Council

Participation:

Laurie C. Haws

President (2024–2025)

ToxStrategies, LLC

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 (2024–2025)

Durham, NC

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:

James P. Luyendyk

Vice President-Elect (2024–2025)

Michigan State University

Dr. Luyendyk is the Albert and Lois Dehn Endowed Chair and Professor in Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation and member of the Institute for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University. Dr. Luyendyk has 15 years of uninterrupted support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his research focused on mechanisms linking components of the hemostatic system with hepatotoxicity and liver repair/regeneration. He is a prior recipient of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award.

Dr. Luyendyk has published nearly 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts and co-authored the liver chapter of Casarett & Doull’s Toxicology. He has served on the editorial board of Toxicological Sciences and as a standing member of the Xenobiotic and Nutrient Disposition and Action Study Section, including as Chairperson. Dr. Luyendyk also is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.

Dr. Luyendyk has been a meaningfully engaged member of SOT for more than 20 years, joining in 2001. Previously, Dr. Luyendyk served on SOT Council as the Secretary and was Chair of the SOT Graduate Student Leadership Committee Executive Board, the SOT Postdoctoral Assembly Board, and SOT Committee on Diversity Initiatives. Within the Component Groups, he has served as President of the Michigan Regional Chapter and as a Councilor for the Central States Regional Chapter and Mechanisms Specialty Section.

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:

Rebecca C. Fry

Treasurer-Elect (2024–2025)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. Fry is the Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill). She is the Acting Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. She is also the Director of UNC-Chapel Hill’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)–funded Superfund Research Program and the Founding Director of the Institute for Environmental Health Solutions at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Dr. Fry’s laboratory focuses on understanding the mechanisms that link prenatal exposure to toxic substances with adverse health outcomes in the mother or child with a focus on the epigenetic basis of disease. She has an outstanding publication and mentoring record in the field of toxicology and environmental sciences.

Dr. Fry has the experience that is necessary to serve as a strong and effective SOT Treasurer, including managing multi-million dollar budgets within the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the UNC-Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program, and the Institute for Environmental Health Solutions. In her leadership roles at UNC-Chapel Hill, she manages budgeting processes, which involve developing and maintaining budgets, monitoring expenses, and ensuring that the groups operate within their financial limits. Additionally, she is responsible for preparing annual reports detailing fiscal spending in these areas. In each of these roles, she has shown her dedication to being an effective collaborator, integrating voices across disciplines and working with diverse groups. She is committed to fostering transparent and productive work environments.

Dr. Fry is currently an Associate Editor for Toxicological Sciences.

She has been committed to SOT since joining in 2010. She received the Society’s Translational Impact Award in 2021 and has served as a member of the Society’s Awards Committee. She also served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the SOT Metals Specialty Section (MSS) prior to serving as the MSS President and as a Councilor for the Stem Cells Specialty Section.

Participation:

Matthew J. Campen

Secretary (2024–2026)

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:

Dori R. Germolec

Past President (2024–2025)

Chapel Hill, NC

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:

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:

Darryl B. Hood

Councilor (2024–2027)

Ohio State University, College of Public Health

Dr. Hood’s passion regarding the importance of teaching, mentoring graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty in the academy and toxicological research enterprise continues to be undergirded by the declining statistics documenting that less than 0.21% of persons holding PhD degrees in the sciences are from individuals that look like him. During the 32 years of his training at both an underrepresented minority academic health science center and research-intensive R01 institutions, he has grown to have a strong affinity for both learning environments. Making the transition from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine-Meharry Medical College Alliance to the Ohio State University College of Public Health over that time period has allowed Dr. Hood the opportunity to significantly enhance his academic research and professional and collaborative leadership skill sets toward being an effective SOT Councilor.

Currently, Dr. Hood is a tenured Full Professor with a robust research portfolio and national reputation as a scholarly environmental public health neurotoxicologist. He also holds the administrative position of Deans’ Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence in the College of Public Health at Ohio State University. Dr. Hood serves in leadership roles at the university, regional, state, and national levels. He is a member of the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He also serves as a member of the Children’s Environmental Health Committee and the Standing Committee on Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions and most recently as a member on the Public Health Research and Surveillance Priorities from the East Palestine, Ohio, Train Derailment at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

The combination of Dr. Hood’s broad academic, research, service, and diverse work experiences in different settings has allowed him to identify and form connections between and among various people, professions, and organizations. His approach as an academic leader and manager includes joining, assembling, and interacting with functional collaborative and cooperative groups. He refers to himself as an active partner relying on more than delegation to initiate and complete various tasks and projects. He has a passion for generating and catalyzing ideas from others to create, develop, strategize, prioritize, implement, and achieve the stated goals. In all his work, Dr. Hood has been able to build consensus enthusiastically and politely in a very deliberate and organized manner which will serve him well in the role of Councilor.

Dr. Hood has been an SOT member since 2000. He has previously served as the Chair of the SOT Education and Career Development Committee and President of the SOT Toxicologists of African Origin Special Interest Group.

Participation:

Agnes L. Karmaus

Councilor (2024–2027)

Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC

Passionate about toxicology, Dr. Karmaus has grown into her career through engagement with SOT. Dr. Karmaus is currently a Senior Computational Toxicologist and Human Safety Project Expert at Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, specializing in the integration of in vitro and computational toxicology in risk assessment context. Her expertise lies in high-throughput screening and predictive toxicology, and her work focuses on developing, evaluating the performance, and integrating alternative approaches to animal testing.

Dr. Karmaus has a diverse research background. Having completed a dual PhD degree in biochemistry/molecular biology and environmental/integrative toxicology at Michigan State University in the laboratory of Dr. Tim Zacharewski, her early research included evaluating species-comparative metabolomic and toxicogenomic hepatotoxicity of dioxin both in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, her dissertation comprised in vitro assay development, establishing the BLTK1 murine Leydig cell line as an assay system for identifying steroidogenesis-disrupting compounds.

In addition to laboratory-based research, Dr. Karmaus was the recipient of the 2012 SOT Colgate-Palmolive Award for Student Research Training in Alternative Methods as well as the ILSI North America Food and Chemical Safety Summer Fellowship Award, both of which she used to begin her training in computational toxicology by immersing herself in the Tox21 and ToxCast programs, focusing her work on the evaluation of food-use compounds. Subsequently, as a postdoctoral fellow within the US Environmental Protection Agency National Center for Computational Toxicology, Dr. Karmaus formally contributed to the Tox21 and ToxCast high-throughput screening programs. Her work has culminated in 42 peer-reviewed publications as well as two book chapters across multiple disciplines with a broad network of collaborators and research interests.

Dr. Karmaus has been an active member of SOT since joining in 2007 and has attended every Annual Meeting and ToxExpo since the junior year of her undergraduate degree. Dr. Karmaus devotes significant time to volunteering with SOT, serving as Chair of the SOT Education and Career Development Committee and Councilor for the SOT In Vitro and Alternative Methods Specialty Section, and is a strong advocate for the success of SOT programs encouraging diversity and early career scientists. She has participated in several sessions to promote SOT activities, encouraging graduate student membership to pursue internships and fellowships and supporting international members with navigating opportunities offered by SOT.

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:

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).