The Society of Toxicology (SOT) has been dedicated to recognizing exceptional members with the Merit Award for over 45 years. The Merit Award is presented to members of the Society who have distinguished themselves from among their peers through a lifetime of contributions to toxicology, specifically in the areas of research, teaching, regulatory activities, consulting, and service to the Society.
2018 Merit Award Recipient Robert J. Kavlock
The 2018 Merit Award recipient was Robert J. Kavlock. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Kavlock made exemplary contributions to toxicology as a scientist and a leader in the field of computational toxicology. Under his leadership as founding director, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) National Center for Computational Toxicology (NCCT), he became a major innovative force for change within the US EPA, to utilize modern computational tools, technologies, and expertise to help transform toxicological research within the agency. Dr. Kavlock’s leadership at the US EPA was visionary and he was instrumental in the launching of the US EPA Toxicity Forecaster (ToxCast), a tool that helps users to examine high-throughput assay data to inform chemical safety decisions.
Similar to many other SOT Awards, nominations for the Merit Award should include the nominee’s CV and both a primary and seconding letter of nomination from Full members of the Society that include documentation and description of the significant contributions to toxicology by the nominee. These letters should describe in layman’s terms an analysis of the nominee's significant contributions to toxicology and how they apply to the criteria of the award. Please note: The Awards Committee will only review the two letters required to complete the nomination, no additional letters will be taken into consideration.
If you know a colleague who deserves to be recognized, please begin the nomination process today by visiting the SOT Awards website! Nominations are accepted through October 9, 2018! Nominations can be made for scientists who have made significant contributions to toxicology in the areas of research, teaching, regulatory activities, consulting, and service to the Society. This award will be presented at the 2019 SOT Awards Ceremony.
The recipient of this award will be invited to deliver the Merit Award Lecture at the 2019 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, and a lecture during a EUROTOX meeting.
Previous Merit Award Recipients
- 2006 A. Wallace Hayes
- 2007 James A. Swenberg
- 2008 Hanspeter Witschi
- 2009 Gary Williams
- 2010 Marion F. Ehrich
- 2011 Michael Aschner
- 2012 Curtis D. Klaassen
- 2013 Frederick Peter Guengerich
- 2014 Jay I. Goodman
- 2015 Günter Oberdörster
- 2016 Melvin E. Andersen
- 2017 Samuel M. Cohen
- 2018 Robert J. Kavlock