MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAPTER SOT (MRC-SOT) ANNUAL REPORT: May 1, 2014 to April 30, 2015

Transcription

1 MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAPTER SOT (MRC-SOT) ANNUAL REPORT: May 1, 2014 to April 30, 2015 I. Officers/Committees: Officers President: Gregory Erexson Michael Biehl President-Elect: Michael Biehl Ronnie Yeager Secretary: Jennifer Olsen Jennifer Olsen Treasurer: Yi Yang Yi Yang Past President Susan Henwood Gregory Erexson Councilors: Ronnie Yeager Niraj Tripathi Laura Kreckler Tracy Henriques Ofek Bar-Ilan Harjeet Kaur Harjeet Kaur Ofek Bar-Ilan PDA Representative: Mary Jo Laws None GSLC Representative: Kristina Blanke Kirsten Eckstrum II. Summary The MRC-SOT successfully planned 2 scientific meetings (a Fall webinar and Spring face-toface meeting) this past year with approximately 200 and 80 documented attendees, respectively, at each meeting. We also produced one member newsletter. With financial and technical assistance from national SOT, the Fall webinar was a first for us and included a national audience of SOT members. We initiated a new Best Student Publication award and were able to increase the financial awards associated with our student Young Investigator and Victor Drill awards. We have re-established a number of chapter subcommittees including Program, Awards, Membership and Nominating committees. The chapter has been able to maintain a stable, significant financial surplus of approximately $16,000-18,000. The MRC-SOT Executive Committee is looking forward to perpetuating this success during the term. Among the plans for are: 1. Continue and expand an active 2X16 recruiting campaign for new MRC-SOT members which will target increasing our membership from academia, both faculty and students. We will also contact all IL/WI SOT members who are not currently MRC-SOT members. 2. Consider having a joint Fall meeting in 2016 with another association or regional chapter. 3. Developing an active K-12 educational program. III. Activities: A. Fall Meeting 2014 In place of our traditional face-to-face Fall meeting, we tried something a little different in 2014 and hosted a Fall Webinar that was broadcast on Wednesday, Oct. 29 to the entire national SOT membership. The webinar was entitled Transporters and Organ Toxicity: An Overview of Biomarkers, Drug-Drug Interaction Liabilities, and Mechanistic Exploration. We had two fantastic speakers, Dr. Daniel Bow from AbbVie and Dr. Lauren Aleksunes from Rutgers University. During the webinar, our attendance peaked at over 200 individual accounts; however, the overall attendance was estimated to

2 be much higher as registered attendees were likely viewing in groups. This webinar allowed us to present to a national audience on a topic that is established, yet making big advancements in real time. Moreover, the meeting content was applicable to academic research, risk assessment, and pharmaceutical development. B SOT Annual Meeting Reception The Midwest Regional and Ohio Valley Regional Chapters of the SOT sponsored a joint social mixer at the National SOT meeting in San Diego from 5:00-6:30 PM on Monday, March 23 at Henry s Pub near the Convention Center in the Gaslight District. It was a great opportunity for networking and socializing among members of the respective chapters. C. Spring Meeting 2015 The 35th Annual Spring Meeting of the Midwest Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology was held on Friday, April 17 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Mundelein IL. The title for the scientific program was From the Dish to Fish and More: An Overview of Zebra Fish, Transgenic Mice, and Neurological Models in Pharmacology and Toxicology Research. Ronnie Yeager, our Program Chair and President-Elect, organized the scientific session which included an excellent panel of both industry and academic guest speakers with expertise in various aspects of alternative research models. The meeting was a success and had approximately 80 attendees. In addition to the scientific program, the MRC-SOT s annual student awards were presented at the meeting. The scientific program for this meeting is included in Appendix I. Our chapter also held its annual business meeting on this day. A copy of the business meeting minutes is included in Appendix II. MRC President Michael Biehl, called the meeting to order at 12:45 PM. The following awards were presented at the 2015 Spring Meeting: a. The Victor Drill Award (Student Poster competition) i. First Place ($1500 for toxicology meeting travel): Shreya Patel, (University of Illinois, Urbana IL) for her poster "Genistein may alter steroidogenesis by decreasing steroidogenic enzyme expression in mouse ovaries. ii. Second Place ($500 for toxicology meeting travel): Alison M. Hantak, (University of Illinois, Urbana IL) for her poster Effect of endocrine disruptor exposure on uterine morphology and endometrial hyperplasia. b. The Young Investigator Award ($1500 to apply towards research project to be presented at the 2016 MRCSOT Spring meeting): Kirsten Eckstrum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. c. Best Student Publication (A plaque and scheduled platform presentation at the 2016 MRCSOT Spring meeting): Brian Johnson (McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI) for his publication

3 Hepatocyte circadian clock controls acetaminophen bioactivation through NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase. d. Kenneth DuBois Award: A career achievement award presented to a midwestern toxicologist who is currently active in the field of toxicology and who has demonstrated a sustained and high level of activity and achievement in toxicology. Presented in 2015 to Dr. Matthew Wallig, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. IV. SOT Funding and General Finances For the term, the chapter succeeded in continuing to maintain a budget surplus for the year. The balance in our SOT financial account on April 30, 2015 was $16,618. AbbVie Inc. donated time and monies to the organization for both the Fall webinar and Spring meeting. These contributions are greatly appreciated by the MRC-SOT.

