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President's Message
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President
Cheryl Lyn Walker |
SOT held another very successful Annual Meeting, March 15–19, 2009, in Baltimore, Maryland. This year's meeting, with 6,750 attendees, was second in attendance only to the SOT 2008 Annual Meeting held in Seattle, Washington (6,861 attendees). Of those participating in the SOT 2009 Annual Meeting, 16.8% (1,134) were international attendees, underscoring that this is a "must attend event" for scientists from around the globe.
This participation surpassed all expectations given our challenging economic back drop. I am proud and grateful that you came en masse and considered attendance a priority, particularly as you now are called on to prioritize your time and resources more aggressively than in recent memory. Moreover, you have not waivered in your commitment to keeping the Society moving forward at a brisk and steady pace. Appointments to Committees, Task Forces, and other bodies were graciously and enthusiastically accepted.
The Scientific Program Committee's thematic approach received abundant praise in the recently conducted Annual Meeting Survey. The themes of Biomarkers, Epigenetics, Inflammation and Disease, Nanotechnology, and Neurodegenerative Disease helped shape the symposia, workshops, roundtables, and informational sessions, as well as the Continuing Education Program. This thematic approach continues to illustrate the diversity of research within the Society and the impact we are having in these important scientific areas.
The significance of our efforts is underscored by how well much of the cutting-edge toxicological research being conducted by our membership is aligned with the research pursuits of Nobel Laureates Paul Greengard and Aaron Ciechanover, who delivered the Plenary and Keynote Medical Research Council (MRC) Lectures, respectively. The Society's commitment to recognizing scientists for their outstanding contributions to the field of toxicology also was demonstrated by awarding Gil Omenn and John Walker with SOT Honorary Membership. Furthermore, two new awards were presented to scientists recognized as superlative representatives of their discipline. The inaugural recipient of the Translational Impact Award was Thomas W. Kenlser and of the Leading Edge in Basic Science Award was John Katzenellenbogen, both of whom have made many important contributions to the toxicological sciences.
As I write this message, I know that many of you are already preparing for the SOT 2010 Annual Meeting, March 7–11, 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hopefully, many of you also developed proposals aligned with the themes for that meeting: Cell Signaling, Gene Environment Interactions, Metabolic Disease, Mitochondrial Basis of Disease, and Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century, or will be submitting abstracts related to these thematic areas. We look forward to this meeting and plan to provide opportunities in the year ahead to increase your anticipation of this internationally recognized scientific event.
Over the next year I will communicate more about the Society's efforts to fully implement the SOT Strategic Plan. In 2009–2010, we are committed to expanding and deepening member engagement through the implementation of 21st Century communications tools. We know that your time and resources are at a premium and so the Society has secured the tools to help us be more efficient and effective. In the days and months ahead, you will be learning about the electronic innovations being implemented by SOT Headquarters to increase and facilitate communications while containing costs, such as travel and lodging expenditures.
The Society now will be utilizing WebEx Meetings, Webinars, and Wikis to facilitate your activities. These tools will help with virtual interactions within entities such as Specialty Sections, Committees, or Task Forces, and will provide powerful channels for facilitating and promoting collaborative, synergistic activities. I encourage you to read the article in this issue of the Communiqué that describes the electronic communications tools that will enhance our efforts as good stewards of the Society's resources, particularly its human and intellectual capital—our members.
Before I close, I want to thank the SOT Councilors whose terms have ended for their exemplary service, including George B. Corcoran, Kim Boekelheide, Denise Robinson Gravatt, and William Slikker, Jr. and welcome to the Council Jon Cook, Peter Goering, Matthew S. Bogdanffy, and Susan J. Borghoff.
Cheryl Lyn Walker,
2009–2010 SOT President
Past Presidents of the Society
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