The Society of Toxicology (SOT) Component Groups (Regional Chapters, Special Interest Groups, and Specialty Sections) host many webinars throughout the year. Webinars are an effective distance-learning method intended to impart scientific knowledge to members of their group as well as the SOT membership at large. These webinars are just one of the many benefits of SOT membership.
Upcoming webinars for November and December 2015 are listed below.
Medical Device and Combination Product Specialty Section (MDCPSS):
The MDCPSS October 15 webinar has been rescheduled as noted in the information below.
Topic: The Threshold of Toxicological Concern: Application to Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals; Date and Time: Monday, November 16, 2015, 11:00 am–12:00 Noon Eastern Time
Event address and registration for attendees: https://aim-hq.webex.com/aim-hq/onstage/g.php?d=736546823&t=a
Over the past 50 years, this question of assessing human health risk of unstudied or incompletely characterized chemicals has been the subject of many publications. The most widely accepted scientific approach to assess the risk of exposure to incompletely characterized chemicals is to consider a level of exposure for all chemicals below which there is no appreciable risk to human health; a threshold of toxicological concern (TTC).
The concept of a TTC holds true across a wide spectrum of toxicity endpoints, such as genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and acute and repeated dose systemic toxicity (Munro and Kroes [JECFA], 1998; Muller, 2006; Delaney et al., 2007; Bernauer et al., 2008; van Ravenzway, 2011). The literature provides evidence of the scientific community’s acceptance of the TTC concept, which many regulatory authorities around the world also have endorsed. The TTC concept has been used in many applications including for food packaging, food flavorings, pesticide metabolites in groundwater, pharmaceuticals, herbal substances, and preparations and genotoxic drug impurities.
In 2013, the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) published a draft consensus guideline on the Assessment and Control of DNA Reactive (Mutagenic) impurities in Pharmaceuticals to Limit Potential Carcinogenic Risk, M7. The ICH M7, which applies to products in the pharmaceutical market and to combination drug devices, was written “to provide a practical framework that can be applied for the identification, categorization, qualification, and control of these mutagenic impurities to limit potential carcinogenic risk.” The guideline also extends the TTC to less than lifetime patient exposures by allowing for higher thresholds for shorter exposure duration, such as during clinical drug trials.
Douglas Ball (Pfizer) will provide background on the development of the TTC and how it is applied in pharmaceuticals and the pharmaceutical industry. Recent developments in the pharmaceutical industry relative to the TTC also will be discussed.
Lake Ontario Regional Chapter (LORC):
Topic: Concordance Between Animal and Human Tumors and Mechanisms of Human Cancers; Date and Time: Monday, November 23, 2015, 1:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time
Event address and registration for attendees: https://aim-hq.webex.com/aim-hq/onstage/g.php?MTID=e19d897e0eb317b3cc553dfa10dda386f
In this presentation, Dr. Krewski will talk about the work he has been doing with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The primary focus of his webinar is to present data on the agents that are classified as carcinogens and the possible mechanistic characteristics through which these agents initiate cancer in humans, animals, and in vitro. The different tumor types are categorized into a de-novo scheme so that human tumors and animal tumors could be compared and assessed for mechanistic characteristics. The data is examined for concordance for tumor types between human and animal sources. A heat map will be presented on the concordance of the data between human, animal, and in vitro cancers. The mechanistic characteristics of the different tumors also will be reviewed.
This webinar is of interest to toxicologists who study risk assessment and mechanism of action of toxic substances as well as those studying carcinogenesis and cancer progression and prevention. It will be open to all the members of SOT, but members of special interest groups such as the Carcinogenesis and Risk Assessment Specialty Sections will be specifically invited. It is hosted by the Lake Ontario Chapter that is comprised of toxicologists with a range of interests from mechanisms and risk assessment to public health.
Midwest Regional Chapter (MRC-SOT):
Topic: Microbiome in Health and Disease Webinar Series 2; Date and Time: Wednesday, December 8, 2015, 11:00 am, Central Time
Event address and registration for attendees: https://aim-hq.webex.com/aim-hq/onstage/g.php?MTID=ee873e6e8ffcfb5fce0701cf2744dfc5e
The human microbiome encompasses many microbial communities found within human (and animal) body sites. Beyond concerns for infectious diseases, the microbiome is recognized to be an important determinant in health and development, with the potential to influence physiologic responses to chemical and environmental agents. The intent of this webinar series is to explore the influence the microbiome has on selected organ system function and health. While recent attention has been focused on gut microflora, the webinar series will address the impact of microflora on the female reproductive tract, the lung and pulmonary function, the immune system, the cardiovascular system, and more broadly the impact on aging. By understanding the microbiotas influence in normal health as well as its influence in disease states, toxicologists can be prepared to understand the impact chemical toxicity has on the microbiota as well as the impact the microbiota has on chemical toxicity.
Biotechnology Specialty Section Webinar—Coming Soon!