Officers

Ms. Brown has more than a decade of toxicology and risk assessment consulting experience, supporting clients in addressing challenges related to hazard and dose-response evaluation and risk assessment. She is currently a Senior Scientist with ToxStrategies where her work revolves around ensuring the safety of ingredients used in consumer products, mainly personal care and cosmetics. In addition, she is experienced in systematic literature review and chemical alternatives assessments. Ms. Brown is a board-certified toxicologist with the American Board of Toxicology. She obtained her Master of Science in Environmental Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and her undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Environmental Science from Miami University (OH). She is a proud mom of two children and lives in Ann Arbor, MI.

Dr. Damani Parran is a Senior Toxicologist at EHS Support LLC, where he leads the Product Stewardship and Toxicology Services. In this role, he works as part of the core technical team within the Sediment and Risk Assessment (SRA) Service Line and provides environmental and human health toxicology support to projects across multiple service areas and industries. He earned a doctorate in Toxicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002 and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Virginia Tech from 2002-2005. His graduate and post-graduate research focused on the impact of environmental toxins, including heavy metals and pesticides, on neurodevelopment and neurofunctions. Dr. Parran is also a board-certified toxicologist, earning his Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) certification in 2007. In addition, he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020 with a concentration in Sustainable Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. In addition to his academic background, Dr. Parran gained industry experience as a Senior Research Scientist in Colgate-Palmolive’s Product Safety group from 2005-2009. He was also the Regional Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs Manager at AkzoNobel / Nouryon Chemicals from 2009-2022. As part of this role, he led teams to support AkzoNobel’s / Nouryon’s sustainability goals resulting in top honors in Dow Jones’ Sustainability Index and Gold Level Ecovadis status. Dr. Parran has authored/co-authored numerous publications, including peer-reviewed articles on heavy metal exposure and book chapters on the subjects of pre-clinical toxicology and fetal drug exposure. Dr. Parran has been a member of SOT since 1997 and was previously the Vice President-Elect of the Sustainable Chemicals through Contemporary Toxicology Specialty Section.

Dr. Sara Farahmand is a board-certified toxicologist with over 13 years of experience in the Consumer Product Goods industry. She is currently the Director of Toxicology, Product Safety and Regulatory at the Honest Company where she leads a team of toxicologists and regulatory specialists and supports safety and regulatory programs for a diverse portfolio of products including cosmetics, OTCs, supplements, and baby products. She leads and conducts chemical and product human health risk assessments including alternatives assessment, as well as product safety claim substantiation. She has served as the Regulatory Toxicologist/Safety Manager in other multinational companies (including Edgewell Personal Care, Clorox, Procter and Gamble, Avon, and Georgia Pacific). Dr. Farahmand held two postdoctoral fellowship positions—at the Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, and at the College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, where her research was focused on developing in vitro and in silico models of skin absorption. She received her doctorate in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Farahmand has served the Dermal Toxicology Specialty Section (DTSS) since 2018 as Councilor, Vice President-Elect, Vice President, and President. During her tenure at the DTSS, she established the webinar program for the Specialty Section and initiated the social media and mentoring committees. Currently, she is the Past President and Councilor of the DTSS. With her leadership role in the clean beauty industry, Dr. Farahmand is passionate about working with the group of brilliant scientists at the SCCT and advancing SCCT’s mission, especially on raising awareness about sustainable chemicals, and promoting toxicological-based research to support new product development and informed substitution, as well as initiating/participating in the Specialty Section’s mentoring program. 

Dr. Farahmand lives in the Bay Area with her husband, son, and 3 cats. In her free time, she volunteers at the Northern California chapter of the Association for Women in Science as she enjoys supporting other women scientists achieving their goals. She was the 2022 recipient of the “Sherrie Wilkins Award,” a distinguished professional award from the Association for Women in Science. The award is presented to a woman who promotes career development for women scientists and is committed to mentorship.

 

Dr. Colleen McLoughlin is the Director of Toxicology at Enhesa in the Sustainable Chemistry business unit. She leads the Toxicology Team at Enhesa, working with major consumer products brands conducting chemical hazard, risk, and alternatives assessments, as well as product certifications. She received her doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University where her dissertation research focused on immunotoxicity testing of a polymer used in tissue engineered constructs and development of a novel drug delivery system. Subsequently, Dr. McLoughlin was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, WV. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and a European Registered Toxicologist (UK Registry).

Dr. McLoughlin is an active member of the Society of Toxicology and Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessment (A4) and a mentor in the Toxicology Mentoring Skills Development Training Program. In A4, she is a member of the Executive Council and co-chair of the program committee. She has been a member of SOT since 2009 and has served SOT in the following capacities: Student Representative of the National Capital Area Regional Chapter (2010-2012), Postdoctoral Assembly Board Vice Chair (2013-2014), Postdoctoral Assembly Chair (2014-2015), and the Presidential Chain of the National Capital Area Regional Chapter (Vice President 2021-2022, President 2022-2023, Past President 2023-2024).

Dr. Brittany Baisch is a board-certified toxicologist in the crop protection industry. She is currently the Regulatory Toxicology Lead at Enko Chem, Inc., a crop health startup that is using target-based design to discover novel and sustainable chemistry to combat pest resistance and new crop diseases. Previously she was the Research Fellow – Toxicology for Henkel's North American laundry and home care products and previously the Senior Toxicologist at The Kraft-Heinz Company. Dr. Baisch earned her PhD and MS in Toxicology from the University of Rochester and has BAs in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Spanish from Western Connecticut State University.

