A webinar sponsored by the Scientific Liaison Coalition (SLC) “Gatekeeper and Watchman: the Microbiome Enters the Picture,” is now posted on the SLC website. This webinar was presented by Ellen Silbergeld, Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland. The webinar was moderated by Mary Alice Smith, SLC Representative for the Teratology Society, Professor, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.
Microbial communities are found at multiple human body sites. Collectively, an individual’s “microbiome” is now recognized as a key determinant in human health and well-being, including development. An individual’s microbiome is influenced by their lifestyle and environmental history. This raises new and provocative questions about the role of microbiota in commuting toxicological and epidemiological information.
This webinar reviewed the dual function of microbiota in such chemical-microbial interactions, providing specific examples that demonstrate the extent to which an individual’s microbiome affects exposure pathways (toxicokinetics) as “gatekeepers” as biological barriers to chemical exposure, and signaling pathways (toxicodynamics) as “watchman” of human health and well-being.
The research and professional activities of Dr. Silbergeld bridge science and policy, with a focus on the incorporation of mechanistic toxicology into environmental and occupational health policy. She also directs a Fogarty Training Program in Non-Communicable Diseases, which is a collaboration between Hopkins and the School of Public Health of Mongolia.
The mission of the SLC is “improving the ability of societies to partner with other domestic and international organizations that have objectives consistent with the goal of increasing the impact of the science of toxicology to improve public health” by:
• Strengthening partnerships among scientific- and health-based organizations to increase awareness of the impact of toxicology and related subjects on human health, and
• Functioning as a means to enhance cooperation among societies as equals with the goal of accomplishing tasks benefitting human health and disease prevention through joint and several shared activities.
For additional information on the SLC, please contact Marcia Lawson.