Officers & Duties

Dr. DeWitt is Director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Translational Environmental health Research and Professor of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University (OSU) she investigates effects of emerging environmental contaminants on the immune and nervous systems. She received doctoral degrees in Environmental Science and Neural Science from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2004 and completed postdoctoral training in ecotoxicology at Indiana University-Bloomington (2004) and in immunotoxicology at the US Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2004–2008). Before moving to OSU in 2023, she was a Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Dr. DeWitt serves/has served in numerous capacities, including as an advisory board member to state and federal agencies and entities, an editorial board member and/or associate editor for several toxicological journals, grant proposal reviewer for the NIEHS, CDMRP, and other agencies and entities, peer-reviewer for the ATSDR and US EPA, witness to subcommittees of the US House of Representatives, and expert witness for plaintiffs in cases involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. She is author/co-author of over 100 publications including peer-reviewed articles, commentaries, and/or book chapters. She has been a member of the SOT since 2005 and has served the SOT in the following capacities: Postdoctoral Representative, Program Committee Member, Awards Committee Member, Junior Councilor, Senior Councilor, Vice President, President, and Past President of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section, Councilor, Vice President, President, and Past President of the North Carolina Regional Chapter, Research Funding Committee, Specialty Section Collaboration and Communication Group, Career Resource and Development Committee, FUTURE Committee, Membership Committee. In 2023 she also was presented with the SOT Public Communications Award, which was facilitated by the Women in Toxicology (WIT) Special Interest Group. She is also a member of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section, the Pacific Northwest Regional Chapter, and WIT. One of Dr. DeWitt’s goals in running for the Vice President-Elect position is to ensure that SOT members know that WIT is a core group for growing deep network connections and gaining essential career development support and training. Another goal is to ensure that WIT members are unflagging in their support of women leaders within the SOT and work together to support the careers of the excellent women who comprise the WIT.

Dr. Reynolds is the Alonzo G and Virginia Gent Decker Endowed Professor and Chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major at Washington College, where she teaches undergraduate courses in biochemistry, toxicology, and cell & molecular biology. She is a passionate advocate for undergraduate education and expanding access to toxicology as a discipline.

Since joining the SOT in 2004, Dr. Reynolds has been deeply involved in advancing toxicology education and outreach. She has held numerous leadership roles within SOT, including Chair of the Undergraduate Education Subcommittee, the Education Committee, and the Faculty United for Toxicology Undergraduate Recruitment and Education (FUTURE) Committee. She has also been active in several regional chapters and served on the Committee on Diversity Initiatives and multiple education-focused work groups. Dr. Reynolds is a long-standing member of the WIT Special Interest Group and the Metals Specialty Section.

Her leadership and dedication have been recognized with the SOT Undergraduate Educator Award (2015) and the National Capital Area Regional Chapter’s Excellence in Service Award (2023). Dr. Reynolds has led collaborations with the North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research to produce a national toxicology webinar series and chaired the development of undergraduate-friendly modules for the ToxMSDT program, including work on updating ToxTutor.

Dr. Reynolds currently serves as Principal Investigator or Co-PI on two NSF-funded initiatives. One grant supports the development of a structured mentoring network to build faculty capacity for evidence-based instructional practices, and the other centers on a C. elegans-based course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to enhance toxicology research opportunities for undergraduates.

Through her work, Dr. Reynolds remains committed to inclusive education, mentoring, and elevating the visibility of women in science.

Dr. Jennifer L. Rayner is a Principal Toxicologist at SRC Inc., where she manages and works alongside a team of toxicologists, chemists, biologists, and computer and information scientists to develop hazard and risk assessments where little or no experimental toxicological data are available. Dr. Rayner received her PhD in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006, and DABT certification in 2010.

Dr. Rayner is devoted to volunteering with the Society of Toxicology (SOT), serving as SOT Councilor (2023–2026), Chair of the Continuing Education Committee (2019–2022), Mentoring Task Force (2018–2020), Councilor for Toxicologists of African Origin (TAO) Special Interest Group (2018–2020), and Chair of the Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI, 2011–2012). She has been involved with SOT since 2001 after attending the Undergraduate Diversity/Education Program (UDP); joining the SOT in 2004. She has continued involvement with UDP, serving as Peer & Host Mentor and Career Panel member.

