Officers

Dr. Tracey L. Papenfuss is a board-certified veterinary pathologist and PhD immunologist with areas of professional interest in immunopathology and immunotoxicology evaluation, particularly for immune-impacting therapies and novel immunotherapies. She received her BS from the University of Fairbanks, Alaska, DVM and MS in veterinary biosciences from the University of Minnesota, and completed her residency and PhD in immunology from The Ohio State University. She held an appointment as research faculty and directed an NIH-funded immunopathology and early discovery immunotherapeutics laboratory at The Ohio State University studying immunological and anti-inflammatory therapies in animal models of autoimmunity, immuno-oncology, and infectious diseases. In 2014, she moved to industry to work as a toxicologic pathologist for discovery and safety assessment projects at WIL Research, MPI Research, Charles River, and StageBio. She is a Senior Pathologist, leads the Immune Service line, and provides scientific guidance to clients at StageBio. She has deep expertise in immunology and pathology which she leverages to promote biomedical research and promotes scientific engagement and consultation across teams to optimize science, operations, business growth, and policy.

Dr. Papenfuss is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathology (DACVP), a fellow of the International Academy of Toxicologic Pathology (IATP), and is an active member in numerous scientific organizations including the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP), Society of Toxicology (SOT), Health and Environmental Sciences Immunosafety Technical Committee (HESI-ITC), the American College of Toxicology (ACT), and American College of Veterinary Pathology (ACVP). She holds leadership positions in many of these organizations and focuses on promoting scientific education and outreach within comparative and translational biomedical fields. She has also mentored numerous trainees and early career scientists in both the veterinary, biomedical, pathology, and immunology fields and highlighted career opportunities within academia, industry, and beyond. Dr. Papenfuss has published over 50 articles and book chapters and given numerous presentations both nationally and internationally on the subjects of: immunology, pathology, immunosafety, veterinary and comparative medicine, and translational biomedical sciences.

Dr. Yogesh Saini is a Professor of Immunology and Toxicology in the Department of Population Health and Pathobiology at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. He earned his DVM from the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Palampur, India, and completed his PhD at Michigan State University in 2010, focusing on toxicology and immunology. Following his PhD, he pursued postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In 2014, Dr. Saini began his independent research career as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University (LSU). He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2019, before joining NC State as a full Professor. He currently mentors nine graduate students and one postdoctoral fellow. His research explores the impact of environmental pollutants, including allergens, ozone, and chlorine, on lung health and disease mechanisms.

As a member of SOT since 2008, Dr. Saini has been actively involved in several specialty sections, such as Metals, CTVPSS, Immunotoxicology, and IRSS. Dr. Saini has published 50 peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals such as American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, Journal of Immunology, Toxicological Sciences, and Scientific Reports. A dedicated member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) since 2008, he has received multiple honors and awards from the organization. He has authored numerous abstracts in the SOT meetings since 2008. He has extensive leadership experience having served as President of the Tau chapter of Phi Zeta (LSU), graduate program recruiter (LSU), chair of research committee (LSU), director of program grants (NCSU), assistant department head (NCSU), and co-director of pilot project program of CHHE (NCSU). He has supported CTPVSS in various capacities including award review and networking events.

Dr. Ahmed Abdelmoneim is a board-certified clinical toxicologist and Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, where he directs the Toxicology Section of the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and leads veterinary toxicology teaching in the DVM curriculum. His NIH-funded program sits at the intersection of environmental pollution, neuroendocrine development, and public health. Using zebrafish embryo models, his lab defines the neuroendocrine consequences of early-life contaminant exposures, elucidates cellular and molecular mechanisms of toxicity, and builds New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) with clear One Health and public-safety relevance.

With 100+ scientific presentations and 20+ peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Abdelmoneim serves as an ad hoc reviewer for NIH/NSF panels and for leading toxicology and environmental science journals. Trained in Egypt, France, and the United States (PhD, Purdue; postdoctoral fellowships, Cornell University), he integrates research, teaching, and service to advance public and environmental health.

Dr. Abdelmoneim has held multiple leadership roles in the Society of Toxicology and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, including Councilor on the SOT Postdoctoral Assembly Executive Board (2019–2020) and Councilor for the SOT South Central Chapter (2022–2024). As a member of the Comparative Toxicology, Pathology, and Veterinary Specialty Section (CTPVS), he is committed to strengthening trainee development and outreach across comparative, pathology, and veterinary toxicology.

Dr. Veenu Minhas is a Principal Research Scientist at AbbVie, with a DVM from Punjab Agricultural University and a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she also completed her postdoctoral training. She began her academic career in 2014 as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, focusing on the epidemiology of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in HIV-infected populations in Zambia and Tanzania. Dr. Minhas has authored over 25 peer-reviewed articles. Due to family relocation, she moved to Charles River Laboratories and then to AbbVie, where she currently evaluates the safety of novel therapeutics, especially antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Highly organized and deeply committed to transparency and accountability, she aims to ensure rigorous, accessible financial management as treasurer. Dr. Minhas looks forward to making financial processes clear and effective for all members.

