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About the SOT Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA)
Postdoctoral membership in SOT provides early career toxicologists with opportunities for scientific growth, networking, and career advancement. All members of SOT who self-identify as postdoctoral scholars are part of the Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA), which was formed to increase involvement of postdocs in SOT and to address issues related to the postdoctoral experience. The PDA is governed by an elected PDA Executive Board who provide leadership for communications, strategic activities, and events of special interest to postdocs. Postdoctoral members serve leadership roles in the Society by participating as representatives for SOT Regional Chapters, Special Interest Groups, Specialty Sections, and to Committees.
Celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week
September 19–23, 2022
How SOT Defines a Postdoc
The Society of Toxicology aligns its definition of a postdoctoral researcher closely with the definition set by the National Postdoctoral Association.
Characteristics that define a postdoctoral position include:
- The postdoctoral appointment is temporary.
- Effort is focused primarily on research.
- The development of professional skills prepares the postdoc to actively pursue a career.
- The postdoc is supervised by at least one senior scholar.
- The postdoc is allowed and encouraged to publish the results of his or her research or scholarship.
- The appointment is not part of a clinical training program.
PDA Executive Board and Representatives
All SOT Postdoctoral members are part of the Society’s Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA), which is governed by the elected PDA Executive Board. Postdoctoral representatives are appointed to SOT Regional Chapters, Special Interest Groups, Specialty Sections, and some SOT Committees to enhance the involvement of postdoctoral scholars within SOT.
PDA Executive Board
Mohamed Ghorab
Chair
Dr. Mohamed Ghorab works for US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), the Office of Pesticide (OPP), Chemistry, Inerts, and Toxicology Assessment Branch (CITAB) as a toxicologist scientist since December 2020. Where he is responsible for researching, reviewing, and evaluating toxicological scientific data and/or pesticide-based studies and all collateral information regarding health effects of pesticides and other related chemicals; assessing pesticide exposures in community, occupational, and residential settings; and evaluating environmental monitoring data under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIRFA), Appling the US EPA risk assessment models and Preparing exposure assessment, toxicity evaluation, and risk assessment documents under US EPA regulations. Before coming to OCSPP/US EPA, Dr. Ghorab was a Research Toxicologist working as a contractor for EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) in Cincinnati, OH. where he was responsible for a number of acute and chronic toxicity projects at ORD’s Aquatic Research Facility. He also headed the Toxicology group as Team leader and played a key role in the continued development and validation of toxicity methods. Mohamed earned his BS degree in Agriculture Science with a major in Chemistry and his MS degree in Pesticide Chemistry and Toxicology from Alexandria University and obtained his PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Alexandria University and Michigan State University. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Ghorab served as a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State University’s Wildlife Toxicology Lab (WTL), where he focused on research on the fate and effects of potentially toxic compounds, particularly in the area of ecological risk assessment. Additionally, his work at WTL included research in the movement, bioaccumulation, and effects of toxic substances at different levels of biological organization, ranging from terrestrial to aquatic and biochemical to the ecosystem. Mohamed was awarded the Postdoctoral and early career award from the Society of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology (SETAC) in 2020 and earned the Outstanding Professional Award from special-interest group SOT-ATA, 2021. Dr. Ghorab an active member of the SOT since 2015 and served the Toxicologists of African Origin (TAO) as postdoctoral representative.
Anke Tukker
Vice Chair
Anke Tukker obtained a BSc in Biomedical Sciences (Utrecht University, NL), followed by an MA in Latin America studies (University of Amsterdam, NL) and MSc in Toxicology and Environmental Health (Utrecht University, NL). She obtained her PhD (2020) in Neurotoxicology (supervisor: Dr. Remco Westerink; Utrecht University, NL) and currently is a postdoc in Dr. Aaron Bowman’s lab at Purdue University. Anke has strong interests in neurotoxicology, alternative model development and gene-environment interactions. She became a member of SOT in 2016 and joined NTSS and WIT. In 2021 she joined IVAMSS and SCSS. In 2019 she presented in the SOT Symposium Session “Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Global and Persistent Environmental Contaminants.” In 2020, Anke was chair and presenter of the Symposium Session “Opportunities for human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons in in vitro neurotoxicity safety testing.”
Katelyn Dunigan Russell
Secretary
Dr. Dunigan Russell received her BS from University of Central Florida (2015) and her PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2020), where she sought to understand the role of antioxidant species in the neonatal lung. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Dr. Kymberly Gowdy’s laboratory at Ohio State University. Her research focuses on the relationship between ozone-induced inflammation and alterations in antioxidant responses. She has taken advantage of opportunities at the regional (Ohio Valley) SOT Meeting, and is excited to attend the national meetings. SOT has allowed her to share her research and network with other scientists. In the past, she has enjoyed serving on other committees, including Society for Free Radical Biology & Medicine Trainee Council (Council Member/Vice Chair) and UAB Graduate Student Government (Travel Grant and Emergency Loan Officer).
