The Seventh Annual Tox ShowDown, held as usual on the Tuesday evening of SOT’s Annual Meeting, continued its tradition of melding education with rollicking fun. The members of the three teams in this toxicological quiz game par excellence conducted themselves with suitable aplomb and had numerous opportunities to showcase their brilliance and skills at guesswork.
With questions drawn from history, current events and, yes, even science, the contestants were challenged to show us what they are made of. Linda Birnbaum’s many awards and honors paled beside her role as this year’s distinguished judge, setting down the law with an iron fist. Phil Wexler, the unceremonious master of ceremonies, aided by his motley crew, stayed just cognizant enough to hold the evening together.
The audience, cheering, jeering, and unruly as ever, made the room rock. An embarrassment of prizes for the contestants and door prizes for the audience were donated by SOT, Oxford University Press, the Toxicology Education Foundation, Burleson Research Technologies, Brock Scientific Consulting, etc. Congratulations were extended to the Free Radicals for their championship showing.
It’s never too early to volunteer to be a contestant in this crazy event, so just shoot an email to Phil if you are foolhardy enough to want to sign up for next year’s Tox ShowDown in Baltimore to be held somewhere near, or maybe even in, the Inner Harbor. Please supply your own life vest.
The Teams:
Free Radicals (John Wise, Sr., Logeswari Ponnusamy, and Johnny Wise)
Endocrine Disruptors (Manushree Bharadwaj, Jeff Klein, and David Szabo)
Toxic Metabolites (Laura M. Plunkett, William Irwin, and Alaeddin Abukabda)
The Crew:
Marie Bourgeois (PowerPoint Maven), Sara Humes (Laptop Wizard), Susie Masten (Scorekeeper), Laura Savery (Ticket and Setup Queen), and Sue Ford (Timekeeper)