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Jennifer L. Rayner, PhD, DABT, has been elected by the SOT voting members as an SOT Councilor.

Dr. Rayner is a toxicologist at SRC Inc. in Arlington, Virginia, where she works with a team to develop toxicity assessments and technical documents to protect human health and decrease environmental impacts. She serves as a Program and Task Order Manager for various projects supporting the US Environmental Protection Agency in its mission to ensure the safety of new chemicals in commerce. Dr. Rayner manages a multidisciplinary team of toxicologists, chemists, and biologists at SRC to develop, update, and implement methods to fill data gaps where little or no experimental measured mammalian or ecotoxicological data are available including close analogue analysis, structural chemical class analogy, mechanisms of toxicity, adverse outcome pathways, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), and professional judgment. On a day-to-day basis, she conducts critical analysis of scientific literature, toxicological studies, and reports and writes summaries, technical documents, risk assessments, and literature reviews to present findings to external stakeholders.

Dr. Rayner devotes significant time to volunteering with SOT and various community groups related to science education and mentoring. She has been involved with SOT since 2001 when she attended the SOT Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI) Undergraduate Diversity Program. She has continued involvement with the CDI Undergraduate Diversity Program through the years, serving as Peer Mentor, Host Mentor, CDI Committee member, and CDI Chair. Other activities include SOT Table Host for In Vitro Toxicology Lecture and Luncheon, SOT Mentoring Breakfast facilitator, SOT Mentoring Task Force member, SOT Continuing Education Committee member, Councilor for SOT Toxicologists of African Origin Special Interest Group, and SOT Continuing Education Committee Co-Chair and Chair. Dr. Rayner also serves as a mentor in the Toxicology Mentoring and Skills Development Training (ToxMSDT) Program, a year-long mentoring program for undergraduate students, which has been able to guide the development of future scientists. She firmly believes in helping the next generation to be successful, and her passion is to see more underrepresented students in toxicology.

Goals for SOT

I believe in giving back to the organization that inspired me to become a toxicologist and supported me in my career evolution. This is why I aim to become an SOT Councilor. From my first experience learning about toxicology in 2001 in the Undergraduate Education Program through having the opportunity to serve on various committees, it is my goal to aid SOT in communicating sound science to its members and the public.

It is my desire to support the development of younger scientists as career toxicologists through providing access to education and mentoring. I believe in the importance of engaging and learning from those who are laying the foundation for the use of new technologies in toxicological research as a way of moving our science forward. I also understand the tremendous value in leveraging the knowledge and experience of established scientists, especially when it comes to supporting current and potential members and collaborators through outreach and engagement.

I aspire to continue to work with and support SOT Committees and members so that they can carry out their charges and meet their strategic objectives as this will help SOT continue to be an impactful, welcoming organization working to create a safer and healthier world through education and communication.