In 2005, the American Chinese Toxicology Society (ACTS, established in 1984) and the American Chinese Society of Toxicology (ACSOT, established in 1995; previously the Society of Chinese Scholars and Students of Toxicology in America, SCSSTA, 1990–1994) were combined to form a new organization, the American Association of Chinese in Toxicology (AACT). During the SOT 44th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2005, the AACT organized its first Annual Meeting and Reception. In 2007, the AACT became an SOT Special Interest Group (SIG), and in 2008, the AACT website was merged with the SOT website.
The AACT mission is to foster interactions among Chinese toxicologists by exchanging information in education, technology, employment, or business opportunities; to facilitate collaborative activities in toxicology-related research or projects between Chinese scientists or organizations in the US and abroad; and to promote the participation of scientists of any ethnical background who share the same common interests in toxicology and related fields. The AACT currently has 228 members (2021–2022), and all members are from academia, industry, and government. AACT members share the vision to create an organization that connects scientists in toxicology (and related fields) with a Chinese ethnic background and to bridge the toxicological sciences between the Eastern and the Western worlds.
SOT 30th Annual Meeting (February 25–March 1, 1991)
To reach its goals, the AACT actively assists with SOT global engagement. For example, we translated some journal material into Chinese when Gary Miller, who was the Editor-in-Chief of Toxicological Sciences, visited China. The AACT also organizes several activities during the year, such as nominating toxicologists of Chinese origin for SOT Awards, conducting webinars on cutting-edge toxicology topics, operating the AACT Mentor-Mentee program, hosting a regional membership forum and outreach activities, publishing AACT newsletters, and networking via the social media platform WeChat.
The AACT also honors and recognizes its members who have made significant contributions to the toxicology field. The AACT gives four awards at the Annual Meeting each year:
- AACT Best Abstract Awards (established in 2005 and supported by Innostar since 2018; three recipients/year) to support students giving presentations during the SOT Annual Meeting
- AACT Distinguished Chinese Toxicologist Award (established in 2006 and supported by West China-Frontier PhamaTech since 2022; one recipient/year) to honor an established toxicologist of Chinese ethnic origin
- AACT Jean Lu Student Scholarship Award (established in 2009 and first awarded in 2010; two recipients/year) to provide the scholarship to Chinese students who are interested in graduate toxicology training
- JOINN Biomere Outstanding Young Toxicologist Award of AACT (established in 2021, first awarded in 2022, and supported by Joinn Biomere; two recipients/year) to honor young toxicologists in the early stages of their careers
Please visit the AACT website for more information on these awards. In the future, the AACT may add another award, the Best Publication Award, for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows.
Please encourage your colleagues and students to
join the AACT if they have a Chinese background and/or ethnicity. AACT dues are $15/year for Full members. For SOT Student/Postdoc members, the first SIG membership is free. Membership in SOT is not required to be a member of the AACT. Please explore the
AACT website for more information.
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