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2010 Endowment Awardees
Mary Amdur Student Award Fund
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Dr. Mehdi S. Hazari, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a recipient of the Mary Amdur Student Award for his scientific work entitled, “Dobutamine Cardiac ‘Stress’ Test Reveals Increased Arrhythmia Risk in Conscious Rats After A Single Exposure to Acrolein.” Dr. Hazari works at the Environmental Public Health Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Hazari hopes to use novel physiology approaches to show how air pollution sensitizes the cardiovascular system to adverse responses. |
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Mr. Eric N. Liberda, New York University, a recipient of the Mary Amdur Student Award for his scientific paper entitled, “The Effects of Concentrated Ambient Particles and Nickel Nanoparticles on Endothelial Progenitor Cell Number and Function.” Dr. Liberda works at the Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University. Dr. Liberda hopes to play a role in developing policies relating to health and pollution. His areas of interest include stem cells, cardiovascular, and nanoparticle toxicology. |
Young Soo Choi Student Scholarship Award Fund
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Mr. Do Hyung Kim, San Diego State University, recipient of the Young Soo Choi Student Scholarship Award for his scientific paper entitled, “Methyl-T-Butyl Ether Effects on Male Rat Reproductive Steroid Hormones and Aromatase mRNA.” Mr. Kim is a graduate student at San Diego State University who hopes to become an “open-minded” educator who listens to the public needs and advances future direction of toxicology in the 21st century. The Young Soo Choi Student Scholarship Award was created with an initial generous gift from Yung Soo Choi. |
Laxman S. Desai Association of Scientists of Indian Origin Student Award Fund
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Mr. Arunkumar Asaithambi, Iowa State University, a recipient of the Laxman S. Desai ASIO award for his research poster entitled “Positive Modulation of the Novel Anti-Apoptotic Kinase PKD1 Can Protect Dopaminergic Neurons Against Oxidative Damage in Parkinson Disease Models.” |
Founders Fund
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Dr. James S. Bus, Ph.D., recipient of the SOT 2010 Founders Award, is Director of External Technology, Toxicology and Environmental Research and Consulting at The Dow Chemical Company. He has worked tirelessly and vocally on the very issues that describe the Founders award, demonstrating “outstanding leadership in fostering the role of toxicological sciences in safety decision-making through the develop-ment and/or application of state-of-the-art approaches that eluci-date, with a high degree of confidence, the distinctions for humans between safe and unsafe levels of exposures to chemical and physical agents.”
Dr. Bus has truly distinguished himself over the years in toxicology research and its application in safety assessment. His leadership is demonstrated through his positions on such boards as the National Academy of Sciences Board of Environmental Sciences and Toxicology, the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute, the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, and the Toxicology Forum, to name a few. He has served as President of the Society of Toxicology and the American Board of Toxicology. Among his awards is the Society of Toxicology Achievement Award (1987) for his outstanding contributions to the science of toxicology. His research interests include mechanisms of oxidant toxicity, defense mechanisms to chemical toxicity, relationships of pharmacokinetics to expression of chemical toxicity, and general pesticide and industrial chemical toxicology.