Aalekhya Reddam
Treasurer
Dr. Aalekhya Reddam is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Kupsco and Baccarelli labs at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She completed her PhD in Environmental Toxicology at the University of California, Riverside in 2021 and did her BSc at the University of Miami. Over the course of her undergraduate and graduate research, she transitioned from aquatic ecotoxicology to molecular toxicology and exposure science. For her postdoctoral research, she is focusing on examining associations between environmental toxicant exposure and child development and inflammatory diseases. Aalekhya has presented at every SOT since 2019, including at the 2019 SoCal SOT fall meeting. In addition to being a member of ESS, she was the graduate student officer for MSBSS from 2020 to 2021. She has been involved in leadership roles all through her undergraduate and graduate degrees and is looking forward to serving at a greater capacity in SOT.
Emily Marques
Councilor
Dr. Marques is a Postdoc at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMASS) where she is investigating relationships between chemical redox signaling modulation and zebrafish development under the mentorship of Dr. Alicia Timme-Laragy. She received her doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Rhode Island in 2020 and started her postdoc in August of 2020. She is an author/co-author of 11 peer-reviewed publications. She has been a member of SOT since 2015 and has served in a variety of roles: an awards committee member for the WIT special interest group (2018), a poster session co-chair (2019), a co-chair of a platform session (cancelled due to COVID-19), the graduate student representative of the Mechanisms specialty section (2019–2020) and as the postdoctoral representative of the NESOT regional chapter (2021–2022). She will be presenting a poster this year at the annual meeting and is excited to be more involved with PDA Executive Board.
Pavani Gonnabathula
Councilor
Dr. Gonnabathula is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) postdoctoral fellow at FDA National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), where she is working on physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling tools for the “Development of a First-Generation In-House FDA Pregnancy PBPK Model-Based Tool to Enhance the Safety and Efficacy of Therapeutic Agents in the Perinatal Period.” She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree at Texas Southern University from Environmental and Interdisciplinary Sciences Dept., Houston, Texas in November 2020 and has been a postdoctoral fellow at NCTR from May 2021 to present. She holds Master’s degree in Industrial Pharmacy from Kakatiya University (2014) and Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Andhra University (2010), India. She served as a Lecturer in Pharmacy for two years (2010–2012) at Govt. Polytechnic college, India and as a Teaching Assistant at Texas Southern University for Biology and Chemistry for the year 2016–2020. Dr. Gonnabathula has attended and presented at various conferences and annual meetings in the areas of Toxicology, Environmental Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacy, and Chemistry. She presented in the platform session at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Conference, San Antonio, TX, March 2018 as graduate student non-member. She has authored of a book chapter and two publications. She was a student ambassador and organizing member of Alumni and organized several annual cultural events at COSET, Texas Southern University. Also, contributed as Science Fair Judge at iSWEEP Science fair, 2017 and Beatrice Mayes Institute Charter School science fair 2017 and 2018. She volunteered at 31st, 32nd, and 33rd Annual Career & Education Day organized by Houston Hispanic Forum for the year 2017, 2018, and 2019. Back in India, she worked as an invigilator for certain Govt. entrance exams like Group-II and APPSC; also worked as an external practical examiner for pharmacy institutions.
Marty Sue
Council Contact
Dr. Marty joined the Dow Chemical Company in Toxicology and Environmental Research and Consulting (TERC) in 1997. She worked for many years in Dow’s toxicology laboratory, conducting studies in developmental and reproductive toxicology (DART), endocrine disruption and neurotoxicology. Currently, Dr. Marty serves as the Science Director in Toxicology at Dow, where she works with multi-disciplinary teams to develop science strategy and investigate toxicological issues related to human health and the environment. TERC’s science program is focused on developing early screening approaches for more sustainable chemistries, including non-animal alternative methods (NAMs) in support of Dow’s Predictive Toxicology Program. She has served on numerous committees, including the US EPA Chartered Science Advisory Board and the United Nations Environment Programme Advisory Group on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. Other international committees on which Dr. Marty is active include the OECD Working Group of the National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Programme (WNT), the OECD Developmental Neurotoxicity Expert Group and the OECD Endocrine Disruptor Testing and Assessment Advisory Group. Dr. Marty has had the good fortune to collaborate on manuscripts with researchers from regulatory agencies, academia, and contract research organizations as well as industry colleagues, resulting in more than 80 peer-reviewed publications. She is on the Editorial Board for Birth Defects Research, the journal for the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (formerly the Teratology Society). She is a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT). Dr. Marty received her PhD from the University of Michigan, specializing in the area of reproductive toxicology and was a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State University, where she studied the neurotoxicity of methylmercury.
