Darryl B. Hood, PhD, has been elected by the SOT voting members as an SOT Councilor.
Dr. Hood’s passion regarding the importance of teaching, mentoring graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty in the academy and toxicological research enterprise continues to be undergirded by the declining statistics documenting that less than 0.21% of persons holding PhD degrees in the sciences are from individuals that look like him. During the 32 years of his training at both an underrepresented minority academic health science center and research-intensive R01 institutions, he has grown to have a strong affinity for both learning environments. Making the transition from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine-Meharry Medical College Alliance to the Ohio State University College of Public Health over that time period has allowed Dr. Hood the opportunity to significantly enhance his academic research and professional and collaborative leadership skill sets toward being an effective SOT Councilor.
Currently, Dr. Hood is a tenured Full Professor with a robust research portfolio and national reputation as a scholarly environmental public health neurotoxicologist. He also holds the administrative position of Deans’ Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Excellence in the College of Public Health at Ohio State University. Dr. Hood serves in leadership roles at the university, regional, state, and national levels. He is a member of the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He also serves as a member of the Children’s Environmental Health Committee and the Standing Committee on Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions and most recently as a member on the Public Health Research and Surveillance Priorities from the East Palestine, Ohio, Train Derailment at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
The combination of Dr. Hood’s broad academic, research, service, and diverse work experiences in different settings has allowed him to identify and form connections between and among various people, professions, and organizations. His approach as an academic leader and manager includes joining, assembling, and interacting with functional collaborative and cooperative groups. He refers to himself as an active partner relying on more than delegation to initiate and complete various tasks and projects. He has a passion for generating and catalyzing ideas from others to create, develop, strategize, prioritize, implement, and achieve the stated goals. In all his work, Dr. Hood has been able to build consensus enthusiastically and politely in a very deliberate and organized manner which will serve him well in the role of Councilor.
Dr. Hood has been an SOT member since 2000. He has previously served as the Chair of the SOT Education and Career Development Committee and President of the SOT Toxicologists of African Origin Special Interest Group.
Goals for SOT
My goals are to work in the areas where the Council feels I would be most effective in advancing the strategic goals of the Society. In this regard, one area that is low-hanging fruit would be in advancing inclusive excellence and working to integrate those principles and practices into the fabric and culture of SOT. Doing so would result in a transformative deliverable such that our professional society would be a leader through exemplifying shared values that would serve as a model among professional societies for the 21st century and beyond.
I am well-equipped to work within the Society’s construct on any of its issues, including:
- Mission, vision, and shared values
- Maintaining a strong, diverse, and engaged intentional leadership team
- Inclusive excellence strategic plan (implementation and assessment)
- Access and equity
- Assessment, readiness, and capacity surveys
- Discussions on establishment of a Chief Diversity Officer
- Diversity Council
- Systems development, collaboration, and partnership
- Internal/external focus
- Enhancement of education and training programs for all constituents
- Intergroup dialogue
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is based on the biosketch provided by Dr. Hood for use as part of the election ballot. This citation is being shared under the Secretary’s name as part of their official duties and should not be interpreted as their personal or professional opinions.
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