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FUTURE Expands Undergraduate Components of SOT Regional Chapters through Competitive Grant Program

By Joshua Gray posted 02-06-2020 14:59

  

This post was co-authored by Joshua Gray, PhD, and Larissa Williams, PhD.

Programs for undergraduates at the SOT Annual Meeting, including the Undergraduate Diversity Program, have been a staple for more than 30 years. However, this program is limited in scope because of significant travel costs, restrictions on conference space, and lack of awareness among institutions without toxicologists. To increase outreach to undergraduates, the Faculty United for Toxicology Recruitment and Education (FUTURE) Committee partnered with two Regional Chapters in 2017 to support undergraduate-focused programming at the Northeast and Ohio Valley SOT Regional Chapter meetings. During that first year, 44 students attended regional meetings at a cost of ~$25 per student. Since that time, FUTURE has formalized the program and is now soliciting applications to support undergraduate training by Regional Chapters that hold spring 2020 meetings. 

One approach to including undergraduates in regional meetings is to adopt portions of time-tested SOT programs, such as Lunch with an Expert and undergraduate-focused poster awards. The Northeast Regional Chapter (NESOT) used FUTURE support to create a breakout session for undergraduates during the more technical talks of the regional meetings. This breakout session is modeled on the Committee on Diversity Initiatives (CDI) program at the SOT Annual Meeting, including a “Introduction to Toxicology” slide presentation, a more detailed scientific lecture targeted at an undergraduate level from a renowned scientist speaker who embodies diversity, and an active learning activity focused on a topical toxicological problem, such as opioids or vaping. Our hosts at Charles River Laboratories also provided a tour of the animal research facilities. The students provided contact information, were encouraged to become SOT Undergraduate Student Affiliates, and were invited to apply for travel awards to the national meeting. Now in its third year, the NESOT undergraduate program supported over 40 undergraduates at the most recent fall 2019 meeting, with several undergraduates having attended all three annual meetings. The feedback surveys, also modeled after the ones used by CDI, indicate high satisfaction with the programming. Faculty who participate are future contacts for ToxScholar visits for those institutions lacking professional toxicologists. Additional details about funded programs can be found in “Paths Forward: Regional Chapter Programs Attracting Undergraduate Students to Toxicology.”

This year, FUTURE supported four regional meetings during the fall, including those hosted by the Northeast, Central States, Mid-Atlantic, and Michigan Regional Chapters. The theme of the Central States meeting was “Undergraduate Education in Toxicology,” featuring guest speakers Joshua Gray, PhD and Christine Perdan Curran, PhD. Central States also launched an undergraduate poster session with awards and a breakout session. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter had undergraduate poster awards and also featured a breakout session. Other Regional Chapters have adopted region-specific approaches, depending on the needs of their area. For example, the area served by the Ohio Valley Regional Chapter is quite large; funding supported the travel of undergraduates needing to travel more than four hours. Other innovative approaches are welcomed as we encourage expansion of the number of Regional Chapters featuring undergraduate programs; applications for funding for the spring 2020 meetings are being accepted until February 12.

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