Dr. Patial is a Scientist/Pathologist in the Division of Translational Toxicology at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences where she leads the Toxicologic Pathology Training Program and is actively involved in translational environmental health research. Prior to this, she worked as a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine. She received her DVM from the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, India and her PhD from Michigan State University in 2010. Thereafter, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and a residency in Veterinary Anatomic Pathology at Louisiana State University. She is an author and co-author of more than 40 publications that include peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She has received multiple awards over the years that includes recent university-wide LSU Alumni Association Rising Faculty Award and LSU Lung COBRE Successful Graduation award. She has also served on multiple NIH study sections in the last six years. Dr. Patial has been an active member of the SOT since 2015. She is also involved in other organizations including STP, ACVP, AAI, and ASIP. For the Comparative Toxicology, Pathology, and Veterinary Specialty Section Specialty Section (CTPVSS), she served as a Councilor between 2021–2023. Towards her potential role as a Vice President-Elect for the CTPVSS, she is looking forward to increasing the membership, providing mentorship opportunities to trainees, proposal development on environmentally relevant research topics, organizing Annual Meetings and mixers for members, and helping advocate and grow CTPVSS as an organization.

Dr. John Buchweitz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Throughout his career, he has held numerous academic and professional positions. He currently serves as the Section Chief of the Nutrition and Toxicology Unit at the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (2012-2025) where he specializes in veterinary toxicology with an emphasis in clinical, forensic and regulatory diagnostics. He provides consultation on toxicology and nutritional cases, oversees thousands of diagnostic tests annually, and contributes to the veterinary field through research, teaching, and administrative service. He earned his BS in Biochemistry (1992), MS in Animal Science (2001), and dual-Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology and Environmental Toxicology (2007) from Michigan State University. He is actively involved in professional organizations, including serving on the Executive Board for the American Board of Toxicology (ABT) and holding fellowships with the Academy for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) and the Academy of Toxicological Sciences (ATS).

Dr. Brittany Szafran is a Veterinary Medical Officer within the Toxicology Section of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) Office of Innovation and Analytics. Since 2021, Dr. Szafran has directly contributed to the development of the agency’s toxicological profiles and minimal risk levels (MRLs; ATSDR’s screening values for chemical exposure). Dr. Szafran is a member of the MRL workgroup and chairs the Health Effects Review workgroup at ATSDR. She is most known for her role as the lead chemical manager of the Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls (PFAS). Dr. Szafran served as a technical writer for the Animal Toxicology section of the 2023 congressional Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Report, and she contributed to the development of ATSDR’s 2024 PFAS Information for Clinicians. Dr. Szafran presented on communicating PFAS health risks at the December 2024 PFAS-focused SOT FDA Colloquia. In 2023, Dr. Szafran co-authored three book chapters for the 4th edition of the Encyclopedia of Toxicology.

Dr. Szafran earned a bachelor’s degree (2013, Animal and Nutritional Sciences and Biochemistry) from West Virginia University and both a DVM (2017) and PhD (2021, Environmental Toxicology) from Mississippi State University. She became a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology in 2024. Dr. Szafran was the recipient of the 2018 Roger O. McClellan Student Endowment Award and the 2021 Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research Award for Graduate Veterinarians. Dr. Szafran served as the Student Representative of the Comparative & Veterinary Specialty Section (CVSS) from 2017 through 2020 when CVSS merged with the Exploratory Pathology Specialty Section to form the Comparative Toxicology, Pathology, and Veterinary Specialty Section. During her time as a Student Representative, she earned an Outstanding Graduate Student Leadership Committee Award (2019).

Dr. Ankit P. Laddha is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Connecticut. He earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from SVKM’s NMIMS University, India, and has developed expertise in pharmacology, toxicology, and metabolic disease research, with a focus on the mechanistic basis of metabolic dysfunction and liver injury, including hepatic transporter biology, lipid homeostasis, and drug-induced liver injury. Dr. Laddha has authored more than 35 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, and his research has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Sheldon D. Murphy Postdoctoral Endowment Award (SOT, 2025), the AstraZeneca Innovation in Drug Safety Award (ACT, 2025), the 2026 CTPVSS STP Student Award, finalist for the Gabrial Plaa award (2025, 2026) and multiple SOT Regional Chapter poster awards (2024, 2025). He has been actively engaged in leadership within the Society of Toxicology, serving as a Councilor for the Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA) and as a Postdoctoral Representative for both the Biotechnology Specialty Section (BTSS) and the Northeast Regional Chapter (NESOT), where he contributed to trainee engagement, mentoring initiatives, and career development activities.

Dr. Kevin Ozkuyumcu is a fourth-year doctoral student at the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology at Rutgers University. He recently received his PharmD with Honors at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, where he was awarded the Stanley S. Bergen Jr. Medal of Excellence for his academic achievements and contributions to research. Dr. Ozkuyumcu has presented his work on the cutaneous effects of sulfur mustard-induced injury and subsequent wound repair at many national conferences. He was awarded the SOT Undergraduate Research Award at the 61st Annual Society of Toxicology Conference, was a finalist for the 2024 SOT Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter Trainee Award, and won the 2026 DTSS Edgewell Personal Care Student Award. He is a co-author for 1 publication titled, "Skin Models Used to Define Mechanisms of Action of Sulfur Mustard." He has been a member of SOT since 2022. He is the current Graduate Student Representative of the Mid-Atlantic Society of Toxicology, and is also a former President of the Rutgers Association of Toxicology Students.