solicited feedback
from attendees on the key questions that we face such as how to direct
our research dollars in mechanisms, including: investigator-initiated
research and center programs, how to achieve a diverse scientific balance
in our research portfolio, and what is the most effective means of mentoring
minority young investigators. Let me assure you that I was listening
to your responses, and that the input and discussion I received on these
questions is fully noted and will be carefully weighed as we move forward
in implementing our Strategic Plan.
It was the discussion of strategic plans, those of the NIEHS and the
SOT, that rounded out the highlights of this meeting for me, and illustrates
once again the synergism that exists, as well as the opportunities for
future integration that are potential, among our two organizations.
Members of the NIEHS staff presented an overview of current implementation
efforts on the Strategic Plan, and members of the SOT Strategic Committees
conducted a Town Hall meeting to lay out their recommendations in key
areas of Society growth. Perhaps not surprisingly, but certainly compelling
and worthy of mention I feel, are some key areas where these strategies
dovetail. Specifically, the SOT Science Strategy recommendations to
emphasize the human health impact of toxicology, and to promote the
importance of toxicology in disease prevention will complement and supplement
the goals of the NIEHS Strategic Plan in using environmental toxicants
to understand basic mechanisms in human biology and in developing sensitive
markers of environmental exposure, early biological response, and genetic
susceptibility to aid in prevention and treatment of disease. In addition
to these main areas of overlap, ideas for training the next generation
of environmental health scientists, elevating the understanding of the
relevance of our disciplines among scientists and the public, and improving
translation and communication of our successes and progress are goals
we also share in common. Indeed, just as Spring in North Carolina brings
forth an abundance of growth, vitality, and renewed productivity, so
too, I feel, will this year's SOT Annual Meeting promote a resurgence
of energy and a renewed vigor among those of us who attended toward
our mutual endeavors in improving human health.
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