Council

Participation:

Dori R. Germolec

President (2023–2024)

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Dr. Germolec currently serves as the Immunology discipline leader for the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and oversees the efforts of the NTP to design, interpret, and report studies that assess the potential for chemicals to modulate immune responses.

She is particularly interested in persistent immunologic effects following in utero exposure to xenobiotics, autoimmune disease, and the development of in vitro methods to assess immune function. Dr. Germolec also serves as a project leader for toxicology studies and is spearheading the NTP research efforts to evaluate the health effects of exposure to molds.

Dr. Germolec has been an SOT member since 1996. She has previously served as an SOT Councilor and on several task forces and working groups within the Society. She is a member of the North Carolina Regional Chapter and the Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group, and she has served as Councilor and on the Presidential Chain of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section, of which she has been a member since 1996. She has received several awards from the Society, including the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section Vos Lifetime Career Achievement Award in Immunotoxicology in 2017.

Participation:

Laurie C. Haws

Vice President (2023–2024)

ToxStrategies Inc.

Dr. Laurie Couture Haws has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of toxicology, human health risk assessment, safety assessment, and risk communication. Dr. Haws has a diverse background, having worked for both government agencies and the private sector in a variety of capacities. She began her career as a scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, where she worked while pursuing both her MS and PhD under the direction of Dr. Linda Birnbaum. Dr. Haws then spent more than a decade as a regulatory toxicologist with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), where she served as a manager in the Toxicology Division. During her tenure with the TCEQ, Dr. Haws was committed to expanding the role and prominence of toxicology within the Commission and was instrumental in growing the group from 3 to more than 30 toxicologists. In 2008, Dr. Haws co-founded ToxStrategies, where she serves as a Managing Principal Scientist and President. During her tenure in leading ToxStrategies, the company has grown from 2 to over 60 scientists and has expanded to provide technical and regulatory support for pharmaceuticals/biopharmaceuticals, foods, dietary supplements, pet food, animal feed, consumer products, and health and beauty care products. Key initiatives under her leadership included establishment of the Center of Excellence for 21st Century Toxicology to assist clients with the transition from traditional toxicology testing strategies to 21st century toxicology tools and technologies for the purpose of supporting the safety decision process from compound discovery to regulatory submission across different sectors, as well as the addition of EpidStrategies which is focused on contributing to research on complex health conditions to improve public health.

Dr. Haws is an author on 61 peer-reviewed publications. In addition, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Toxicology Forum and is an active member of several additional professional societies, including ACT, SRA, and RAPS. Dr. Haws has also served on a number of scientific panels, technical workgroups, and advisory committees, including the World Health Organization’s Toxic Equivalency Factor Review Panel and the Exposure and Human Health Committee of the US EPA’s Science Advisory Board.

Participation:

Cynthia V. Rider

Vice President-Elect (2023–2024)

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Dr. Cynthia Rider is a toxicologist with the National Toxicology Program (NTP), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), where she serves as project leader for a diverse portfolio of testing programs including polycyclic aromatic compounds, botanical dietary supplements, and industrial chemicals. As a study scientist, she designs, evaluates, and communicates results from in vitro and in vivo toxicological studies of chemicals selected for investigation by the NTP. Dr. Rider’s research interests are in evaluating and refining methods to predict mixture toxicity based on data from components or whole reference mixtures. She has established several collaborations with industry, government, and academic scientists to advance the field of mixtures toxicology. Her overarching goal, through her research efforts at NTP and collaborative partnerships, is to generate robust toxicological data to inform risk assessment of mixtures, including chemical and nonchemical stressors. She received her BS from Tulane University in Environmental Studies and Biology and her PhD from North Carolina State University in Environmental Toxicology. She completed postdoctoral training in the Reproductive Toxicology Branch of the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency and the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology in 2011.

Participation:

Brian S. Cummings

Treasurer (2023–2025)

Wayne State University

Dr. Cummings has been actively engaged in serving SOT for over 20 years. He has served as an officer for multiple Specialty Sections and also on various national committees. Dr. Cummings is currently the Dean of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He was formerly the Department Head of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Georgia. He was also the Director of the Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program at the University of Georgia for 7 years. With regards to professional service, he is the Past Chair of the Toxicology Division of ASPET and is a Past President of the Mechanisms Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology and a Past President of the Southeastern Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology. He is a Past Chair of the Awards Nomination Committee. He is an Associate Editor for Toxicological Sciences and Chemico-Biological Interactions.  Finally, he has served as the Chair, or Co-Chair for several DOD and NIH Study Sections.

