Blogs

Co-authored with Xi Yang

On June 11, the SOT American Association of Chinese in Toxicology (AACT) Career Workshop was held in a hybrid format, serving online and on-site participants. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the AACT Career Workshop that was introduced in 2012 in San Francisco, California.

The workshop consisted of six presentations:

• Xi Yang, PhD, 2022–2023 AACT President, began by introducing the speakers and sharing her story of volunteering for the Continuing Education (CE) program to get more involved with the SOT community.
• SOT Councilor Lauren M. Aleksunes, PharmD, PhD, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, highlighted the diverse networking opportunities at SOT. She also provided practical advice for young scientists to prepare a standout LinkedIn profile to assist in career transition.
• Jiaqin “Jack” Yao, PhD, MD, Shanghai Innostar Biotechnology Co. Ltd., shared his opinions about the qualities for which employers are looking and the unique challenges international students encounter.
• Menghang Xia, PhD, National Institutes of Health (NIH), shared her journey from graduate school to NIH, providing her thoughts on leadership development with an example of her work with the Tox21 program.
• The talk by Yan Gu, PhD, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, focused on food safety evaluation from the perspective of a regulatory toxicology reviewer and toxicology specialist in a law firm
• Alex Xu, PhD, AXTER Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., shared his unique story and the challenges faced by an entrepreneur.

During the panel discussion, moderated by Shengjie Xu, PhD, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, more career resources and tips were shared with an audience of nearly 30 participants. All speakers highlighted that you need to find your passion and follow your heart to accomplish your career goal(s).

AACT has a long history of providing continuous mentoring to help young toxicologists be competitive in a working environment. This event has been awarded Mentoring Initiative Matching Funds through the SOT Education and Career Development Committee. The AACT looks forward to hosting another successful career workshop in Nashville, Tennessee, during the 2023 SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo!

Since the AACT Career Workshop normally occurs during the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, this blog was prepared by an SOT Reporter and represents the views of the author. SOT Reporters are SOT members who volunteer to write about sessions and events in which they participate during the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo. SOT does not propose or endorse any position by posting this article. If you are interested in participating in the SOT Reporter program in the future, please complete the volunteer application form titled “Contribute to SOT Communication Activities.”