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 January and February 2017 are listed below.
Medical Device and Combination Product Specialty Section (MDCPSS)
Topic: Effects of Nanoscale Particles in the Brain
Date and Time: Monday, January 23, 2017, 1:30 pm–2:30 pm Eastern Time
Event address and registration for attendees
It is well understood that exposure to particulate matter is causally associated with adverse cardiopulmonary health effects that are related to the generation of inflammatory mediators, autonomic nervous system activation, and the delivery of particles or their constituents to target tissues (translocation). A growing body of work has explored the ability of inhaled particles—with a focus on nanoscale particles (<100 nm in diameter)— to also have adverse effects in the central nervous system via similar mechanistic pathways. Studies with very poorly-soluble nanoscale particles demonstrated translocation to distal tissues like the brain and that smaller particles accumulate more efficiently than larger particles, albeit at a small fraction of applied dose. Exposures via other routes also have shown the accumulation in various tissues of nanoscale particles. The consequences of particle accumulation in the brain, such as inflammation or the induction or exacerbation of neurodegenerative processes, also are being explored in animal models. Using poorly-soluble nanoscale Mn oxide particles, for example, we found that markers of oxidative stress and inflammatory cell activation were elevated in the same regions of the brain where Mn accumulated following whole-body inhalation exposure in rats. Using a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), it also was demonstrated that exposure led to persistent microglial and astrocyte activation, elevations in amyloid b-42 protein, and decreases in synaptophysin staining. Similar findings have been reported in studies of the effects of other particle types like diesel exhaust. Taken collectively, the findings from these studies suggest that inhaled particles can be transported to the central nervous system and that they can elicit tissue responses that could contribute to the progression of pathology in those regions where accumulation occurs.
Registration is required.
Drug Discovery Specialty Section (DDTSS)
Topic: Safety Assessment in a World of Expanding Immuno-oncology Approaches
Date and Time: Tuesday, January 24, 2017, 11:00 am–12:00 pm Eastern Time
Event address and registration for attendees
This unique 90-minute webinar comprises three distinct presentations in which experts will discuss safety assessment in the growing field of immuno-oncology research.
Topics:
Nonclinical Safety Assessment of Checkpoint Inhibitors and Costimulatory Agonists
The harnessing of the immune system to fight cancer is becoming a reality with the approval of several therapeutics that are transforming the way cancer is being treated. This presentation will discuss key considerations and challenges in the nonclinical safety assessment of checkpoint inhibitors and costimulatory agonistic monoclonal antibodies and approaches to enhance the value of preclinical models by incorporating biomarkers of immune activation to help understand the relevance of the model, immunologic activities and toxicities, and define the clinical stating dose.
Evolution of Safety Assessment for T Cell-Dependent Bispecific Molecules
The advent of molecules that redirect the T cell killing machinery to tumors has expanded the cancer immunotherapy repertoire. These molecules are highly potent and rapidly activate T cells upon antigen recognition. As a result, the nonclinical safety assessment of T cell engaging bispecific molecules has had to evolve from the traditional approach. This webinar will discuss some of the novel challenges and strategies taken in the nonclinical safety assessment of T cell engaging bispecific molecules.
Safety Assessment of Immune Cell-Based Therapies for Immuno-Oncology
Evasion of immune surveillance represents a major mechanism limiting the effectiveness of traditional therapies against tumor cells. An increasing number of approaches designed to stimulate or directly utilize the immune system in overcoming this limitation are currently undergoing preclinical and clinical testing, including immunotherapies utilizing auto reactive effector cells. One significant factor potentially limiting the widespread use of T cell therapies for a variety of cancer types includes the expression of target antigens on cancer cells as well as on other normal, and essential, tissues. This presentation will review the field of adoptive T cell therapies as well as current thinking concerning nonclinical safety assessment approaches for such therapies.
Registration is required.
Inhalation and Respiratory Specialty Section (IRSS)
Topic: Exposomes and Exposomics in Inhalation Toxicology
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 14, 2017, 2:00 pm–3:00 pm Eastern Time
Event address and registration for attendees
Exposome is defined as the measure of all the exposures of an individual in a lifetime and how those exposures relate to health (CDC). The exposome encompasses life-course environmental exposures (including lifestyle factors), from the prenatal period onwards. The cumulative measure of environmental influences and associated biological responses throughout the lifespan, including exposures from the environment, diet, behavior, and endogenous processes. This webinar will provide the state-of-the-art approaches as well as the recent developments on exposomes and exposomics in inhalation toxicological sciences. The following are the objectives of this symposium:
1. Introduce exposomes relevance to environmental exposures, dosimetry, development, and disease susceptibility/pathogenesis
2. Provide insights on exposomes anchoring in biological pathways, and integrating inhalation toxicology findings into human health (aggregate exposure pathways) via molecular pathological process leading to alterations in the interactome.
3. Discuss the cutting-edge research and models on exposomes and exposomics.
4. To integrate epigenomics with exposomes in relation with inhalation/environmental exposure stress to toxicology.
Overall, the webinar (~45 mins duration) will highlight and present the findings on using exposomics to assess cumulative risks and understanding the cause of disease, role of exposome and exposomics and their interplay in life-course health and disease with emphasis on inhalation toxicology. The webinar is unique and will serve as a forum for novel approaches related to inhalation toxicology, foster integration of other scientific disciplines and specialties, promote integration and transformation of exposure science in toxicology, understand toxicological impacts on public health, and initiate discussion on environmental health issues for policy regulation. A broad range of Society members will benefit from this webinar.
Registration is required.
Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS)
Topic: EPA’s Guidelines and Other Related Activities for Cyanotoxins
Date and Time: Thursday, February 23, 2017, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm Eastern Time
Event address and registration for attendees
Cyanotoxins in surface water may constitute a human and animal health risk and have adverse effects on aquatic life and water quality. In the United States, cyanoHABs seem to have increased in recent decades and most of the states are now experiencing them in their freshwaters. The Office of Science and Technology (OST) at the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has provided guidance, facilitated communications, and created partnerships with other OW offices and regional offices, other federal agencies, and state and local governments to build capacity, and protect public health from cyanotoxins in freshwater systems. This presentation will describe diverse activities OST is undergoing related to guidelines development, such as the publication of Drinking Water Health Advisories, and the development of Ambient Water Quality Criteria for cyanotoxins. The talk also covers other HABs-related activities such as monitoring of cyanotoxins in the US, outreach activities, and partnerships and collaborations. It also will briefly describe current research activities that will help generate knowledge and support policy measures.
Registration is required.
Risk Assessment Specialty Section (RASS)
Please visit the RASS website for more information on their monthly webinar series.
Registration for RASS webinars is not required.