Dr. Bus has constantly pushed the science of toxicology to improve and expand the application of the best toxicological data into regulatory decisions. He is driven by a passion and contagious enthusiasm for improving the toxicological basis for regulatory decisions. Dr. Bus has worked to ensure that state-of-the-art approaches are applied to regulatory decisions. He is determined to work to improve the quality of our regulatory system to better protect human health and more capably set safe levels for chemical agents. We congratulate and recognize Dr. James Bus as the recipient of the SOT 2010 Founders Award. |
Perry J. Gehring Biological Modeling Student Award Fund
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Dr. Sheppard A. Martin, University of Georgia, scientific paper entitled, “Progress in Development of a Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Aviation Fuels” |
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Mr. Marc-André Verner, Université du Québec a Montréal, recipient of the Perry J. Gehring Biological Modeling Student Award for his scientific work entitled, “Unveiling Associations Between Lactational Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Infant Neurodevelopment: Use of PBPK Modeling vs Traditional Exposure Metrics. Verner is a Ph.D. candidate at the Université du Québec a Montréal. He hopes to continue to work in toxicology by bringing people from different fields together and introduce PBPK modeling to the field of epidemiology to create some interesting research opportunities. |
Perry J. Gehring Diversity Student Travel Award Fund
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Ms. Nygerma Dangleben, University of Berkeley, recipient of the Perry J. Gehring Diversity Student Travel Award, for her paper entitled, “Investigating Beta-Defensin-1 Down-regulation in Arsenic Toxicity.” Her research further explores recently published findings of decreased levels of urinary beta defensin-1 protein in two different human populations exposed to arsenic in drinking water. Ms. Dangleben hopes to help formulate an agenda for research, education and public awareness of toxic substances and propose preventative measures and alternative chemicals that are less harmful. |
Perry J. Gehring Risk Assessment Student Award Fund
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Dr. Anne E. Loccisano, The Hamner Institutes, a recipient of the Perry J. Gehring Risk Assessment Student Award for her abstract entitled, “Development of a Rat Gestation PBPK Model for PFOA/PFOS.” Dr. Loccisano is a postdoctoral fellow at the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina who hopes to apply and advance computational methods. As a computer modeler, she will incorporate in silico and in vitro data in model development and apply PBPK models for human health risk assessment. |
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Mr. Kun Lu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a recipient of the Perry J. Gehring Risk Assessment Student Award, for his scientific paper entitled, “Distribution and Molecular dose of Inhalation-derived and Endogenous Formaldehyde DNA Adducts Support Causation of nasal Carcinoma but not Leukemia.” Lu is a graduate student in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lu hopes to become an independent researcher so that he can continue his work in toxicology and environmental health science. He hopes to improve our understanding of human health and environmental risks associated with hazardous chemicals. |
Health and Environmental Science Institute Immunotoxicology Young Investigator Student Award Fund
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Dr. Megumi Maeda, Kawasaki Medical School, recipient of the Health and Environmental Science Institute Immunotoxicology Young Investigator Student Award Fund for her abstract entitled, “Functional Analysis of Human CD4+ T Cells with Decreased CXCR3 Expression by Long-Term Low-Level Exposure to Abestos. Dr. Maeda works in the Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School in Japan and hopes to continue to pursue her work and continue to present her work at the SOT Annual Meetings. The Award is intended to advance the education and training of young investigators in the field of immunotoxicology. |
Vera W. Hudson and Elizabeth K. Weisburger Scholarship Fund
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Ms. Natalie Malek Johnson, Texas A&M University, recipient of the Vera W. Hudson and Elizabeth K. Weisburger Award for her scientific work entitled, “Association Between Tortilla, Peanut and Rice consumption and Urinary Aflatoxin M1 Levels in a U.S. Population With An Elevated Incidence of Liver Cancer.” Ms. Johnson’s work at Texas A&M has focused on measuring biological markers of exposure to food-borne and environmental carcinogens in human populations in Ghana and the U.S. and implementing interventions to diminish dietary exposure to aflatoxins. She hopes to conduct translational research related to toxic effects of various exposures in human populations and expand her knowledge to exposure science and molecular epidemiology.