Dr. Baisch is very active in the Society of Toxicology and has held several appointed and elected positions. She is currently the Past President of the SOT Women in Toxicology (WIT) Special Interest Group. Dr. Baisch previously served as Secretary/Treasurer for Women in Toxicology with excellence, increasing the visibility of younger women in science by supporting the publication of many articles in the WIT newsletter. She also managed the WIT budget, which is one of the largest Component Group budgets within SOT. Dr. Baisch also served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the newly formed Exposure Specialty Section and a Councilor of the Ethical, Legal, Forensics, and Societal Issues Specialty Section. She completed an appointment to the former SOT Education and Career Development Committee (ECDC), actively leading efforts to facilitate collaborations, mentorship, and opportunities for scientists via the Global Senior Scholar Exchange and New Experiences in Toxicology and Supplemental Training Experience programs. She also actively served on committees to update the SOT Job Bank and to modify and execute the triannual toxicology salary survey. She also served on the former SOT Committee on Diversity Initiatives Undergraduate Peer Mentoring Program and various scientific program and award review committees. As an established toxicologist, Dr. Baisch has won several awards from her employers for leadership, exceeding expectations for technical acumen and teamwork, and for delivering projects ahead of schedule. Within SOT, she was awarded Paper of the Year and 1st place abstract from the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Specialty Section, and the Leadership Award and student travel awards from the Graduate Student Leadership Committee. Dr. Baisch is a strong supporter of the trainees and is dedicated to increasing opportunities for career development of trainees. She also aims to exercise her key learnings from serving on SOT committees and through her sustainability work throughout her career to build and grow membership, funding, programs, and outreach activities for the SCCT Specialty Section.

Dr. Monika Roy is an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow working in the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at the US Department of Energy. Dr. Roy earned an MSPH in Environmental Health Sciences from Tulane University and a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst under the supervision of Dr. Alicia Timme-Laragy, where she studied the toxicological effects of emerging contaminants at developmental stages in zebrafish and was funded through NIH T32 and F31 fellowships. She then completed a postdoc at the Sustainable Chemistry Catalyst at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and under the supervision of Dr. Joel Tickner worked on projects with government agencies related to chemicals management policies, evolved methods related to Alternatives Assessment frameworks, co-led a project to help define the field of "sustainable chemistry," and supported activities in the Association for the Advancement of Alternatives Assessments (A4).

Dr. Roy has been an active member of SOT since 2017, volunteering with mentoring events, participating in the Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group and the Northeast Regional Chapter, volunteering with the Undergraduate Diversity Program, and serving as the Postdoctoral Representative for SCCT (2022–2023) and the Junior Councilor for SCCT (2023–2024). Dr. Roy is excited to continue her involvement with SCCT as the Senior Councilor (2024–2025) to support discussions on informed substitution, applications of chemistries that are safer for human health and the environment, and expanded awareness of SCCT activities and engagement opportunities.

Dr. Kel DeShong is a Toxicologist at SRC, Inc. and specializes in hazard assessment of new chemicals, which she finds to be technically challenging as well as impactful and rewarding. Dr. DeShong is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) as of November 2023. She earned her PhD in Toxicology from the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2019 and has been an active member of SOT since 2015, including volunteering for Continuing Education courses, judging award submissions for the Risk Assessment Specialty Section, and contributing to #YouTox efforts. With a special interest in alternative methods and sustainability, she has participated in and received awards from the In Vitro & Alternative Methods Specialty Section, Mechanisms Specialty Section, and others. Dr. DeShong is known for her initiative, mentorship, and conscientiousness and is excited to become further involved in the Sustainable Chemicals through Contemporary Toxicology Specialty Section and contribute to its core objectives.

Dr. Janine Cubello is a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Rochester with experience investigating the neurotoxicity of different metal exposures during critical windows of development and how such exposures (i.e., dietary, inhalational) influence sex-dependent brain metal homeostasis, glial function, and behavioral toxicity in mice. She received a doctorate in Toxicology from the University of Rochester in 2022 and became a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Rochester in December 2022. She has served as a peer reviewer for the journal of NeuroToxicology and is an author/co-author of three publications.

Dr. Cubello has been a member of SOT since February of 2020 when she joined as a Student member. As a graduate student, she participated in career development events sponsored by SOT such as Mentor Match, Chat with an Expert, and a Continuing Education Course on the “Concepts and Approaches for Current and Future Metals Toxicological Research”. She is a standing member of various Special Interest Groups (i.e., Women in Toxicology) and Specialty Sections (i.e., Exposure, Metals, Neurotoxicology) within SOT and served as a nomination package facilitator for the Women in Toxicology Award Nomination Committee in 2021. As a Postdoctoral member, she is eager to serve SOT in new ways, especially within the Sustainable Chemicals through Contemporary Toxicology Specialty Section, a group whose underlying mission mirrors her own in academic research, a dedication to enhancing the translational relevance of toxicological assessments to better prompt and direct protective public health regulations. As her scientific contributions have grown and she has made the transition from her graduate to postdoctoral career, she sees this as an opportunity to expand upon her service to SOT, to foster relationships with individuals outside of her research expertise, and to work toward expanding upon existing opportunities for both graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.