A Message from Daniel Acosta, Jr., President, IUTOX
I am very pleased to inform you that Elaine M. Faustman, Secretary-General of International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX), has been appointed by the International Council for Science (ICSU) to sit on an ad hoc panel to undertake a strategic review of ICSU’s Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA), an Interdisciplinary Body of ICSU set up in 1966 to improve the quality, reliability, management, and accessibility of data of importance to all fields of science and technology. In line with the recommendations from various strategic reviews, CODATA has been engaged in recent years in addressing issues of high priority to ICSU, especially at the data management and policy levels. The panel will examine the links between CODATA, ICSU, the ICSU National and International Scientific Union Members and ICSU’s other Interdisciplinary Bodies. It will focus on both internal and external interactions, and have, as its overriding objective, an evaluation of the extent to which CODATA: (a) adds value to the scientific and technological data and information arena, and to the national programs that contribute to it, and (b) helps the scientific community address key data-related challenges facing science today and in the future.
The need for integrating and managing large amounts of data in a rigorous and transparent fashion to protect human health and the environment from chemicals and other environmental stressors was the focus of an SOT Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology Conference (CCT). Dr. Faustman was among the international experts who presented at this May 8–11, 2012, meeting entitled "Building for Better Decisions: Multi-Scale Integration of Human Health and Environmental Data” that was convened at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
Dr. Faustman's extensive work for IUTOX in the scientific international arena, coupled with her charge as Director of the Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication at the University of Washington, uniquely qualifies her to contribute to this international panel. IUTOX leadership is honored that ICSU has appointed Dr. Faustman to participate in this important initiative where she may share her extensive experience and expertise for the benefit of scientists around the world.