Participation:

James P. Luyendyk

Secretary (2022–2024)

Michigan State University

Dr. Luyendyk is professor of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation and member of the Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University. His research focuses on defining the mechanisms linking components of the hemostatic system, recognized for its role in bleeding and thrombosis, with hepatotoxicity and liver repair/regeneration. Dr. Luyendyk has published more than 105 peer-reviewed manuscripts and serves on the editorial boards of Toxicological Sciences and the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Dr. Luyendyk has been an active SOT member since joining the membership in 2002, chairing the Graduate Student Leadership Committee and Postdoctoral Assembly Executive Board. Among his many Committee positions during his membership in the Society, Dr. Luyendyk most recently served as the 2019–2020 Chair of the Committee on Diversity Initiatives. He is a member and Past President of the Michigan Regional Chapter and is a member of the Out Toxicologists and Allies Special Interest Group; Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group; Molecular and Systems Biology Specialty Section; and Toxicologic and Exploratory Pathology Specialty Section. He was also the 2020 recipient of the SOT Achievement Award.

Participation:

Matthew J. Campen

Secretary-Elect (2023–2024)

University of New Mexico

Dr. Matthew J. Campen is a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy at the University of New Mexico (UNM). His laboratory is broadly interested in the cross-talk of the cardiovascular and respiratory system in health and disease. His primary research focus involves the impact of inhaled toxicants, especially common air pollutants, on vascular function and injury. Prior to joining UNM, he worked at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute as the Director of Physiology, conducting contract-based safety and efficacy research, as well as developing an independent program on air pollution toxicology. Dr. Campen directs the new NIGMS-funded New Mexico Center for Metals in Biology and Medicine at UNM, and is incoming coPI for the UNM Clinical and Translational Science Center. He also is the Deputy Director for the NIEHS P42 UNM Metal Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest (UNM METALS) Superfund Research Program Center. Dr. Campen currently serves as a Deputy Editor for Toxicological Sciences and, in 2013, he shared the Toxicological Sciences Editor-in-Chief position with Dr. John Lipscomb. He has authored more than 120 peer reviewed publications largely in the area of air pollution health effects.

Participation:

Michael Aschner

Past President (2023–2024)

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Dr. Aschner has served on numerous national and international toxicology panels (Institute of Medicine, US Environmental Protection Agency, and Center for Disease Control), served and chaired a National Institutes of Health study section, and he has authored approximately 630 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 100 book chapters in the area of neurotoxicology. He presently serves as Associate Editor (Neurotoxicology; Toxicological Sciences; Neurochemical Research; and BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology), Section Editor Frontiers in Toxicogenomics, and on the editorial boards (Toxicology; Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis; Alcohol; Neurochemical Research) of several journals. He edited several books related to neurotoxicology. He is a member of the Society of Toxicology, Society for Neuroscience, a fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, and a Past President of the International Neurotoxicology Association. In 2011, Dr. Aschner was a recipient of the SOT Merit Award. Dr. Aschner currently serves the President of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences (2019–2020).

Dr. Aschner’s research interests and expertise are in the field of neurobiology and physiology of astrocytes and the mechanisms of central nervous system injury. Dr. Aschner has substantively contributed to the understanding of metal uptake and distribution in the brain, devoting the last 30 years of his research to the mechanisms of transport of methylmercury, manganese, and uranium across the capillaries composing the blood-brain barrier, as well as their cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurotoxicity. Current studies in the lab address basic mechanisms in various experimental models (C. elegans, tissue cultures, and rodents) as well as follow-up on the sequelae of manganese deposition in the brains of human neonates.

He also has mentored numerous graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and has directed both the Vanderbilt University Medical Center P30 and T32 NIH/NIEHS Center and Training grants, respectively, in Molecular Toxicology. Dr. Aschner began his professional career with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester, School of Medicine in 1987.

