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President's Message
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President
Cheryl Lyn Walker |
Despite the great public health advances of the 20th century, the turn of the 21st century began a challenging period of reduced research funding and the perception of a diminished role for science in public policy decision making. In response to these circumstances, as part of its new Strategic Plan, SOT mobilized the efforts of its members and Headquarters staff to champion increased research funding and the importance of applying scientific knowledge to safeguard the health of the public and the environment.
Fast forward to 2009, where the success of this strategy is now evident, as SOT Councilors continue to build on the efforts of their predecessors in their new capacity as SOT liaisons to many federal agencies whose missions are aligned with our mission of “creating a safer and healthier world by advancing the science of toxicology.” This emphasis on building partnerships has lead to increased interactions at the highest level with the Food and Drug Administration/National Center for Toxicological Research (FDA/NCTR), Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the National Institute of Health’s Center for Scientific Review (NIH CSR).
These interactions have lead to the establishment of designated liaison teams comprised of agency staff and SOT Councilors, and the development of close working relationships between the agencies and SOT, including the signing of a Letter of Collaboration between SOT and U.S. EPA to ensure the continued vitality of this working relationship. In addition, the leadership of several of these government organizations will be participating in “Meet the Director” sessions at the SOT 2010 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, March 7–11, 2010.
In keeping with the theme of increased interaction with government agencies, on July 8, SOT and the NIEHS held a reception to honor new NIEHS and National Toxicology Program (NTP) Director Linda Birnbaum, who served as SOT President 2004–2005. At this event, SOT reaffirmed its commitment to partner with NIEHS and others in educating legislators on the importance of sustained research funding to improve the health of the public and the environment and to ensure U.S. competitiveness in a global economy. The Capitol Hill event drew representatives from both sides of the aisle and scientists from academia, industry, and government. Over 120 attendees sought the opportunity to meet with Dr. Birnbaum and introduce issues of importance to be addressed in the months and years ahead. Congressman David Price (D-NC) served as the host of this event and expressed his support for NIEHS and its research. On July 27, he referred to this celebratory reception during remarks he delivered at the grand opening of the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit.
In order to demonstrate the Society’s commitment to the importance of science in the public policy process, on July 9, SOT presented the organization’s first annual Congressional Science Leadership Award to Congressman David Wu (D-OR). Dr. Wu is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over research and technology policy, and he chairs the House Science Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. The award underscores the importance of the reliance of legislators and regulators on the integrity of science in order to make informed decisions. SOT Councilors Jon Cook, Larry Curtis, Peter Goering, Martin Philbert, SOT Executive Director Shawn Lamb, and I were pleased to make this presentation on behalf of the Society.
Although the catalyst for some of SOT’s outreach and educational initiatives was born of adversity, it appears that brighter days are ahead with a new found respect for scientific inquiry emerging and reliance on sound science in decision making increasingly part of the public discourse. In this regard, the investment that SOT has made in forging these government partnerships will be critically important in sustaining SOT’s efforts to expand and deepen understanding of the importance of toxicology to human health and disease prevention, and the necessity of adequate research funding to reach this goal.
Cheryl Lyn Walker,
2009–2010 SOT President
Past Presidents of the Society
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