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SOT Regional Chapter K–12 Activities
Michigan Meeting
The COEP has
been extremely fortunate to once again be involved in hosting a
“Toxicology for Teachers” workshop in 2002. The Michigan
Chapter of the Society of Toxicology obtained funds from the National
Society of Toxicology to help sponsor the event. This year’s
workshop was also possible through generous contributions from Pharmacia
Corporation. Twenty high school teachers were in attendance when
Pharmacia opened its doors to the teachers and offered a tour of
their laboratories and several experts on pharmaceutical drug development.
Hands-on toxicology and biotechnology laboratories were run with
the teachers in the afternoon with Dr. John Goudie of the Kalamazoo
Math and Science Center and Dr. Mary Dereski of the EHS Center COEP.
Handouts explaining several other classroom activities were also
distributed to the teachers prior to closing for the day. Special
thanks go out to our speakers from Pharmacia for their excellent
presentations: Overview of Toxicology-Role in Pharmaceuticals,
Gregory Cosma, Ph.D.; Animals and Toxicology, Cindy Hoorn,
Ph.D., DVM; In Vitro Toxicology-New Trends in Toxicology,
Jim McKim, Ph.D.; Genomics and Toxicology, William Mattes,
Ph.D.
Northeast
Meeting
On November
8, 2002, NESOT sponsored a Toxicology for Teachers Workshop for
ten local high school science teachers. Suzanne Conklin of
Rhode Island College organized the event with the support of
NESOT officers Jatinder Singh (Pfizer), John
Wise (University of Southern Maine) and Steven
Cohen (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences). The workshop was held in conjunction with the NESOT
annual meeting and hosted by Pfizer, Inc. in Groton, CT. The
day began with a brief scientific presentation by Nasser Zawia
(University of Rhode Island) who immediately engaged the participants
by describing Alzheimer’s Disease and possible environmental
influences on its progression. Suzanne Conklin followed with
a lecture to ground the teachers in fundamental toxicology terminology
and concepts. The morning session was completed by Lou-Anne
Conroy from the Monshire Museum of Science who brought
a wealth of laboratory materials (including live organisms!)
for the teachers to investigate for use in toxicology experiments
back at their schools. The teachers learned about the pharmaceutical
industry by spending a relaxing and informative lunch hour dining
with Pfizer toxicologists. Another dose of research was presented
by Joshua Hamilton (Dartmouth College) who challenged
the teachers to examine the molecular mechanisms of arsenic poisoning.
The participants also took a tour of the Pfizer facility and
left with all the instructional materials the presenters could
gather. The teachers were enthusiastic about the program, indicated
that they would incorporate toxicology into their curricula,
and requested a follow-up workshop next year to further their
exposure to toxicology.
Ohio Valley Meeting
The
Ohio Valley Society of Toxicology held its second annual K–12
teacher’s workshop on November 15, 2001, at the EPA facility, Cincinnati,
OH. The workshop was entitled "Genes, Disease and the Environment:
A Look at Genetic Susceptibility to Environmental Agents and was
organized by Drs. Hollie Swanson (University of Kentucky) and MaryBeth
Genter (University of Cincinnati). Twenty-one teachers representative
of both the Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH areas attended and
were mentored by six members of the OVSOT chapter. Scintillating
presentations and hands on demonstrations were facilitated by Dr.
Mary Dereski (Wayne State University) and Dr. Susan Vandale (University
of Cincinnati) and covered areas including the use of stem cells
in research and genetics, polymorphisms and the effect of these
on human health. Thanks to the organizers, facilitators and participants
for another successful workshop.
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