SOT 2007 Annual Meeting

Paracelsus Goes to School Student Workshop
Friday, March 23, Time: 9:00 AM–1:00 PM
Chairperson(s): Stacie Wild, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA, and Kathleen Gray, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

The SOT K-12 Committee is excited to add a workshop for middle school students to the K-12 outreach activities this year. Directed and supported by the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Community Outreach and Education Program, Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, the workshop will introduce toxicology using hands-on activities related to lead poisoning and asthma from curricula developed by NIH and the University of Washington. Instructors are Neasha Bryan, UNC COEP, Sarah Yelton, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Alisa Wickliff, UNC Center for Mathematics, Technology and Science Education. SOT members will share their experiences as scientists to build interest in toxicology careers.

Undergraduate Education Program
Saturday, March 24, 5:30 PM–9:00 PM
Sponsored by: Committee for Diversity Initiatives
Chairperson(s): Vicente Santa Cruz, Chevron-Phillips, The Woodlands, TX. and Charles Miller, III, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA.

This event is for undergraduate students and advisors receiving MARC and SOT travel funding, and the SOT program volunteers.

Undergraduate Education Program
Sunday, March 25, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Sponsored by: Committee for Diversity Initiatives
Chairperson(s): Vicente Santa Cruz, Chevron-Phillips, The Woodlands, TX. and Charles Miller, III, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA.

The Sunday program is open to undergraduate students who registered for this event on the Annual Meeting Registration Form, the undergraduate students and advisors receiving MARC, SOT, and Pfizer travel funding, and the SOT program volunteers.

Undergraduate Education Program
Monday, March 26, 7:30 AM–2:15 PM
Sponsored by: Committee for Diversity Initiatives
Chairperson(s): Vicente Santa Cruz, CDI Chair, Chevron-Phillips, The Woodlands, TX and Javier Avalos, TopTox, Sacramento, CA.

Event for undergraduate students and advisors receiving MARC and SOT travel funding, and the SOT program volunteers.

Informational Session: Undergraduate Research As a Springboard into Research Careers
Monday, March 26, 4:30 PM–5:50 PM
Chairperson(s): Joan Tarloff, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA and Karen Stine, Ashland University, Ashland, OH.
Endorsed by: Career Resource and Development Committee
Committee on K–12 Education
Education Committee*

We believe that one of the best ways to recruit undergraduate students into graduate education is to expose them to well-designed and productive research programs.

SOT Educational Exhibits
Monday, March 26, 9:15 AM–4:30 PM, Tuesday–Wednesday, March 27–28, 8:30 AM–4:30 PM

Exhibits of materials suitable for use in public outreach and in classrooms by SOT members and other scientists and educators will be displayed in the ToxExpo™ at booths organized by the Animals in Research Committee and the Committee on K-12 Education.

Paracelsus Goes to School Teacher Workshop
Tuesday, March 27, 8:00AM-4:00 PM
Chairperson(s): Stacie Wild, Amgen, K-12 Committee Chair, Thousand Oaks, CA, and Kathleen Gray, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

SOT's Committee on K-12 Education will sponsor two workshops that introduce toxicology concepts to middle and high school teachers from Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas. In the workshop for high school teachers, participants will conduct bioassay experiments to detect toxicants and then use their experimental data to support proposals for hypothetical clean-water legislation in NC. A highlight of the workshop will be the involvement of UNC-Chapel Hill's traveling science buses. In the workshop for middle school teachers, participants will learn about the relationship between human health and the environment and investigate the roles that individuals, communities and governments play in decisions that affect human health. Activities will focus on asthma and lead poisoning.

K-12 Education: Investing in the Future of Toxicology
Wednesday, March 28, 4:30 PM to 5:50 PM
Chairperson(s): Suzanne Fitzpatrick, USFDA, Rockville, MD, and Dave Cragin, Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ
Endorsed by: Career Resource and Development Committee
Committee on K-12 Education*
Education Committee
Ethical Legal and Social Issues Specialty Section

Today's young students face a world of increasing global competition. To maintain the U.S. pre-eminence in science, scientific organizations such as the Society of Toxicology must foster innovation in K-12 science. Experienced scientists wish to get involved in enhancing opportunities for young students to actively participate in toxicology but often they don't know where to begin. This session will focus on the many opportunities and resources available for toxicologists to enable them to make a difference in our future generation of scientists by introducing them to the exciting world of toxicology.

The Importance of K-12 Activities to the Future of SOT, Ken Wallace, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN

Outsourcing, Offshoring, and Occupations in a Global Economy: The Case for Improving K-12 Science Education, Bruce Fuchs, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD

Planning K-12 Outreach Events - "Nuts and Bolts" of What You Can Do, Stacie Wild, Amgen, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA

Tips for Keeping Your Cool in a K-12 Class: Dos, Don'ts, and Tools, Steven Gilbert, Institute of Neurotoxicology & Neurological Disorders, Seattle, WA