President’s Newsletter Number 6: June 2021
Dear Colleagues
I hope this email finds you well and, for colleagues in the UK, looking forward to some dryer and warmer weather although I appreciate that in other parts of the world, where our members reside, rain is a welcomed sight!
As an update this month the Executive Committee engaged enthusiastically with a workshop on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion with the aim of better understanding our BTS area community. This represents an important undertaking by the Executive Committee and the way in which we interact with our members. Drs Emma Marczylo and David Mason are the leads on this for the BTS and they will be providing news on how we are working in this area with our members and other Societies.
The following provides some news and updates that you may find interesting.
ASCEPT Lectureship Award
There is a call for applications for the BTS/ASCEPT (Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists) Lectureship Award for 2021. This is awarded to a member of the BTS who has made a contribution to the development of toxicology and/or pharmacology in the UK. The lectureship is run together with the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists and the successful nominee will be selected to present a BTS Lecture at the ASCEPT Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) which this year will be virtual. Normally our lecturer would have an opportunity, whilst at the ASM, to also visit Institutions in Australia to discuss their research programme. This is not possible this year given the ongoing situation with the COVID-19 Pandemic so, in discussions with the ASCEPT Board, opportunities will be made available for our lecturer to network with research groups in Australia, which may lead to them being able to organise visits to some of the Australian Research Institutions in 2022, once travel restrictions are lifted. The BTS will cover costs of the visit up to £2000.00 to help with travel and accommodation costs. This lectureship offers a unique opportunity to increase your scientific network and to form new collaborations. For more information please visit https://www.thebts.org/news/bts-ascept-lectureship-call-for-applications/
For previous recipients of this award please visit: https://www.thebts.org/events-2/awards-and-prizes/
American College of Toxicology (ACT) Webinars
BTS provides support towards ACT Signature Webinars on current topics in toxicology, including primarily drug and chemical safety assessments. Presenters are experts in their field, with backgrounds in government, industry, or academia. By supporting this webinar series, BTS is able to provide accessible education on topics in toxicology to our members and, more broadly, members of the toxicology community worldwide. The supported webinars are reaching thousands, with collaborations spanning the globe while increasing individual and corporate membership and participation. The webinars are approximately 90 minutes, which includes questions and answers. BTS members can see the slides from previous webinars at https://www.thebts.org/membership/members-resources/
International Congress of Toxicology (ICT)
The BTS has partnered with the American College of Toxicology and has submitted an expression of interest to provide a symposium on Juvenile Bone Toxicity: Study Considerations, Regulations, and Techniques for Assessment. This Symposium will focus on the design of juvenile animal studies to adequately assess bone toxicity, the usefulness of biomarkers, the imaging modalities to assess bone structure, the interpretation of the significance of bone effects, and relevant regulatory issues. Dr David Jones has been invited to present on behalf of the BTS on the “Regulatory perspective on the assessment of juvenile bone toxicity and the potential concerns about adverse skeletal effects in the pediatric population”. We are currently waiting to see if the expression of interest was successful. This will be a great opportunity to showcase the Society in the International Arena.
The International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX 2028)
The International Union of Toxicology has requested expressions of interest for IUTOX 2028 meeting. As President of the Society, I have been approached to ask if the BTS would be interested in putting in a bid to host IUTOX 2028 in London. This is being discussed at the next Executive Committee meeting at the end of this month. The Congress has previously been to the United Kingdom in 1989 so again something that would be a fantastic opportunity for the Society. I will keep the members posted on this and further developments in my next Newsletter.
EUROTOX 2021
Registration for EUROTOX 2021 is currently underway. The time of the meeting has been extended to facilitate the virtual format of the event. The virtual congress will be held September 27th until October 1st 2021 in the afternoons and early evening to accommodate participants from around the world. We have an exciting scientific programme for you including merit and plenary lectures, as well as an exhibition and industry sponsored sessions. There will also be Continuing Education Courses (CEC) held each morning of the Congress.
The Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Innovation Prize
A reminder that there is still time to apply! The Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) is accepting applications for the HESI Innovation Prize that is designed to bring recognition to scientists who share HESI’s commitment to synthesizing ideas, resources, and collaborators across scientific disciplines and sectors—and who have demonstrated particular creativity and impact in doing so. The application requirements can be found in the attached pdf or on the HESI website. Applications must be submitted via email to [email protected] by June 30. Please feel free to share the details of this opportunity with your colleagues and friends.
Paton Prize 2022 Nominations
The Scientific Subcommittee have asked that if you have any nominations for the 2022 Paton Prize and the 2022 Mid-Career Achievement Award, please forward these to: [email protected]/.org. These will be considered, and recommendations then made to the Nominations Subcommittee.
Public Communications
In the past year, the Public Communication Steering Team, chaired by Dr Phil Botham, has produced several public statements (https://www.thebts.org/publicstatements/) which provide authoritative, educational comment on a toxicology related topic of interest. The Public Communication Steering Team also commissioned a Hazard and Risk – Video. Do please look at this video and provide feedback. If you have ideas on other topics that could be produced in this video format please email me at [email protected] with your ideas.
Retirement Category of Membership-Reminder for comments
At the AGM the Executive Committee proposed changes to the subscription payable by our retired members to be in line with other Societies. There was not sufficient time to fully discuss this item and for the members to vote. Given the points some members raised during the discussions the Executive Committee have decided to review the proposals as set out below and present the outcome at the 2022 AGM for consideration by the membership. In summary the Executive Committee will consider the following at their meeting in October:
- A retired member is defined as one who is fully retired from paid employment* on the 1st January of the year in which they are applying for retired membership status.
*Employment is defined as a state of having paid work
- A membership fee of 50% of the full membership fee will be levied on retired members. This is a change from the current levy of 40% but in line with other learned/professional Societies.
If any member has comments to make on these two proposals as detailed, please send them to [email protected]. All comments to be received no later than the 1st August 2021.The Executive Committee will then take these comments into consideration during their deliberations at their meeting in October.
Website
The BTS website is undertaking its face lift and it is hoped that the new website will be available later this year. Further information will be provided through the NewsFeed and Social Media on website developments over the next few months.
NewsFeed
The NewsFeed (Editorial Team: Drs Guy Healing, David Woolley, Rani Ghosh and David Jones) work hard to produce the NewsFeed and are always keen to hear from you. Drs Julianna Berrie and Kemal Haque have been working behind the scenes to promote the various social media platforms the Society uses so if you are not already on the LinkedIn platforms or Twitter please do consider these outlets to promote the work of the BTS. Our Twitter account is @BritToxSoc so do please use it to promote the Society. The BTS also has a LinkedIn page and this can be accessed through the following link: https://www.thebts.org/news/bts-joins-linkedin/
Of course, if you have anything you would like me to promote in my next Newsletter, which will be in June, please send the item to [email protected].
Promoting Benefits to our Members
Dr Lisa Godfrey, our membership facilitator, has produced a promotional poster which will be coming to you soon via the website. Our request is if members could help promote the society by circulating to colleagues in their workplace and displaying in staff and student coffee areas. The poster should be available to download from 14th June 2021.”
Your sincerely
Professor Shirley Price, President of the BTS