About the Russian SOT Meeting
The Fourth Meeting of the Russian Society of Toxicology was convened November 6–8, 2013, at the Izmailova Gamma Delta Hotel Conference Center in Moscow. There weres 320 toxicologists from 70 regions of Russia who participated in the full meeting. Their specialty areas included clinical toxicology, preclinical investigations into pharmaceutical products, and ecotoxicologists. Also in attendance were experts from Russia’s Rospotrebnadzor (The Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being), who conduct surveillance on the impact of chemical factors on human health and the environment and the monitoring of chemicals in the environment.
The meeting was opened by Dr. G. G. Onischenko, RF, Premier’s aid, who welcomed the audience and highlighted challenges in Russian toxicology and potential solutions. Among the many scientific subjects covered during the meeting were the following:
- Development of toxicology in Russia, its role and challenges in the protection of the health of large populations and the environment, in consideration of Russia’s entry into WHO and joining OECD
- Methodology of risk identification at toxic exposures and its importance in the activities of healthcare authorities
- Issues of hazard assessment, classification, and state registration of chemicals and their mixtures
- Main problems related to the toxicology of clinical and drug preparations
- Toxicology of ecosystems and biological monitoring
- Toxicology informatics as a leading direction in chemical safety
- Specificities of toxicology of chemical products based on nano-,bio- ,and cellular technologies
- Influence of toxicants on organs and systems (neuro-, immune-, allergo-, hepato-, genotoxicity effects on the reproductive and endocrine systems)
- Problems in military and extreme environment toxicology; toxicological problems of chemical terrorism. Issues related to destruction of chemical weapons
- Prospective trends in the development of antidotes, means of pathogenetic and symptomatic therapy of acute poisonings
- Intersectoral and intradepartmental coordination of research and practical activities in toxicology
- Problems of the professional education of toxicologists. Teaching of toxicology in higher educational establishments.
There were 100 oral presentations and 15 posters presented during the meeting. The program included talks about: Perspectives of Toxicology Development from the Position of Nanotechnologies, and Synthetic Biology by B. N. Filatov et al; Major Issues of Chemical Safety in Russia by V. N. Smolensky; Use of Mass-Spectrometry in Ecotoxicological, Biological, and Medical Studies by A. T. Lebedev; Genetic Studies in Pharmaceutical Toxicology by Yu. A. Revasova; Problems of Toxicology in Chemical Safety by Kh.Kh. Khamidulina; Experimental Toxicological Investigation into Modern Combined Anti-Tuberculosis Preparations by K. Usov et al; Genetic Toxicology in Hygiene by L. P. Sycheva et al; and Objectives of Modern Genetic Toxicology by A. K. Zhanataev et al.
In recognition of several distinguished young toxicologists, a meeting award was presented for the best papers in toxicological sciences by the Board of the Russian Society of Toxicology with the participation of outstanding Russian toxicologists.
The fourth meeting of the Russian SOT, with international participation, was a milestone in the development of Russian toxicology. It contributed to the evaluation of progress achieved since the third meeting five years earlier and identified urgent needs still to be met as well as future trends in domestic toxicology.
About the SOT Webinar
The Society of Toxicology (SOT) is proud to have collaborated with Russian counterparts in presenting a Webinar featuring SOT member toxicologists, and broadcast from the US on Wednesday, November 6, 5:00 pm–7:00 pm Moscow time.
The germ for this session was planted in discussions between Khalidya Khamidulina, Director of the Russian Register of Potentially Hazardous Chemical and Biological Substances of Rospotrebnadzor and the only Russian member of the US SOT, and Philip Wexler of the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program of the US National Library of Medicine (NLM). Mr. Wexler had already been invited to the meeting to make a presentation on NLM’s online toxicology information resources. Dr. Khamidulina had subsequently expressed an interest in learning about recent advances in several toxicological topics that had struck her interest during SOT’s 2013 San Antonio Annual Meeting. They both felt it would be worth exploring a remote session, and the US and Russian societies approved the idea.
The format decided upon had a moderator (Mr. Wexler) who made the introductions and fielded questions in Moscow, while three toxicologists in the US highlighted leading–edge issues in modern toxicology. Webcam images of the speakers accompanied their Power Point presentations. The speakers and the titles of their talks were as follows:
- Kenneth E. McMartin (Louisiana State University)—Mechanism-Based Translational Studies on Toxicity of Alcohols and Glycols
- Donna L. Mendrick (US Food and Drug Administration)—System Biology Approaches to Improve Drug Safety
- Allison C. Elder (University of Rochester Medical Center)—Recent Advances and Challenges in Nanotoxicology Research
US SOT headquarters, along with Oleg Ponfilenok in Russia, successfully handled the technical and logistical issues involved in conducting this transatlantic webinar. Two successful test sessions provided us with the confidence to proceed.
The webinar was of great interest to the Russian audience. It allowed them to compare research trends in American and Russian studies in specific areas of interest. The Russian toxicologists were grateful to their American colleagues, and especially to those who delivered the presentations. It was an excellent example of how toxicologists in two countries can overcome distance and language barriers to collaborate.
The US and Russian societies are currently trying to work out a reciprocal Webinar in which Russian toxicologists would present talks for their US counterparts, perhaps as part of an Annual Meeting or Regional Chapter meeting, or another SOT–sponsored event.
The session has been recorded and archived for your listening and viewing pleasure in the Global Initiatives section of the SOT website.