Society of Toxicology (SOT) programs actively encourage recruitment of students from all backgrounds to toxicology, including outreach at meetings organized by scientists from groups that are under-represented in the sciences. One of these meetings is hosted by the Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). The SACNAS National Conference October 16–18 in Los Angeles, California, is likely to attract about 4,000 attendees in a culturally rich atmosphere for presentations, research posters, and exhibits to motivate participants to achieve their highest goals in pursuing education and careers in STEM fields.
The Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI) has organized an exhibit booth at this meeting. Among SOT members who will be spending time greeting students and discussing toxicology research and careers are Douglas Stevens, Joe Galvan (pictured at right), William Atchison, and Vanessa Nunez.
Dr. Galvan is one of the featured speakers. He will be a keynote panelist in the session “Pathways to Success: Real-Life Adventures of SACNAS Scientists“ and speak about his experiences as a toxicologist. Dr. Galvan has been employed in several capacities related to safety assessments of household products.
Jorge Naciff, a member of the CDI, is involved in two sessions, the workshop “Getting a Foot in the Door-CV/Resume/Pre-Screening Interview” and also “Internships in Industry, Government, and Nonprofit.” He also was involved in a professional development workshop at the 2013 SACNAS meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Ofelia Olivero also will be attending the meeting on behalf of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Last year, William Atchison organized the workshop “Toxicology-Integrating Chemistry, Physics, and Biology to Understand Contemporary Issues of Health and Environment” for the 2013 SACNAS meeting. The speakers and their topics are below.
- José E. Manautou, Hepatic Transporters and Development on Tolerance to Hepatotoxicity by Acetaminophen
- Kenneth S. Ramos, Damaging Agents Reactivate Long Interspersed Nuclear Element-1: Molecular Mechanisms and Implications for Human Oncology
- Martin A. Philbert, The Biophysical Life of the Cell Below 1 Micron
- William Atchison, Gene-environmental Interactions as Contributions to Development of Neurodegenerative Diseases
SOT also will be exhibiting at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in San Antonio, Texas, November 12–15, 2014. Linda A. Birnbaum is the SOT-sponsored speaker this year and Dr. Manautou will be lead in the exhibit booth.