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The SOT Postdoctoral Assembly (PDA) Executive Board is pleased to announce the three recipients of the 2026 Best Postdoctoral Publication Award (BPPA)! The BPPA recognizes talented postdoctoral researchers who have recently published papers in the field of toxicology as a result of their postdoctoral research. The PDA Executive Board received a record number of applications this year and wants to thank all of the applicants for submitting their exceptional papers!

Chen, Haoxuan, Airi Harui, Yu Feng, Liqiao Li, Saagar Patel, Jacob Schmidt, Michael D. Roth, and Yifang Zhu. 2024. “A Ventilated Three-Dimensional Artificial Lung System for Human Inhalation Exposure Studies.” Environmental Science & Technology Volume 58, Issue 52 (December): 22919–22929.

Dr. Chen said of the research in this paper, “My research focuses on understanding how the air we breathe, whether from air pollution or using inhalable substances, affects our lungs. I combine engineering and biology to build laboratory models that mimic how the human lung breathes and responds to airborne substances.

“The study recognized by this award describes a ‘breathing’ artificial lung that I designed and built to realistically simulate how the human lung takes in, transforms, and reacts to inhaled particles and vapors. Using this system, we studied electronic cigarette aerosols and discovered how their size and composition change once they enter the warm, humid environment of the lung and cause biological effects on airways.

“Looking ahead, I plan to use this artificial lung technology to study other real-world exposures, such as wildfire smoke and indoor air contaminants, and to develop better ways to protect people from respiratory health risks.”

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Nihart, Alexander J., Marcus A. Garcia, Eliane El Hayek, Rui Liu, Marian Olewine, Josiah D. Kingston, Eliseo F. Castillo, et al. 2025. “Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains.” Nature Medicine 31 (April): 1114–1119.

Dr. Garcia said of his research, “My research focuses on understanding how micro- and nanoplastics make their way into the human body, where they end up, and ultimately what roles they play on human health. My goal is to build a research program that helps answer these primary questions and also to find ways in which policies around waste and use of these plastic materials can be managed to prevent future environmental and human exposure.

“The research recognized by this award examined how different types of micro- and nanoplastics accumulate in biological tissues such as the brain, liver, and kidney. Using advanced analytical techniques, we discovered clear evidence that micro- and nanoplastics accumulate in these tissues and worked to raise important questions about long-term exposure and neurological health.

“My future goals are to continue to develop new methods to more precisely measure micro- and nanoplastics in human tissues and uncover specific mechanisms of how they travel throughout the body and deposit in specific tissues. My long-term goal is to translate this science into public health knowledge that can provide valuable insights for communities to make policies around plastics exposure.”

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Leuthold, David. Nadia K. Herold, Jana Nerlich, Kristina Bartmann, Ilka Scharkin, Stefan J. Hallermann, Nicole Schweiger, Ellen Fritsche, and Tamara Tal. 2025 “Multi-behavioral Phenotyping in Early-Life-Stage Zebrafish for Identifying Disruptors of Non-associative Learning.” Environmental Health Perspectives Online Ahead of Print (May).

Dr. Leuthold explained the research in this paper: “My research focuses on understanding how chemical exposures influence nervous system development and behavior. More broadly, my work demonstrates how automated behavioral analysis can be used to identify biologically active substances and uncover their mechanisms of action in complex biological systems. Using zebrafish larvae, I developed a multi-behavioral phenotyping platform that detects chemicals with the potential to interfere with basic forms of learning and sensory processing. This approach allows us to observe sensitive changes in behavior, link them to specific molecular pathways, and build hypotheses about how specific chemicals disrupt behavior. We then test those hypotheses mechanistically in zebrafish and evaluate them using complementary human and rodent cell-based models.

“The study recognized with this award used this platform to identify a widely used antimicrobial chemical as a disruptor of learning behavior. By combining behavioral profiling with mechanistic experiments, we showed that its effects arise from interactions with multiple neural pathways, highlighting how integrated, cross-species behavioral and molecular approaches can reveal mechanisms potentially relevant to human brain function.

“Building on this work, I am now applying similar behavioral and mechanistic strategies to study complex, environmentally realistic chemical mixtures, such as those derived from tire wear. These mixtures contain diverse components that can accumulate in organisms and collectively alter sensorimotor behavior. By examining both behavioral outcomes and underlying molecular targets, I aim to better understand how complex exposures influence brain function in real-world scenarios.

“Beyond neurotoxicity research, I am also exploring how high-throughput behavioral methods could be translated to other fields. I am specifically interested in developing automated ethomics in insects to identify natural compounds and RNA-based agents with potential applications in sustainable, biodiversity-friendly plant protection.

“Together, my work illustrates the value of behavioral phenotyping as a predictive and scalable tool for discovering neuroactive substances, understanding their modes of action, and assessing chemical safety. My long-term goal is to expand these integrative approaches across species and systems to address pressing questions in neurotoxicity, chemical risk assessment, and environmental sustainability. I am deeply grateful to my mentor and co-authors, whose support, guidance, and collaboration were essential for the success of the award-winning study and the development of my research trajectory.”

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Congratulations to each of the awardees. These papers, along with the other submitted papers, demonstrate the critical research conducted during postdoctoral studies. The awards will be presented at the PDA Luncheon during the 2026 SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo in March. Each award recipient will receive $250 and a plaque recognizing their achievement.