Postdoc Regional Chapter, Special Interest Group, and Specialty Section Representatives
Each SOT Regional Chapter, Special Interest Group, and Specialty Section may appoint a Postdoctoral Representative to provide leadership for their group and communication with the PDA. The representative encourages membership in SOT and the Component Group as well as development of activities to enhance involvement of postdocs in SOT.
Postdoc Committee Representatives
Some SOT Committees invite the PDA Executive Board to appoint a Postdoctoral Representative to serve as an ad hoc member of the committee to provide the perspective of, and communication with, SOT postdoctoral scholars.
Best Postdoctoral Publication Award
The Best Postdoctoral Publication Award recognizes outstanding work accomplished during formal, mentored postdoctoral traineeships by recognizing recently published exceptional papers in the field of toxicology. Applications are reviewed by the Postdoctoral Assembly Board and outside reviewers with appropriate scientific expertise, following NIH conflict of interest, confidentiality, and nondisclosure rules.
Qiran Chen, PhD
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Chen, Qiran, Wei-Chun Chou, and Zhoumeng Lin. 2022.
“Integration of Toxicogenomics and Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling in Human Health Risk Assessment of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate.”
Environmental Science & Technology
56, no. 6 (March): 3623–33.
Isha Mhatre-Winters, PhD
Florida International University, Miami, FL
Eid, Aseel, Isha Mhatre-Winters, Ferass M. Sammoura, Melissa K. Edler, Richard von Stein, Muhammad M. Hossain, Yoonhee Han et al. 2022.
“Effects of DDT on Amyloid Precursor Protein Levels and Amyloid Beta Pathology: Mechanistic Links to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk.”
Environmental Health Perspectives 130, no. 8 (August): 87005.
Alexandra N. Nail, PhD
University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Nail, Alexandra N., Lakynkalina M. McCaffrey, Mayukh Banerjee, Ana P. Ferragut Cardoso, and J. Christopher States. 2022.
“Chronic Arsenic Exposure Suppresses ATM Pathway Activation in Human Keratinocytes.”
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
446 (July): 116042.
Postdoc Events and Activities
Upcoming Events
Celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week September 19–23, 2022!
The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) created National Postdoc Appreciation Week to recognize postdocs and their many accomplishments
The PDA joins with the National Postdoctoral Association in focusing attention on the contributions and achievements of postdoctoral scholars. Visit the NPAW 2022 Calendar for events happening virtually and at institutions across the country. We hope that all SOT members will take time during National Postdoc Appreciation Week to acknowledge the postdocs in your communities and institutions.
Poster Tours for Trainees
The Postdoctoral Assembly organizes Poster Tours for Trainees at the SOT Annual Meeting for graduate students and postdoctoral scientists to participate in a one-hour guided poster tour with a toxicologist guide. These small group tours provide the opportunity for trainees to take part in critical evaluation of cutting-edge toxicology methods and research findings and network with a senior toxicologist.
PDA Luncheon
To encourage increased participation and networking among postdoctoral scholars, the Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA) Board hosts a luncheon at the SOT Annual Meeting exclusively for postdocs to gather in an informal setting to relax, network, and celebrate their achievements others, including PDA officers, Postdoctoral Representatives, and SOT Councilors.
Career Exploration through Speed Informational Interviews
During this career-development event, small groups of trainees rotate through a series of short, timed discussions with career representatives from academia, government, and industry. Trainees can ask the representatives about their background, career path, the hiring process, and other aspects of identifying and pursuing career interests. This event provides an informal opportunity to gain insight about different employment sectors in toxicology.
National Postdoc Appreciation Week
National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) was created by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) to recognize postdocs and their numerous accomplishments in research and scientific discovery around the globe. SOT appreciates and recognizes postdoctoral scholars as an integral part of the SOT community, who make meaningful contributions to the Society, advance the science of toxicology, and build for the future of the discipline. During NPAW, the Society joins the NPA in focusing attention on all the contributions and accomplishments of postdoctoral scholars through the multiple PDA virtual activities.
NPAW Blogs and Resources
- Managing Stress and Pursuing a Healthy Lifestyle
- A Postdoc’s Place in Peer Review
- Cultivating Your Success as a Postdoc
- Nevertheless, They Persisted: Caregiving as Doctoral Students and Postdocs
- Other Postdoc-Focused Blogs
Resources
The Post-y Newsletter
The Post-y is produced by the Postdoctoral Assembly on a biannual basis to feature news and articles of interest to SOT postdoctoral members throughout the year.
