Dear BTS Members,
As we approach the end of another year, I wanted to update you on our 2026 Annual Congress which next year will be held in Solihull from April 27th to 29th https://www.thebts.org/events/bts-annual-congress-2026/. The preliminary programme will be available in early November when the website will be open for registrations and abstract submission. I am also able to confirm the good news that there will be no increase in the Congress fees for 2026.
The Congress content is managed by our excellent Scientific Sub-Committee, led by Ian Copple, with input from our seven Speciality Sections, the Education, Training and Career Development Sub-Committee and the Network for Early Stage Toxicologists, with ideas also coming from individual members through the 2025 post-Congress survey. As you can imagine, bringing all of this together is a challenging task and we are grateful for the administrative support we receive from the Society’s business partner, Executive Business Services (EBS).
As I mentioned in my December 2024 newsletter, an ad hoc team of members, initially led by myself, has been working on a bid to host the 2029 EUROTOX meeting in Birmingham. Our bid was presented by Tim Gant, with support from Ruth Roberts, Heather Wallace, Marion MacFarlane, Fiona Sewell and Shirley Price, at the September EUROTOX Business Council Meeting in Athens. We were competing with another very strong bid, from the Swiss Society of Toxicology, to host the meeting in Basel. On this occasion, the Swiss bid came out on top but we were encouraged to resubmit our bid next year for the 2030 meeting! I would like to thank the team who worked on this and we will of course let you know if we decide to resubmit.
I would also like to recognise the continuing impact being made by the BTS Skills Gap Initiative https://www.thebts.org/skills-gap-initiative/ which is not only providing another important member benefit but is also enhancing the Society’s reputation within government and industry through its contribution to the training and development needs in toxicology in these sectors. I would like to confirm that the BTS Executive Committee have agreed to continue the Society’s financial support to the initiative but I would also like to thank all those companies, government departments and individuals who support this Skills Gap Initiative with “in-kind” contributions to the webinars and in person workshops https://www.thebts.org/skills-gap-training-modules.
I would also like to offer my thanks, on behalf of all the Society’s members, for the excellent and invaluable work of those individuals and sub-committees who provide their time and energy “behind the scenes.” Here are just a few examples: the Nominations Sub-Committee, led by Brian Lake, who promote, review and recommend to the Executive Committee nominations for our key roles and awards throughout the year; the Finance Committee, led by Tim Gant and our Honorary Treasurer Frances Hill, who manage our financial resources with the accuracy and agility needed to deliver significant member benefits https://www.thebts.org/join-the-bts/ and a sustainable membership fee structure; the Communications Sub-Committee, led by David Woolley, who provide our website, social media and Newsfeed content and also our Ambassador scheme https://www.thebts.org/information/bts-ambassadors/ which is led by David and Kirsti Hornigold. Thanks also to our Honorary General Secretary, Shirley Price, who has made such a huge contribution to the Society in this role and provided much-needed support to me and to Brian Lake in our times as President.
Finally, I am pleased to report that, after further work from our excellent EDI Working Group, we now have the go-ahead from the Officers and the Executive Committee (EC) to send out a short questionnaire on the Society’s commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the mechanisms to deliver that commitment. The survey will be sent to all members around Nov 10th with a request to complete by Nov 28th at the latest.
Our EDI Working Group will analyse the responses you provide and report back to the Officers and EC in January. The analysis and actions arising will then be communicated to members. I should like to encourage you all to take part in this survey; it has been designed specifically for our Society and its members and is focused on relevant EDI issues for a learned society such as the BTS.
As always, do feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have about your Society using my usual e-mail address (president@thebts.org).
Kind regards
Phil
Dr Phil Botham
BTS President
