Three hundred scientists from around the globe participated in the SOT FutureTox III Bridges for Translation, Transforming 21st Century Science into Risk Assessment and Regulatory Decision-Making conference. Held November 19–20, 2015, this international congress drew scientists from across the United States and around the globe, including from Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. This meeting was conceived by the Scientific Liaison Coalition and was organized under the auspices of the SOT Contemporary Concepts in Toxicology (CCT) Conferences Committee.
Networking and discussion of Tox21 and it applications
SOT 2015-2016 President Peter L. Goering noted in his message to attendees, “Building on the successful outcomes of two earlier conferences, FutureTox (2012) and FutureTox II (2014), FutureTox III brings together distinguished experts and attendees from academia, industry, and government. We are continuing our journey across the “bridge of translation” by capitalizing on the scientific breakthroughs in high-throughput in vitro data collection and in silico models to advance the risk assessment paradigm.”
Jim Jones 
Maurice Whelan
The conference Keynote Speakers provided their perspectives on this topic to kick-off this two-day meeting. Jim Jones, Assistant Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, addressed “Agency Perspective on 21st Century Approaches in Regulatory Decisions” and Maurice Whelan, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy, “High Throughput Risk Assessment—What’s It Good For?”
Over 80 posters of new and emerging science presented
This international congress included platform presentations, 100 abstracts, more than 80 posters, and lively breakout sessions on Drug Development, Identifying Endocrine Active Chemicals for Environmental Health Protection Using Pathways-Based Approaches for Screening and Testing, TSCA Reform, and Impact on Global Harmonization. The Poster Reception was a highlight of the meeting and provided the opportunity to honor graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who explored diverse scientific areas related to this overarching topic.
The FutureTox III Organizing Committee was chaired by Daland R. Juberg, Dow AgroSciences. Thomas B. Knudsen, US Environmental Protection Agency, served as the co-chair and other members included Richard A. Becker, American Chemistry Council; Elaine M. Faustman, University of Washington; Suzanne Compton Fitzpatrick, US Food and Drug Administration; John R. “Jack” Fowle III, Science to Inform; Thomas Hartung, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing; Ronald N. Hines, US Environmental Protection Agency; Douglas A. Keller, Sanofi; Emmanuel Lemazurier, INERIS-Chronic Risk Division, John C. Lipscomb, US Environmental Protection Agency; Donna Mendrick, US Food and Drug Administration; Raymond R. Tice, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (retired); David Watson, Lhasa Limited; Alison Harrill, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, CCT Committee Liaison; and George P. Daston, Procter & Gamble Company, SOT Council Contact. Based on the results of the meeting survey, there is great interest in a follow-up meeting.