Additional SOT activities include serving on award nomination committees for Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group (WIT) and Risk Assessment Specialty Section (RASS), WIT career planning activities, and as Table Host for the In Vitro Toxicology Lecture and Luncheon and SOT Meeting Mentoring events. Dr. Rayner is passionate about giving back to the organization that inspired her to become a toxicologist and mentoring others in the field.

Dr. Andrea Rodrigues is a seasoned toxicologist with a BS in Toxicology from St. John’s University and a PhD in Toxicology from Rutgers University. She has been a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology since 2015 and has more than 17 years of active involvement with the Society of Toxicology (SOT). Throughout her career, Dr. Rodrigues has excelled as a Senior Principal Research Scientist in Preclinical Safety at AbbVie, serving as the toxicology program lead for multiple drug development teams specializing in ophthalmology and local drug delivery. Within SOT, Dr. Rodrigues has demonstrated leadership on various committees, including service as Past President and Councilor for the Ocular Toxicology Specialty Section (OTSS), and as Student Representative for the In Vitro and Alternative Methods Specialty Section (IVAM). Her achievements include growing the OTSS LinkedIn page followers from 80 to 300+, expanding the Program Committee’s membership from 6 to 22, and organizing key symposia, webinars, and educational courses planned throughout 2022–2026.

Dr. Zane, MS, PhD, DABT, is the Executive Director of Nonclinical Safety and Pathobiology at Gilead Sciences where her current roles includes investigative toxicology and a focus in the virology therapeutic area.

Dr. Zane is an active member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) where she served as the Past President of the Northern California Regional Chapter and is still active in the K–12 Student Outreach efforts. In addition, she served a 5-year term on SOT’s Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI). Dr. Zane is a current Board Member of the American Board of Toxicology.

Dr. Zane has 20 years of experience in the biotech industry. Prior to joining Gilead, she held positions at Intarcia Therapeutics, Genentech/Roche, Trinity Biosystems and Berlex Biosciences.

Dr. Zane received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from University of California at Davis, MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and BA in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from University of California at Berkeley. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. She is the first author of multiple patents, peer-reviewed publications, invited chapters/reviews and abstract/scientific presentations.

Dr. Zane’s professional membership for the advancement of women in science include Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, Genentech Women in Science and Engineering, Genentech Women Professional Business Women of California (PBWC) and Women at Gilead.

Dr. Lauren Walker is a Toxicologist at Pliant Therapeutics in South San Francisco, CA. She received her doctorate in Environmental Toxicology from the University of California, Riverside in 2019 and was a postdoctoral scholar at Rutgers University from 2019–2023. Dr. Walker has been a member of SOT since 2015. As a graduate student, Dr. Walker served as a SOT student representative from 2016–2019 in the following roles: Student Representative (Women in Toxicology), Professional Development Subcommittee Secretary (Graduate Student Leadership Committee), and Professional Development Subcommittee Chair (Graduate Student Leadership Committee). As a postdoctoral scholar, Dr. Walker has continued to serve as the Postdoctoral Representative on the Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS), Women in Toxicology (WIT), Out Toxicologist and Allies (OTA) Executive Councils as well as the SOT Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI). She is currently the Sr. Councilor for the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section. Outside of SOT, Dr. Walker is the Vice President and Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and Councilor for the Middle Atlantic Reproduction & Teratology Association (MARTA).

Dr. Mili Bhakta-Yadav is a Study Director II in Toxicology at Labcorp, overseeing conduct of nonclinical studies that inform the safety of pharmaceuticals and environmental compounds. She recently earned a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Wright State University, where her research examined how environmental contaminants affect immune and reproductive health.

As an engaged Society of Toxicology (SOT) member, Dr. Bhakta-Yadav has volunteered with the Women in Toxicology (WIT) Special Interest Group and served as Poster Session Chair for the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section (ITSS) at the SOT Annual Meeting. During her graduate studies, she also led campus-wide programming as Vice President of Wright State’s Graduate Student Advisory Board, organizing the Three Minute Thesis competition and RISE tours that connected undergraduates with hands-on research.