Participation:

Lauren M. Aleksunes

Councilor (2022–2025)

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Dr. Aleksunes is a mechanistic toxicologist and educator at Rutgers University where she is Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Lead of Workforce Development for the NJ Clinical and Translational Science Award Program. Her translational research focuses on roles for membrane transporter proteins in modulating the disposition and toxicity of drugs and chemicals in the kidneys, liver, and placenta. Accomplishments include identifying how transporters regulate fetal exposure to drugs and environmental contaminants as well as determine the sensitivity of susceptible populations to adverse drug reactions. The Aleksunes laboratory takes a comprehensive approach to translate novel transporter findings from in vitro screening assays to birth cohorts and clinical trials. Her research has been continuously funded by NIH since 2008 including selection as a NIEHS Outstanding New Environmental Health Scientist (ONES awardee) and recognition by the Society with the 2016 Achievement Award, and 2019 Women in Toxicology Outstanding Young Investigator Award. Findings from her team have been disseminated in over 130 publications.

Dr. Aleksunes is deeply committed to training the next generation of toxicologists. This includes serving as Director of the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology (since 2015, funded by a NIEHS T32 grant) and Co-Director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (since 2010, funded by a NIEHS R25 grant and SOT Intern Program). For her commitment to education and training, Dr. Aleksunes was recognized with the 2021 Teacher of the Year Award in the Rutgers’ School of Pharmacy, 2020 Rutgers Chancellor Educator of the Year Award, 2018 Excellence in Teaching Award from the New Jersey Health Foundation, and 2015 Mentor of the Year Award from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education.

Participation:

Chidozie J. Amuzie

Councilor (2023–2026)

Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Dozie Amuzie is the Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JLABS in Canada where he is responsible for external engagement, innovation sourcing, new company onboarding, educational programming, and portfolio management. He is trained, board-certified, and experienced in comparative pathology and toxicological sciences. Before his current role, Dr. Amuzie was at Janssen Pharmaceutical R&D, where he was nonclinical safety representative on projects and led the North American Discovery and Project Pathology organization. Dr. Amuzie is a modality-agnostic safety assessment leader and had the privilege to work with teams that drove discovery or acquisition of several biopharmaceutical entities across 10 modalities from early discovery through clinical development and some regulatory approvals. His scientific leadership has helped shape strategies for safety assessment of some novel modalities at Janssen R&D. Prior to joining Janssen R&D, Dr. Amuzie was the Associate Director of Pathology at MPI Research, where he spent about five years in various pathology roles, on diverse nonclinical safety assessment studies. He also provided scientific leadership for the biomarker and investigative pathology unit.

Dr. Amuzie has authored/coauthored six book chapters and 22 peer-reviewed manuscripts in different areas of immunotoxicology, pathobiology and animal models of disease. He was a guest editor on a 2022 Toxicologic Pathology journal special issue that created practical knowledge on the pathology of laboratory nonhuman primates.

Participation:

Antonio T. Baines

Councilor (2021–2024)

North Carolina Central University

Dr. Baines is an Associate Professor at North Carolina Central University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a cancer biologist.

Dr. Baines was first introduced to SOT when he received the Undergraduate Travel Award to attend the Annual Meeting as a sophomore in college. An active SOT member since 1996, he was the 2016 recipient of the SOT Undergraduate Educator Award. He has also served as a Councilor of the Toxicologists of African Origin Special Interest Group and received the Toxicologists of African Origin Legacy Mentor/Educator Award in 2011. He chaired the Undergraduate Consortium Task Force and is a member of the Membership Committee.

Participation:

Betina J. Lew

Councilor (2022–2025)

Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Betina J. Lew is a Board Certified (DABT) and European Registered (ERT) Toxicologist  with broad experience in Medical Devices and Consumer Goods Industry. She is currently an Associate Director of Toxicology and Biocompatibility at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) where she manages the Ethicon Inc (Somerville/Raritan, NJ) team and oversees the safety of a diverse portfolio, including the Wound Closure and Healing, Biosurgery and Mentor Breast Implants Businesses. She had the opportunity of working as a Toxicologist and Safety Manager in other companies (such as Procter and Gamble and Reckitt Benckiser). Dr. Lew was a Postdoctoral Trainee in Toxicology at the Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester (NY) for more than four years, where she worked in elucidating the mechanisms by which environmental pollutants alter the normal development of mammary glands. She earned a PhD through a joint program from São Paulo State and Michigan State University, a MS from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and a BS from São Paulo State University.  

