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SOT
Toxicology Training Needs: New Faces and New Tools for the 21st Century
SOT Annual Meeting
Seattle, Washington
Wednesday, March 19
Chairperson(s): William Slikker, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, AR and John Bucher, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Rockville, MD.
Endorsed by:
Academy of Toxicological Sciences
Career Resource and Development Committee
Postdoctoral Assembly
Student Advisory Council
There is growing concern within the discipline of toxicology with regard to the projected retirement of experienced toxicologists and the toxicology training pipeline from both a numbers and depth of training perspective. This problem is only becoming more acute due to budgetary constraints, regulatory and policy shifts and the advent of new chemical and biological challenges resulting from innovative and technology driven product development. Toxicologists are being asked to address safety issues for novel nanotechnology products, plant-made pharmaceuticals and industrials, combination therapeutics and concerns related to potential chemical and biological terror agents in a timely and cost effective manner. To address these issues, the next generation of toxicologists will need new tools and cutting edge training, and they must be produced in sufficient numbers to effectively replace the current cadre of toxicologists as they retire. A necessary first step in assuring the availability of qualified toxicologists is to begin a dialogue among the various potential employers on projected current and future needs in toxicology and what type of training experience would be most advantageous as the discipline moves into the 21st century. There is also a need to develop a clear picture of the number of new toxicologists that will be needed over the next 10 years. This session will focus on the number of toxicologists and the required skill sets needed as discussed by representatives from the industry, academic, research, consulting and government sectors and will be a positive step forward by addressing these needs at a meeting where most of the concerned toxicologists and many of those responsible for training and hiring toxicologists will be in attendance.
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