TOXICOLOGY - THEN AND NOW Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD, DABT, ATS Past President SOT/NCSOT Director, Experimental Toxicology Division, U.S. EPA

Toxicology is Old! ● First written records – c.1500 BC (Ebers) ● Hippocrates, Aristotle, Nicander, Galen, Ramazini, etc. ● Paracelsus: “The dose makes the poison”

Recognition of Toxicology as a Distinct Discipline ● Originally, subsumed as part of medical and/or pharmaceutical curricula ● Toxicology - distinct and important fundamental and applied science with university departments and degrees ● SOT founded 45 years ago!  Prime mover for recognition of Toxicology

Long Range Plan – Goals SOT will advance the science of toxicology to enhance human, animal, and environmental health. ● Increase excellence in science ● Increase the quality, standards, and scientific content of SOT meetings, programs, and communications

Long Range Plan – Goals ● Promote the use of science in regulatory and legislative decision making ● Encourage increased investment of resources in toxicology

Long Range Plan – Goals SOT will be essential to the scientific and professional development of its members ● Increase access to relevant scientific and professional resources ● Increase diversity and inclusiveness of the organization

Long Range Plan – Goals Ensure the long-term stability of the Society ● Exercise sound financial stewardship ● Maintain commitment to annual strategic planning ● Increase student awareness of toxicology, participation in SOT, and pursuit of careers in toxicology ● Continually improve organizational effectiveness

Long Range Plan – Goals SOT will be a definitive scientific resource for human, animal, and environmental health ● Increase the impact of the discipline of toxicology within the scientific community and among the public ● Increase the impact of SOT publications and communications ● Increase the public relations competency of SOT

Then and Now Founders at the 1st Annual Meeting in Williamsburg, VA. In Membership consisted of 124 members. Annual meeting attendees now number almost 6,000. Current membership is 5,795.

Sites of Annual Meetings ● Atlantic City –’62 ● Cincinnati – ’63, 97 ● Williamsburg – ’64-66, 69, 72, 75 ● Atlanta – ’67, 70, 71, 76, 84, 89 ● Washington, DC – ’68, 72, 74, 80, 87 ● New York City – ’73 ● Toronto – ’77 ● New Orleans – ’78-79, 86, 93, 99, 05 ● San Diego – ’81, 85, 06 ● Boston – ‘82 ● Las Vegas – ’83 ● Dallas – ’88, 91, 94 ● Miami Beach – ’90, ● Seattle – ’92, 98 ● Baltimore – ’95, 04 ● Anaheim – ’96 ● Philadelphia – 2000 ● San Francisco – ’01 ● Nashville – ’02 ● Salt Lake City – ’03 ● Charlotte – ‘07

Annual Meeting Abstracts Year Abstracts Presented Symposia/ Workshops/ Roundtable Abstracts _ Total

SOT Finances ● Current Expenses ~$5M ● Current Revenue and Income ~$6M ● Opportunities for New Programs, Reinvestments, Diversification ● Conservative Strategy  We’ve been in the red before (more than once!)

SOT Publications ● Communiqué ● Journals  Past Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology Fundamental and Applied Toxicology  Present Toxicological Sciences

● Top Quality Papers that are Widely Distributed and Read  Over 5680 subscribers and institutions with journal access worldwide  Over 685,000 full-text downloads in 2005 ● Highly Cited  4517 citations in 2004 alone ● High Impact Factor (3.391 in 2004)  One of the top toxicology research journals in the world

Impact Factor Trends

Growth in SOT ● Members  1962 – 124 from US  2006 – > 5795 from across the world ● Annual Meeting  1962 – Williamsburg, VA – < 200 participants  2006 – Charlotte, NC – > 6000 ● Focus  1962 – Descriptive  2006 – Mechanistic; Risk/Safety Assessment; Molecular

Who Are Our Members? ● Academia ~35% ● Industry ~35% ● Government ~20% ● Consultants~10% ● Other ~5%

Membership Data

Growth in SOT (cont) ● Most important meeting in toxicology worldwide ● Extensive headquarters staff ● Officers; Executive Council; Committees ● Regional Chapters ● Specialty Sections ● Special Interest Groups

Committees Strategic Committees Science Communication Membership Elected Committees: ● Awards ● Education ● Membership ● Nominating Appointed Committees: ● Animals in Research ● Board of Publications (BOP) ● Career Resource & Development ● Committee on Diversity Initiatives ● Committee on K-12 Education ● Continuing Education (CE) ● Finance ● Historian ● IUTOX Councilors

Committees (cont) Appointed Committees (cont): ● Post-Doctoral Assembly ● Program ● Regulatory Affairs & Legislative Assistance ● Science Strategy Committee ● Student Advisory Committee ● World Wide Web Advisory Committee ● Council Subcommittee for Non-SOT & Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) Meeting ● Council Subcommittee for Regional Chapter Funding

Task Forces ● Endowment Implementation ● Mixtures ● NIH Funding ● Special Interest Groups ● 45 th Anniversary

Specialty Sections  Biological Modeling  Carcinogenesis  Comparative & Veterinary  Dermal Toxicology  Drug Discovery Toxicology  Ethical, Legal & Social Issues  Food Safety  Immunotoxicology  In Vitro  Inhalation  Mechanisms  Metals  Molecular Biology  Neurotoxicology  Occupa & Public Health  Reg & Safety Evaluation  Repro/Devpmtl Toxicology  Risk Assessment  Toxicologic & Exploratory Pathology  Women in Toxicology (WIT)

Special Interest Groups ● Association of Scientists of Indian Origin ● American Association of Chinese in Toxicology ● African Society of Toxicological Sciences ● Hispanic Organization for Toxicologists ● Korean Toxicologist Association in America

Regional Chapters Map PNW NL NCa SCa MtnW CS GC SC MW MI OV SE NC NCAC NE LO MA AE

Student Opportunities ● SOT provides student and career development resources ● Programs to recruit undergraduates to toxicology ● Travel support and fellowships for graduate students and post-docs ● Leadership opportunities in student groups (SAC, SSSRC, PDA) ● SOT On-Line Job Bank ● Career workshops at annual meetings

NC SOT ● One of the Largest Regional Chapters  > 300 members ● “Feed” to National Leadership  8 National SOT Presidents who were NCSOT Presidents Leon Golberg; Tom Miya; Bob Dixon; Jim Gibson; Roger McClellan; Jim Bus; Bill Greenlee; Linda Birnbaum  Many Executive Councilors  Many National Committee Members

NC SOT (cont.) ● Broad Membership  National vs Local  Full vs Student  Lifetime ● Award Programs  Student Travel – Best Poster  Postdoc Award – “PARC”

NC SOT Meetings ● Past - 3/year  Fall – Seminar  Winter – Poster Session and Symposia (Often) all day Saturday  Spring - Symposia ● Present - 2/year  Fall – Seminars or Symposia  Winter – Poster Session and Symposia

Get Involved! ● Activity in NC SOT National Recognition ● Volunteer  NC SOT  Specialty Sections/SIGs  Committees

Thanks ● Clarissa Wilson and HQ Staff ● Debbie Wales ● Ernie Hodgson ● And all of my students, postdocs, technicians, colleagues, and family over the years who have helped me to be involved!