Since 2007, Dr. Lew has been an active member of the SOT and served on several committees. She served as the Chair (2021–2022) of the Membership Committee, which she was elected member in 2019. She was President of Women in Toxicology (WIT, 2016–2018), Councilor of Risk Assessment Specially Session (RASS, 2016–2019). She was a member of CRAD (2013–2016), President of the Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists (HOT) from 2011–2013, their Councilor (2009–2011) and Chair of the Awards and Education committees (2010–2012). She has also served as the Chair (2008–2010) for the Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA). Throughout her career, Dr. Lew received many awards and grants support. Dr. Lew is a strong supporter of the future Toxicologists and Trainees at SOT. She co-chaired numerous sessions focused on career development of younger toxicologists and mentored several students and postdocs.

Participation:

Jennifer L. Rayner

Councilor (2023–2026)

SRC, Inc.

Dr. Rayner is a toxicologist at SRC, Inc. in Arlington, VA where she works with a team to develop toxicity assessments and technical documents to protect human health and decrease environmental impacts. She serves as a Program and Task Order Manager for various projects supporting the United States Environmental Protection Agency in their mission to ensure the safety of new chemicals in commerce. Dr. Rayner manages a multidisciplinary team of toxicologists, chemists, and biologists at SRC to develop, update, and implement methods to fill data gaps where little or no experimental measured mammalian or ecotoxicological data are available including: close analogue analysis, structural chemical class analogy, mechanisms of toxicity, adverse outcome pathways, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), and professional judgment. On a day-to-day basis, she conducts critical analysis of scientific literature, toxicological studies, and reports and writes summaries, technical documents, risk assessments, and literature reviews to present findings to external stakeholders.

Dr. Rayner devotes significant time to volunteering with SOT and various community groups related to science education and mentoring. She has been involved with SOT since 2001 when she attended the Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI) Undergraduate Diversity Program. She has continued involvement with the CDI Undergraduate Program through the years, serving as Peer Mentor, Host Mentor, CDI Committee member, and CDI Chair. Other activities include SOT Table Host for In Vitro Toxicology Lecture and Luncheon, SOT Mentoring Breakfast facilitator, SOT Mentoring Task Force member, SOT Continuing Education Committee, Councilor for SOT Toxicologists of African Origin, and SOT Continuing Education Committee Co-Chair and Chair. Dr Rayner also serves as a mentor in the Toxicology Mentoring and Skills Development Training Program, a year-long mentoring program for undergraduate students, in which has been able to guide the development of future scientists. She firmly believes in helping the next generation to be successful and her passion is to see more underrepresented students in toxicology.

Participation:

Robyn Leigh Tanguay

Councilor (2021–2024)

Oregon State University

A recognized scholar whose work on zebrafish models has advanced the understanding of how chemicals influence embryonic development, Dr. Tanguay is a Distinguished Progressor at Oregon State University. Over the past several years, she has pioneered the use of zebrafish as a systems toxicology model, and her team has developed automated high-throughput instrumentation to accelerate phenotype discovery and have evaluated the bioactivity of thousands of chemicals and mixtures.

Dr. Tanguay joined the SOT membership in 2000, and has served in many positions within the Society. She has served as a member of the Board of Publications and is an Associate Editor of Toxicological Sciences. She also is a Past President of the Pacific Northwest Regional Chapter as well as the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Specialty Section. She is a member of the Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group and Molecular and Systems Biology Specialty Section, among other Component Group memberships, and received the Toxicological Sciences Paper of the Year Award in 2020.

Participation:

Tonia M. Masson

Executive Director

Society of Toxicology

Ms. Masson previously served as the SOT Deputy Director and continues to serve SOT Council in shaping the strategy for fostering collaboration opportunities and guiding SOT’s mission.

Ms. Masson has been with AIM, our management company, since 1999 and is a founding managing partner. She served as the Executive Director for the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society, the Teratology Society, and the Toxicology Forum.

Ms. Masson is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).