Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Events

Lunch with an Expert

Sunday, March 6 through Thursday, March 10, time varies by group

(Meet at the Lunch with an Expert Bulletin Board in Registration Area)

Sponsor: Student Advisory Council

The purpose of Lunch with an Expert is to provide graduate students and postdoctoral scholars the opportunity to network informally with well-established toxicologists while obtaining career advice and meeting new colleagues. Small groups are composed by matching research interests of students and postdocs with those of an Expert. The Expert for each group identifies a time and place for a meal, and the group meets at the Lunch with an Expert Bulletin Board before proceeding to the restaurant. New this year: Meeting Room 16 in the Renaissance Hotel has been reserved for Lunch with an Expert groups from 11:30 AM–1:30 PM. You may pick up food in the food court below the hotel and then proceed to the reserved room if you prefer this option to meeting in a restaurant.

Registration is now closed. Details for each group meeting will be sent to participants in advance of the meeting.

Student/Postdoctoral Scholar Mixer

Sunday, March 6, Time: 8:00 PM–9:30 PM
Salon G

(Ticket and Meeting Badge Required)

Sponsor: Student Advisory Council

The Student Advisory Council and Graduate Committees host this opportunity for students and postdoctoral fellows to gather, to meet new colleagues, and to reestablish relationships in an informal atmosphere at the beginning of the meeting. Tickets are obtained at no cost by registering for this event on the Annual Meeting Registration Form. Ticket and meeting badge are required. Complimentary refreshments and a cash bar will be available.

Conversation with Dr. Tabak

Monday, March 7, 9:30 AM–10:30 AM
Room 304

(Ticket Required; Postdoctoral Scholars only, limited seating)

Chairperson: Michele La Merrill, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY

Sponsor: Postdoctoral Assembly

Dr. Tabak will meet informally for discussion with postdoctoral scholars after his Plenary Opening Lecture. Room size is limited, and participants will be selected by lottery from among postdoctoral meeting registrants who request a ticket by January 21.

In Vitro Toxicology Lecture and Luncheon for Students

Monday, March 7, Time: 12:00 NOON–1:20 PM
Salon G

(Ticket Required)

Sponsor: Colgate-Palmolive Company

Hosted by: Education Committee

Title: Full Speed into an Alternative Future

Lecturer: Robert E. Chapin, Pfizer, Groton, Connecticut

The purpose of this lecture is to discuss the importance of animal research to biomedical sciences and toxicology and the ethical obligations of the scientific community to follow the “3R’s” of animal testing (refine, reduce, replace) whenever it is feasible.

Graduate students, undergraduates, postdoctoral scholars, and recipients of Colgate-Palmolive awards are among the guests at the In Vitro Toxicology Lecture and Luncheon. The goal of the In Vitro Toxicology Lecture series is to feature important research using in vitro and alternative techniques to study basic mechanisms and to illustrate how these test methods benefit animal welfare by refining and reducing animal use. Students and postdocs can reserve a ticket for the luncheon with a $5 deposit when they register for the SOT Annual Meeting. Lunch is served at the beginning of the event and service concludes before the talk/main program begins. Meal service may not be available to guests who arrive after 12:30 PM.

The “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century” vision promulgates an in vitro approach to safety assessment based heavily on knowing the pathways responding in a cell and then correctly relating that to an in vivo exposure and response to predict the likely health outcome. But we are now much like Galileo was with our Moon: seeing the goal is many, many times easier than actually getting there. However, given that animal models correctly predict only 40–70% of human responses, in vitro models won’t actually have to do that well to be better than the current in vivo models. Thus, for both animal-use issues and for correct-predictivity issues, an in vitro future is a worthy and achievable goal. Meanwhile, there is much trial and error to pursue. This talk will quickly reprise an in vitro testing vision, and then put it into an industry perspective. It will soon become clear that we’re a long way from where we want to be. After this stage-setting, the audience will be asked to discuss and then present their answers to a set of related questions.

• What are the limitations (and “costs”) of the current approach using animals?
• What are the limitations of the proposed safety assessments using cell cultures and predictive models?
• What are some possible explanations for the less-than-hoped-for predictivity? Which is most likely, and why?
• How long will it take to implement this new paradigm? Why will it take longer than that?
• What role might stem cells play in this future? What are the assumptions (and thus, possible pitfalls) in their playing that role?
• List the benefts and drawbacks of having multiple cell types in the culture vs. having one cell type.
• What would be the motivations of industry to embrace this new toxicity testing vision? What conditions need to be met for that marriage to happen?
• Why might one solution to the predictivity problem be to use multiple predictive models? How would those models have to differ from each other to make that work?

Postdoctoral Assembly Luncheon

Tuesday, March 8, Time: 12:00 NOON–1:15 PM
Salon G

(Ticket Required)

Chairperson(s): Sarah Campion, PDA Chair, Brown University, Providence, RI

Sponsor: Postdoctoral Assembly

Amidst scrambling to attend all of the events at the meeting, this will be time for postdocs to kick back and relax! All postdoctoral fellows are invited to a casual luncheon organized by the Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA). We will announce the recipients of the Best Postdoctoral Publication Awards and acknowledge the postdocs who received awards this year from Specialty Sections and Regional Chapters. The PDA Board members will present an overview of accomplishments and future directions for the PDA and will introduce the new board members for 2011–2012. There will be a drawing for door prizes. Postdocs can purchase a ticket for $5 when registering for the Annual Meeting. The ticket charge is not refundable, reserves your place, and defrays some of the expenses for the luncheon. Lunch is served at the beginning of the event and service concludes before the main program begins. Meal service may not be available to guests who arrive after 12:30 PM.

50th Anniversary Silent Auction

Chairperson(s): Anne Loccisano, Postdoctoral Assembly Councilor, The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC

Sponsor: Postdoctoral Assembly

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of SOT, the Postdoctoral Assembly is organizing the 50th Anniversary Silent Auction. The auction will be open on-line and to all meeting attendees. We are soliciting items for donation, including anything of historical significance relative to SOT and toxicology (such as photographs, memorabilia, plaques, laboratory items) as well as dinners, air trips, and other items of general interest. Visit the SOT 50th Anniversary Web site to obtain the latest information about this activity.