President’s Message

I hope you are having a wonderful 2026! The Midwest Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology (MRC/SOT) continues its mission of supporting and engaging toxicologists throughout our region.

Our successful Fall 2025 Meeting, “Emerging Toxicities in New Pharmaceutical and Environmental Agents,” was hosted by Loyola University Chicago. The program highlighted emerging issues in environmental and pharmaceutical toxicology, including pharmacovigilance. The meeting featured two keynote presentations:

• Gavin Dehnert, PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison, presented the environmental toxicology keynote, “Contaminants in the Water: A Connection Between the Environment and Wildlife Health.”
• Ronnie Yeager, PhD, DABT, AbbVie Inc., presented the pharmaceutical toxicology keynote, “Implementing Rodent Models for ADC Payload Characterization to Support Discovery Screening and Inform on Preclinical Species Relevance for Translation of Safety Profiles.”

We are grateful to Loyola University Chicago, our keynote speakers, organizers, and attendees for making the meeting a success.

Our successful Spring Meeting, “Current Trends in Toxicological Risk Assessment,” was hosted by Labcorp in Madison, Wisconsin. The program included a presentation by Blake Anson, PhD, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, Inc., titled “From Hazard Signals and Toxicity Testing to Human Risk: Leveraging iPSC-Derived Models Across Cardiac, Neural, and Hepatic Systems in Small and Large Molecule Drug Discovery.” The meeting also featured the 2025 MRC/SOT Young Investigator Award winner presentation by Peibo Xu, BS, MS, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, titled “In Vivo Real-Time Measurements of Neurotransmitters in the Murine Brain by Electrochemical Methods.” The Spring Meeting provided an excellent forum for scientific exchange and discussion of evolving approaches to toxicological risk assessment. We sincerely thank Labcorp, our speakers, organizers, and everyone who contributed to the program.

I am particularly excited that our Chapter continues to create valuable opportunities for trainees to network with toxicology professionals from academia and industry. Building these connections, sharing knowledge, and supporting the next generation of toxicologists remain central to our mission.

Please join me in welcoming Jodi Flaws, PhD, Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, as our new President-Elect. We look forward to benefiting from her leadership and commitment to the toxicology community.

Looking ahead, MRC/SOT is planning an online Fall Meeting. We are also excited to explore opportunities for a future joint meeting with the Ohio Valley and Michigan Regional Chapters. Additional details will be shared as plans develop.

On behalf of the MRC/SOT Executive Committee, thank you for your continued enthusiasm, participation, and support. I look forward to another productive year of scientific exchange, professional development, and community building.

Sincerely,
Simon Kaja, PhD
MRC/SOT President, 2026–2027