![SOT - Society of Toxicology 63rd Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 10-14, 2024, Salt Lake City, Utah](https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/2024/02/beyond-bench/news-brief-body1.jpg)
The Society of Toxicology will hold its annual meeting March 10-14 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The event will include five days of scientific sessions, training, poster presentations and networking opportunities, as well as ToxExpo – an exhibition hosted by NIEHS and many agencies, companies and organizations that support toxicology research.
NIEHS staff will host or participate in more than 60 sessions during the event. Some key events include the following.
- Meet the Director: NIEHS.Provide attendees the opportunity to meet and interact with NIEHS Director Dr. Rick Woychik
- Funding 101: Providing opportunities and advice for toxicologists. Attendees are provided with a variety of funding tips and have daily opportunities to meet one-on-one with representatives from funding agencies, including NIEHS.
- National Toxicology Program (NTP): an interagency partnership with global reach. This exhibitor-hosted session shared detailed information about the NTP’s mission, activities and ways in which the scientific community and the public can engage with the program.
- ICCVAM Advances in Advancing Alternatives: Validation Report. During this meeting, staff from various agencies of the Interagency Coordinating Committee for Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) will share progress on the “Validation, Qualification, and Regulatory Acceptance Reporting of New Methods.” (BR)
EHP Announces Third Annual Editors’ Picks Series
Environmental Health Perspectives has announced its third annual collection of editors’ favorite papers for 2023. The papers were selected from nearly 200 articles, reviews, reviews, research letters and symposiums published in the journal in a year. Selection is based on a variety of factors, including peer review opinion, scientific merit, novelty, and the editor’s enjoyment of reading the paper.
“The EHP team is privileged to evaluate more than 2,000 papers each year, and this collection gives us the opportunity to highlight some of the papers that stand out to us,” said Editor-in-Chief Joel Kaufman, MD
This year’s Editors’ Choice collection includes 12 papers on topics including metal levels in cannabis users, PFAS concentrations in pregnant women, the impact of logging on certain bacterial infections and the relationship between heat and mortality in desert populations. These diverse topics reflect the editors’ desire to focus on unique or unusual papers that might not otherwise receive the attention they deserve. (BR)
Phthalates study presented at NIH Directors’ Symposium
![Dr. Kelly Ferguson](https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/2024/02/beyond-bench/news-brief-body2.jpg)
NIEHS senior researcher Kelly Ferguson, Ph.D., presented her research on phthalate diesters at the NIH Director’s Symposium on February 9 in Bethesda, Maryland. Phthalate diesters are a group of chemicals commonly used in personal care products and many types of plastics. Human exposure to these compounds is common and of particular concern during pregnancy due to their endocrine activity and questionable toxicity.
Ferguson’s presentation examined data from the Phthalates and Preterm Birth Summary Study, a pooled data set from 16 U.S. research groups or cohorts designed to help better understand the relationship between phthalates and preterm birth. connections between. Her presentation focused on the impact of exposures during pregnancy, the potential benefits of different interventions, the role of racial and ethnic disparities in determining health outcomes, and periods of vulnerability throughout pregnancy. (BR)
NIEHS mourns the death of George Lucier
![Dr. George Lucier](https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/sites/niehs-factor/files/2024/02/beyond-bench/news-brief-body3.jpg)
Dr. George Lucier, a leader in environmental health research and public service, died February 8. He has worked at NIEHS for 31 years, serving as director of the Environmental Toxicology Program in the Division of Intramural Research, NTP, and co-editor of Environmental Health Perspectives.
“His pioneering work in molecular epidemiology and receptor-mediated toxicology laid the foundation for a better understanding of the effects of environmental factors on human health,” said NIEHS Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D. “Dr. Lucier “
After retiring from NIEHS in 2000, Lucier began a second career in local politics in Chatham County, where he continued to advocate for the well-being of the community beyond the laboratory. (MB)
(Dr. Ben Richardson is a Presidential Management Fellow in the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison, and Dr. Marla Broadfoot is a contract writer in the NIEHS Office of Communications and Public Liaison.)