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SOT is pleased to announce the newly elected members of the SOT Nominating Committee. These members were elected to represent the Society’s Past Presidents, Specialty Sections, Regional Chapters, and Special Interest Groups, as indicated in this blog.

From the Past Presidents

Lois Lehman-McKeeman, PhD, ATS, is currently Vice President, Pharmaceutical Candidate Optimization, at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in Princeton, New Jersey. In this capacity, she leads cross-site departments of Discovery Toxicology, Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Pharmaceutics, and Bioanalytical Sciences to support early target identification, drug candidate optimization and selection, and issue resolution.

Dr. Lehman-McKeeman has active research interests in biochemical mechanisms of toxicity, with emphasis on the application of metabolomic and transcriptomic technologies to mechanistic toxicology and secondary mechanisms of carcinogenesis. She has published extensively in these fields.

Dr. Lehman-McKeeman has been an active SOT member since 1986. She has participated extensively in various SOT Committees, including serving on the Awards Committee and chairing the Continuing Education Committee and Scientific Program Committee. She has also been a member of the Board of Publications and the Endowment Fund Board and was Editor-in-Chief of Toxicological Sciences from 2003 to 2011. In addition, she is a member of the Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley Regional Chapters, and Mechanisms Specialty Section, among other Component Group memberships. Dr. Lehman-McKeeman has served as Councilor of the Society and was the 2013–2014 SOT President. She is a past recipient of the SOT Achievement Award and received the Founders Award (for Outstanding Leadership in Toxicology) in 2019.

Of her goals for SOT, Dr. Lehman-McKeeman says: “The Nominating Committee for SOT is critical to ensuring effective, committed, and diverse leadership to continue to build a successful Society. My goal for this effort is to work collaboratively to identify a strong slate of qualified candidates that will continue to evolve the mission and vision of the Society.”

From the Regional Chapters

Margaret H. Whittaker, PhD, ERT, DABT, CBiol, FRSB, is the Managing Director and Chief Toxicologist of ToxServices LLC. Dr. Whittaker is one of the pioneers in the field of chemicals alternatives assessments and is a key contributor to advancing these methods around the world. She is an accomplished human health risk assessor, chemical hazards assessor, and alternatives assessor.

Dr. Whittaker joined SOT in 2002. She has served as an officer on multiple SOT Specialty Section and Regional Chapters and is a Past President of the Mixtures Specialty Section and the National Capital Area Regional Chapter. In addition, she is a member of the Out Toxicologists and Allies Special Interest Group and Women in Toxicology Special Interest Group, among other Component Group memberships. Most recently, Dr. Whittaker worked as part of a group to create the Society’s newest Specialty Section, the Sustainable Chemicals for Contemporary Toxicology Specialty Section (SCCT), of which she is the President-Elect.

Of her goals for SOT, Dr. Whittaker says: “My goals for SOT are focused on making sure SOT provides current and future toxicologists around the world with state of the science training and publications that encourage and advance a safer world for all.”

From the Special Interest Groups

Bernard K. Gadagbui, PhD, DABT, ERT, is a Senior Toxicologist at Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA). He is committed to the science of toxicology and has a passion for in-depth understanding of mechanisms of toxicity, current methods for assessing toxicology outcomes, data analysis, appropriate interpretation of toxicology and human health data, and weight of evidence analysis for deriving risk assessment values. Dr. Gadagbui is keenly interested in the active promotion and teaching of toxicology and risk assessment in developing countries around the world.

Since joining SOT in 1998, Dr. Gadagbui has hosted senior global scholars from Indonesia and India through the SOT Global Senior Scholar Exchange Program (GSSEP) and has contributed to ideas that can improve GSSEP to promote the vision of SOT in developing countries. He also has been actively involved in reaching out to African scientists and students in joining SOT for more than a decade. Dr. Gadagbui is a Past President of the Toxicologists of African Origin Special Interest Group and is a member and past Councilor of the Ohio Valley Regional Chapter. He also is a longtime member of the Risk Assessment Specialty Section.

Of his goals for SOT, Dr. Gadagbui says: “My goal is to see SOT advance its international outreach; live its vision by helping the public better understand toxicology; promote and teach various topics in toxicology in developing countries by sending its brightest members abroad as well as broadening the Global Senior Scholar Exchange Program; encourage, promote, and support diversity in the SOT membership and activities; and acknowledge, recognize, and award scientists from diverse perspectives and backgrounds who have distinguished themselves, particularly in toxicology, have committed to advancing toxicology and the protection of human health, and have contributed to the growth of SOT in the developed and/or developing countries.”

From the Specialty Sections

Rhiannon N. Hardwick, PhD, DABT, is a Senior Scientist in Translational Safety Sciences at Theravance Biopharma, where she serves as a project toxicologist. She is responsible for target safety assessment, guiding lead candidate safety optimization, establishing criteria for successful candidate nomination as a representative on discovery project teams, and supporting candidate progression through development. She also serves as a working group leader focused on expanding knowledge and implementation of 3D tissues and microphysiological systems in the drug development process and is a Theravance Biopharma representative to the IQ Consortium Microphysiological Systems Affiliate.

Dr. Hardwick joined SOT in 2009. She has served as Chair of the Continuing Education Committee and is currently a Councilor of the Mechanisms Specialty Section. She also is a member of the Northern California Regional Chapter and Southern California Regional Chapter, as well as the Out Toxicologists and Allies Special Interest Group and Drug Discovery Toxicology Specialty Section, among many other Component Group memberships.

Of her goals for SOT, Dr. Hardwick says: My goals for SOT are to: (1) Cultivate scientific innovation: I believe it is important to recognize scientists who have made significant, transformative impacts on the field of toxicology as a means of honoring the continual evolution of toxicological sciences. (2) Increase scientific communication: It is critical to find effective ways of communicating scientific findings and their impact on public health in order to foster continued public support of scientific research. (3) Expand the Society’s impact by fostering engagement of the next generation of scientists. (4) Provide avenues to encourage active participation of new members: SOT is a large organization and can be overwhelming to new members, making it difficult to know where to start. It is important to facilitate a smooth integration within SOT by promoting groups and initiatives and jumpstarting networking opportunities.”