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SOT Members Demonstrate that SOT Annual Meeting is a "Must Attend" Event: Attracting Scientists from Around the Globe
With over 6,700 attendees, SOT held a hugely successful 2009 Annual Meeting (March 15–19, 2009), second in attendance only to the 2008 Annual Meeting held in Seattle, Washington (6,861 attendees). Against the stark economic times, the attendance at the Annual Meeting underscored the importance of this event to scientists from around the globe. Comments in response to the 2009 Annual Meeting Survey included the following:
"Critical networking opportunity."
"Meeting was scientifically strong."
"Great meeting, the largest and best in Toxicology." |
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The Scientific Program Committee selected a number of themes to help shape a portion of the program, which were featured in some of the 27 Symposia, 19 Workshops, 14 Roundtables, 2 Historical Highlights, a Regional Interest session, as well as 4 education and career development and 5 informational sessions. There were 2,322 abstracts presented in 76 poster and 27 platform sessions, which included more than 70 extended abstract submissions highlighted at the Thursday, March 19 poster session. Moreover, 2,291 scientists attended the Continuing Education Program that offered a wide range of courses covering state-of-the-art knowledge in toxicology, as well as new developments in toxicology and related disciplines. The 13 courses included basic and advanced offerings.
Two Nobel Laureates delivered scientific presentations: including Paul Greengard, Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, and Aaron Ciechanover, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Bat Galim, Haifa, Israel, who delivered the Plenary and Keynote Medical Research Council (MRC) Lectures, respectively.
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| Paul Greengard |
Aaron Ciechanover |
Two distinguished scientists, Gilbert Omenn and John Walker, were named SOT Honorary Members. Dr. Omenn is Professor of Internal Medicine Human Genetics and Public Health at the University of Michigan and was recognized as the "archetypal candidate for this honor based on his significant contributions to creating a safer and healthier world." Professor Walker is Director of the Medicine Research Council Dunn Human Nutrition Unit in Cambridge, UK. In 1997, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Dr. Paul Boyer for their elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Dr. Walker delivered the Keynote Medical Research Council Lecture at the SOT 2008 Annual Meeting.
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| Gilbert Omenn |
John Walker |
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Adrian Nanez, Vanessa De La Rosa,
and Claude McGowan (from l to r) |
A highlight of the Annual Meeting was the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Undergraduate Education Program for Minority Students, which has raised awareness of the discipline of toxicology and serves as a catalyst to interest attendees to pursue graduate studies. Some of those scientists are now leading this program focused on attracting the next generation of scientists. For example, Adrian Nanez, now at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, was introduced to toxicology through this program. He presented the first Perry Gehring Diversity Student Travel Award to Vanessa De La Rosa. This award is presented to an alumna of the Undergraduate Education Program for Minority Students who is presenting a paper at the meeting in recognition of his/her continued activity in toxicology.
The NIH Brown Bag Lunch and NIH Resource Room were inaugurated this year by the Research Funding Committee, chaired by Joel G. Pounds. Annual Meeting attendees joined with staff from the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) and the NIEHS program officers for the Brown Bag Lunch and also in informal discussion in the NIH Resource Room. This new program will be continued at the SOT 2010 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City.
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| NIH Brown Bag Lunch |
Preparations are underway for the SOT 2010 Annual Meeting, March 7–11, 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The themes for the scientific sessions are Cell Signaling, Gene Environment Interactions, Metabolic Disease, Mitochondrial Basis of Disease, Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century, and Translational Toxicology. Visit the SOT Web site to keep abreast of meeting developments and begin your plans to attend.
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