Toxicology Track

Weekly Newsletter of the MSU Center for Integrative Toxicology
Director: Norbert Kaminski/Editor: Lois Furry

July 2, 2008, Vol. 31, Number 21

Seminars / Seminars Upcoming / Workshops / Conferences / Course Offerings / Positions

Seminars

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology presents Wei "Melissa" Li, graduate student, to present a dissertation seminar on "Blood Pressure, Venomotor Tone, Neurohumoral Activity, and Oxidative Stress " on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. in B448-9 Life Sciences.

Seminars Upcoming

Friday, August 15, 2008
The MSU Graduate School presents "Developing Communication and Conflict Management Skills to Save Time and Enhance Productivity" on Friday, August 15, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in 106 Kellogg Center. Please register by sending an e-mail with your name, department, e-mail address and name of the workshop to gradwrsp@msu.edu.

*Fulfills seminar requirements for the Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences Graduate Programs. Seminars that fulfill this requirement are archived at Seminar List.

Workshops

The MSU Center for Integrative Toxicology Superfund Program's workshop "Dioxin Toxicity: Mechanisms, Models, & Potential Health Risks" will occur October 20-21, 2008 at the MSU Kellogg Center. Poster abstracts are requested by September 19, 2008. The workshop is being offered free-of-charge but seating is limited. Register by e-mailing tox@msu.edu. For hotel accommodations, call the MSU Kellogg Center at 517-432-4000. For more information, go to MSU 2008 superfund workshop.

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, Division of Computational Biology, is offering a Computational Systems Biology and Dose Response Modeling Workshop in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina from September 22-26, 2008. See the informational brochure for more information.

The MSU Division of Genetics & Epigenetic Toxicology, Oncology and Human Adult Stem Cells presents a symposium on "Human Health Risks to Low-Level Radiation" to take place on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 from 12 noon to 4 p.m. in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology Building. The workshop is being offered free-of-charge, but seating is limited. See the registration brochure for more information. The workshop is sponsored in part by the CIT.

Conferences

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Summer Research Conferences will be held in July, August and September, 2008. Locations include Carefree, Arizona; Saxtons River, Vermont; and Snowmass Village, Colorado. For more information, go to http://www.faseb.org.

The 28th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) titled Dioxin 2008 will be held August 17-22, 2008 in Birmingham, England. For more information, go to www.dioxin.bham.ac.uk.

The Hamner Institutes are offering a "Computational Systems Biology and Dose Response Modeling Workshop" on September 22-26, 2008 in Research Triangle Park, N. Carolina. See the brochure for more information or go to www.thehamner.org.

The 15th International Congress on In Vitro Toxicology titled "Life Quality Through Better Use of Research" will take place September 25-28, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, go to http://www.estiv2008.org.

An afternoon workshop on Human Health Risks to Low-Level Radiation will take place on September 30, 2008 from 11:30 to 4:30 p.m. in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology. For more information, see the brochure.

The Environmental Mutagen Society 39th Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 18-22, 2008 in Puerto Rico. The deadline for abstract submissions and travel awards is June 6, 2008. For more information, go to http://www.ems-us.org/AM2008/index.asp.

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North American 29th Annual Meeting will take place November 16-20, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. This year's theme is "Environmental Stewardship: Integrating Science and Management." For more information, go to http://tampa.setac.org/default.asp.

The American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting will occur December 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco, California. The deadline for abstract submissions and travel award applications is August 7, 2008. For more information, go to http://www.ascb.org/meetings/.

Course Offerings

The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology is offering a short course August 3-25, 2008 titled "Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology." Go to http://www.phmtox.msu.edu/education/shortcourse.html for more information and an application, or call 517-353-9619.

The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology will offer PHM 820 Cellular, Molecular and Integrated Systems Pharmacology and Toxicology during the fall 2008 semester. For more information, go to http://www.phmtox.msu.edu.

Positions

As part of the FDA Food Protection Plan initiative, a postdoctoral research position is now available in the Division of Biochemical Toxicology at National Center for Toxicoloy Research (http://www.fda.gov/nctr/science/divisions/biochemtox.htm). This laboratory has studied the properties of the ribosome inactivation protein toxins abrin and ricin added to representative foods that are considered particularly vulnerable to acts of bioterrorism. One active project involves thermodynamic measurements of ricin and abrin folding under conditions (pH, ionic strength, etc) relevant to food manufacturing. Another project evaluates chemical inactivation of these toxins using commercial sanitizers and cleansers used in food processing plants. Another project exploits the enzymatic activity of RIP toxins to determine the %RIP catalytic activity remaining in processed foods. Other FDA-relevant food safety research concepts proposed or refined by the candidate may be considered also. BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories and excellent animal research facilities are available at NCTR for food safety research. Financial support for this ORISE (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education)-sponsored vacancy has been authorized for up to three years. Interested candidates should send a one-page description of research interests and background accompanied by a current CV to William H. Tolleson, Ph.D., Division of Biochemical Toxicology
National Center for Toxicological Research, US Food and Drug Administration, 3900 NCTR Road, Jefferson, AR 72079.

Abbott is a global leader in the health care industry and has a wide variety of products including pharmaceuticals, nutritional and medical devices. The Global Occupational Toxicology Group at Abbott currently has an opening for a toxicologist. The toxicologist would be participating in generating employee exposure limits, extraneous matter evaluations and hazard communication. The applicant will also likely be involved in global chemical registrations (REACH, China, etc.), environmental risk assessments and testing if needed for new product submissions (European Union and others as they develop) and placing/monitoring toxicology studies (environmental and health studies) for marketed products. In terms of geography, the global occupational toxicology group is located just north of Chicago in Illinois. For travel, approximately up to 20% of the time would be spent traveling. Requirements include a PhD with a minimum of 1-3 years of relevant industry experience but would consider a recent PhD graduate. However, a PhD is required for the position. Experience with in vivo studies (whole animal experience) is preferred. If interested in the position, please forward questions or resumes to Dr. Chris Sprague, Manager, Global Occupational Toxicology Abbott, 200 Abbott Park Road, Dept. 05TX, Bldg. AP52S, Abbott Park, IL 60064-6212; chris.sprague@abbott.com.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center, are announcing a new vacancy as a research bioethicist. The position is available for the Medical Officer or the Health Scientist Administrator category. The incumbent will provide leadership regarding human subjects' protections and bioethics for the National Children's Study, a large epidemiological longitudinal cohort study of the effects of the environment on child health and development. The incumbent will also devote 30 percent of their time working directly with the Department of Bioethics at the NIH Clinical Center, providing bioethics expertise and performing related research. The position will be open for application for eight weeks. Announcement numbers: Health Scientist Administrator # NICHD-08-273950-CR-DE; and NICHD-08-273950-MP. Medical Officer # HHS/NIH-2008-2704. Applicants should apply through http://www.USAJobs.opm.gov.

This newsletter is produced and distributed weekly by the Center for IntegrativeToxicology. We appreciate suggestions regarding information that might be included in this publication. To be added to the e-mail list, send your name and e-mail address to: Lois Furry, Editor, Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, 165C Food Safety and Toxicology Building, East Lansing, MI 48824; furry@msu.edu; 517/353-6469(phone), 517/355-4603(fax).