SOT Component Groups (Regional Chapters, Special Interest Groups, and Specialty Sections) and committees host 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 January and February 2019 are listed below.
The Write Skills for a Successful Toxicology Career
Host: Career Resource and Development Committee (CRAD)
Date and Time: Tuesday, January 15, 2019, 1:00 PM–2:00 PM Eastern Time
Registration is required.
A recent survey of SOT graduate student members suggested that most respondents viewed professional writing skills necessary for career success to encompass writing grants for research funding (89%) or authorship of manuscripts (97%), while only half (or less) included skills related to writing chemical risk/safety assessments, study reports, or other types of communication, such as to the public or nonscientists. The survey results suggest a need to inform current toxicology graduate students, postdocs, and early-career scientists that professional writing skills often need to be tailored toward specific career paths or audiences and can be distinct from skills obtained while conveying experimental results. The first speaker will address successful writing as a pharmaceutical toxicologist, including the different types of documents generated, appropriate level of detail, and putting findings into appropriate context for risk assessment. The next speaker will go beyond scientific journal publications to explain the written work of federal government toxicologists, whether bench scientist, risk assessor, or in between, since each role has different writing skill requirements. The following speaker will address communicating science to the public and nonscientists, including writing for online and social media, being quoted and seen as a source for news media, and engaging with community groups. The panel discussion and Q&A session will promote the attainment of transferable writing skills during graduate school to improve preparedness for career options outside academia and thus the quality and value of the graduate and postdoctoral training in toxicology. Beyond raising awareness, the objective of this webinar is to convey readily available and diverse types of professional writing resources and tips that help reduce professional skill gaps and facilitate career success.
Migration of AcslX Model Code to Magnolia
Host: Biological Modeling Specialty Section (BMSS)
Date and Time: Friday, January 18, 2019, 1:00 PM–2:00 PM Eastern Time
Registration is required.
Magnolia is an environment for modeling systems whose behavior can be described by systems of differential equations. Magnolia provides the tools for developing models using an equation-based modeling language, scripting the execution of simulations using either the Python programming language or a simple command-based language, and interactively exploring model behavior using an intuitive user interface.
The modeling language employed by Magnolia is a descendant of the CSL language used in ACSL and acslX, meaning most models developed in either of those two legacy tools can be ported to Magnolia with minimal effort.
This webinar will describe the general process of migrating models and scripts created in ACSL/acslX to Magnolia. Topics will include:
- an overview of the Magnolia environment and user interface
- differences between the version of CSL supported in Magnolia and the versions supported in ACSL/acslX
- how to use the CMD language supported in Magnolia to perform basic scripting of simulation runs
- the use of the Python programming language to perform more complex analyses
- specific case study examples of the migration of PBPK models and scripts from acslX to Magnolia
Interview with an Expert: Personal Care Industry
Host: Graduate Student Leadership Committee (GSLC) Communications Subcommittee
Date and Time: Wednesday, January 23, 2019, 1:00 PM–2:00 PM Eastern Time
Registration is required.
Fragrances, lotions, cosmetics—the world of personal care. Ever wondered what it takes for these products to come to market? Come join us for a discussion about how a toxicologist can play a role in these products. Brian Lee, PhD, DABT, from L Brands (Victoria’s Secret, Bath and Body Works) will share his career path and experience pertaining to product safety and regulatory affairs as a senior toxicologist. A live interview with Dr. Lee will be followed by a Q&A session of questions submitted by students.
Empowering the Endorsers: Developing Competitive Scientific Session Proposals
Host: Scientific Program Committee (SPC)
Date and Time: Thursday, February 14, 2019, 1:00 PM–2:00 PM Eastern Time
Registration is required.
Annual session proposal webinar. Scientific Program Committee members will answer FAQ regarding the SOT proposal submission process, including best practices approaches to ensure the success of the Annual Meeting, for SOT leadership from Specialty Sections, Special Interest Groups, task forces, committees, etc. The review process for proposals also will be addressed.