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Frank C. Lu Food Safety Students Award Fund
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Dr. Alicia Marroquin-Cardona, Texas A&M University, recipient of the Frank C. Lu Food Safety Student Award for her meritorious abstract entitled, “Evaluation of Aflatoxin B1 Adsorption Capacity of Edible Clays from the Marketplace in Ghana.” Ms. Marroquin-Cardonam, a graduate student at Texas A&M, hopes to help bridge the gap between scientists and the general public by holding coffee talks in Monterrey, Mexico once she graduates. She also wants to pursue funding in Mexico to bring students from there to the United States so they can attend the SOT Annual Meeting. |
Jean Lu Student Scholarship Award Fund
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Mr. Haitian Lu, Michigan State University, recipient of the Jean Lu Food Safety Student Award, for his scientific paper entitled, “Characterization of TCDD Effect on the CD40L-Induced IgM Antibody Responses in Primary Mouse and Human B Cells.” Lu, a fourth year Ph.D. candidate from Michigan State University, developed a model to assess the effect of dioxin compounds on the humoral immunity using B lymphoctyes isolated from human peripheral blood. Lu’s goal is to apply the best toxicology to address real human health risk and ensure the safety of future products. |
Roger O. McClellan Student Award Fund
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Dr. Yogesh Saini, recipient of the Roger O. McClellan Student Award for his paper entitled, “Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1α Modulates Cobalt-Induced Acute Lung Inflammation.” Dr. Saini is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Saini hopes to pursue his work so that we can better understand molecular mechanisms and underlying health problems caused by environmental pollutants. |
Harihara Mehendale Association of Scientists of Indian Origin Student Award Fund
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Ms. Indira Devi Jutooru, recipient of the Harihara Mehendale Association of Scientists of Indian Origin Student Award, for her work entitled, “Arsenic Trioxide Downregulation of Specificity Protein (SP) Transcription Factors in Bladder Cancer Cells is Dependent on Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).” Ms. Jutooru is a graduate student at the Texas A&M University and her work is focused on the chemotherapeutic effectiveness of arsenic trioxide in solid tumors such as bladder cancer. She hopes to develop chemotherapeutics with lowered toxicity that can help patients with various cancers. |
Molecular Biology Student Award Fund
Students:
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Ms. Jill Franzosa, first place recipient of the Molecular Biology Specialty Section Student Research Award for her work entitled, “Developmental Regulation of Retinoic Acid Signaling: Teratogenic Role of MicroRNAs.” Ms. Franzosa is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University. Her research involved the role of a family of microRNAs, small non-coding RNAs that direct post-transcriptional repressing of protein-coding genes, in regulating key events dictating RA signaling during somitogenesis, a temporally coordinate process controlling the formation of somites that ultimately mature to form the dermis, muscle, and skeleton. She would like to play a role in advancing toxicology by continuing work in high throughput models and systems. |
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Mr. Raymond Lo, second place recipient of the Molecular Biology Specialty Section Student Research Award for his work entitled, “Genomic Analysis of Dioxin-Dependent Recruitment of AHR to Promoter Regions in Mouse Liver.” He is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto. His research involved describing a systematic and relatively unbiased approach to identify all the AHR recruitment regions on a genomic scale. He hopes to apply the genome-wide experiments to screen for potential toxic pathways of any toxicants people might face in the future. |
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Ms. Lauren Mordasky Markell, third place recipient of the Molecular Biology Specialty Section Student Research Award for her work entitled, “Pharmacological Inhibition of TGFbeta-1 Signaling Enhances Malignant Progression of Chemically Induced Skin Cancers Through Changes in Inflammatory Response.” Ms. Markell is a Ph.D. candidate at Penn State University. Her research involved using a model of skin cancer to determine how a pharmaceutical agent alters tumor formation and malignant conversion. She hopes to advance the science of toxicology by helping people make better choices about their daily exposures and ensuring the safety of skin products. |
Postdoctorals:
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Dr. Melissa Barhoover, a recipient of the Molecular Biology Specialty Section Postdoctoral Fellow Research Award for her abstract entitled, “The AHR Regulates Cell Cylce Progression in Human Breast Cancer Cells Via a Functional Interaction with CDK4.” Dr. Barhoover is a postdoctoral fellow at the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences. Her research results demonstrated an interaction between the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and cyclin dependent kinase 4. After exposing human breast cancer cells to TCDD, an environmental contaminant, this AHR:CDK4 protein interaction is decreased in conjunction with arrest of the cells in the G1phase of the cell cycle. She hopes to develop new in vitro tests that will provide more information about the modes and mechanisms of action of environmental agents. |