4 Appendix I MRC-SOT Spring Meeting (April 17, 2015) From the Dish to Fish and More: An Overview of Zebrafish, Transgenic Mice, and Neurological Models in Pharmacology and Toxicology Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:00 9:00 am Welcome and Introductions Michael Biehl, President Univ. of Illinois Ronnie Yeager, President-Elect AbbVie 9:00 9:15 am 2014 Young Investigator Award Presentation Supida Monaikul, BS PhD Candidate, Univ. of Illinois Assessing the Effects of Adolescent PCB Exposure on Executive Function in Humans and Animals 1:15 2:00 pm Morning Platform Presentations Letty Medina, DVM Associate Director, Animal Welfare & Compliance AbbVie, North Chicago, IL AbbVie s 3Rs Culture: An Overview 9:15 9:45 am Steven Cassar, MS Preclinical Safety AbbVie, North Chicago, IL Employing Zebrafish in Pharmaceutical Safety 9:45 10:30 am Refreshment Break 10:30 10:45 am Robert Caldwell, PhD Toxicologist AbbVie, North Chicago, IL Transgenic Mouse Toxicology Strategy for a Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibody 10:45 11:45 am Student Poster Competition 11:45 12:15 pm Afternoon Symposia Joseph Arezzo, PhD Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY "Emerging Methods: Assessment of Toxic Neuropathy in Preclinical and Clinical Studies" 2:00 2:30 pm Dustin Wakeman, PhD Asst. Professor, Dept. Neurological Sciences Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL "Advances in Pluripotent Cell Therapy for Parkinson s Disease" 2:30 3:00 pm Joseph Arezzo, PhD "Recent Developments in the Assessment of Seizure Risk in Preclinical Models 3:00 3:45 pm Q&A with speaker panel 3:45 4:00 pm Concluding Remarks Ronnie Yeager, President AbbVie Luncheon and MRC-SOT Business Meeting 12:15 1:15 pm

5 Appendix II Minutes of 2014 MRC-SOT Business Meeting, The Midwest Regional Chapter, Society of Toxicology Spring Business Meeting was held on April 17, 2015 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Mundelein, IL. The meeting was called to order by President Michael Biehl at 12:45 pm. I. Executive Committee Members: Roll Call Present: Greg Erexson, Michael Biehl, Ronnie Yeager, Yi Yang, Jen Olsen, Tracy Henriques, Harjeet Kaur, Kirsten Eckstrum II. Motion to Approve Business Meeting Minutes (April 25, 2014) a. Business meeting minutes from April 25, 2014 were approved. III. IV. President s Report MRC-SOT President Michael discussed the success of the 2014 Fall meeting, which for the first time consisted of a webinar that was made available to all national SOT members. Mike emphasized the successful planning for this meeting and thanked Ronnie Yeager (President-elect) for envisioning and planning this successful Fall webinar. Mike asked members to provide comments to either or both of he and Ronnie regarding their opinions on MRC hosting the Fall meeting as a webinar in the future. Mike also recognized and extended special thanks to Abbvie for their support in providing the MRC programs; SOT National was also recognized for their financial and technical support of our Fall webinar. Treasurer s Report Yi Yang gave the Treasurer s report. As of March 31, 2014, the chapter s assets totaled $21,310. This does not include any of the deposits or costs incurred from the current 2015 Spring meeting. V. Membership Report Secretary, Jennifer Olsen, announced that the current chapter membership included approximately 205 members. She thanked everyone for their continued membership and participation in the organization. Mike Biehl reminded everyone of the active 2X16 recruiting campaign for new MRC-SOT members with the stretch goal of increasing our membership by 100% by December VI. VII. Election Report President Mike Biehl, presented the election results and welcomed the following incoming officers for the year: President-Elect: Bill Bracken Secretary: Jen Olsen Councilor: Lauren Besenhoffer Councilor: Paul Eubig Councilor: Stephanie Rejzer Presentation of Student Awards Mike Biehl presented the following student awards during the business meeting. a. The Victor Drill Award (Student Poster competition)

6 i. First Place ($1500 for toxicology meeting travel): Shreya Patel, (University of Illinois, Urbana IL) for her poster " Genistein may alter steroidogenesis by decreasing steroidogenic enzyme expression in mouse ovaries. ii. Second Place ($500 for toxicology meeting travel): Alison M. Hantak, (University of Illinois, Urbana IL) for her poster Effect of endocrine disruptor exposure on uterine morphology and endometrial hyperplasia. b. The Young Investigator Award ($1500 to apply towards research project to be presented at the 2016 MRCSOT Spring meeting): Kirsten Eckstrum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. c. Best Student Publication New award for 2015 (A plaque and scheduled platform presentation at the 2016 MRCSOT Spring meeting): Brian Johnson (McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI) for his publication Hepatocyte circadian clock controls acetaminophen bioactivation through NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase. VIII. Presentation of the Kenneth DuBois Award for Outstanding Career Achievement Dr. Matthew Wallig, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign was presented with the 2015 Kenneth P. DuBois Award for outstanding contributions to research, scientific accomplishments and education throughout his career. IX. Recognition of Outgoing Chapter Officers President Mike Biehl recognized and thanked all of the outgoing MRC-SOT Executive Committee members. He thanked Greg Erexson, Past-President, for his many years of service to the organization. X. Transition of Presidency and Closing Remarks Ronnie Yeager assumed the MRC-SOT President s office from Mike Biehl. Ronnie thanked everyone again for their commitment and participation in the regional chapter and for making our Fall webinar and Spring meetings a success. He asked MRC-SOT members/attendees to: 1) send him comments regarding the new Spring meeting venue and Fall webinar, 2) send suggestions for upcoming meeting topics to Bill Bracken, and 3) work to encourage colleagues to become SOT/MRC-SOT members and attend our educational meetings. He adjourned the meeting at approximately 1:15 pm.