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Dr. Tamara Tal, recipient of the Molecular Biology Specialty Section Postdoctoral Fellow Research Award for her abstract entitled, “The Developmental Neurotoxicity of microRNAs: Neurotoxicant-Induced Defects in Motor Neuron Axon Guidance and Behavior.” She is a NIEHS postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University. Her research addresses an important data gap in understanding the neurobehavioral function of microRNAs by defining the role of microRNAs in orachestrating adverse gene-environment interactions resulting in developmental neurobehavioral deficits in zebrafish. She hopes to be at the vanguard of toxicity testing in the 21st century. |
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Dr. Peili Yao, recipient of the Molecular Biology Specialty Section Postdoctoral Fellow Research Award for her work entitled, “MEHP-Induced Disruption of Junctional Complexes in the Seminiferous Epithelium of the Rodent Testis is Mediated by MMP-2.” She is a postdoctoral fellow at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin. She hopes her research will help in making a significant breakthrough toward understanding the molecular basis of different pathways in male reproductive malformations, thus providing a better way to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease. |
Emil A. Pfitzer Drug Discovery Student Award Fund
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Mr. Arunkumar Asaithambi, first place recipient of the Emil A. Pftizer Drug Discovery Student Award for his work entitled, “Positive Modulation of the Novel Anti-Apoptotic Kinase PKD1 Can Protect Dopaminergic Neurons Against Oxidative Damage in Parkinson’s Disease Models.” Asaithambi is a graduate student at Iowa State University who hopes to develop futuristic methods to advance the science of toxicology in the 21st century. |
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Dr. Peter Bui, is a second place postdoctoral recipient of the 2010 Emil A. Pfitzer Drug Discovery Student Award for his research entitled, “Human Cytochrome P450 2S1 Is Enable to Utilize Fatty Acid Hydroperoxides to Support Benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-Dihydrodiol’s Bioactivation.”
Dr. Bui is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California in Los Angeles. |
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Dr. David Castro, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, first place postdoctoral recipient of the Emil A. Pfitzer Drug Discovery Student Award for his scientific paper entitled, “Chemical Genetic Approaches to Elucidate Key Signaling Pathways for the Differentiation of a mammary Cancer Stem Cell.” Dr. Castro, who is employed at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, hopes to continue to play in the role in advancing toxicology in the 21st century. He wants to expand knowledge of stem cells by identifying signaling pathways important in self-renewal and differentiation, thus potentially introducing a new therapy that will focus on directing the fate of these cells. |
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Dr. Harriet Kamendi, third place recipient of the Emil A. Pftizer Drug Discovery Student Award for her work entitled, “Multi Compartmental PK-KD Modeling of Baclofen.” Dr. Kameni is employed by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and she hopes to play a significant role in translating basic science to real life clinical applications by developing better predictive biomarkers of safety in preclinical studies that translate to safety endpoints in patients. |
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Ms. Christina Powers, Duke University, second place recipient of the Emil Alvin Pfitzer Drug Discovery Student Award for her scientific work entitled, “Developmental Neurotoxicity of Silver Nanoparticles in PC12 Cells.” Ms. Powers is investigating whether silver nanoparticles impair neurodevelopment in ways similar to monovalent silver in a standard cell model. Ms. Powers hopes to use her background in research to strengthen the bridges between scientists making critical discoveries in toxicology and those striving to making meaningful public policy decisions based on these findings. |
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Ms. Sumitra Sengupta, Oregon State University, third place student recipient, scientific paper entitled, “The Cryptic Story of Glucocorticoids” |
Renal Toxicology Fellowship Award Fund
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Dr. Jennifer Cohen, University of Arizona, recipient of the Renal Toxicology Fellowship Award for her research on “cAMP-Dependent Pathway(s) directs the Rap-GTP/B-Raf MAPK-Mediated Cytosolic Mislocalization of p27kip-cyclin D1 in Renal Cancer.” A graduate student at the University of Arizona, Ms. Cohen hopes to work as an investigative toxicologist on discovery compounds. |
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Ms. Xiaoling Zhang, first place recipient of the Renal Toxicology Fellowship Award for her work entitled, “Bromate Induces Renal Cell cycle Arrest via DNA Damage-Dependent and Independent Pathways.” Ms. Zhang is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Georgia. Her work examines bromate, which is one of the water disinfection byproducts that has been reported to induce kidney cancer in rats. She is investigating the cellular and molecular mechanism of bromated-induced renal toxicity. She hopes to become a faculty at a university as a way to advance the science of toxicology in the 21st century. |
Robert J. Rubin Student Travel Award Fund
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Dr. David Szabo,
recipient of the Robert J. Rubin Student Travel Award for his paper entitled, “Toxicokinetics Differences Between Two Major HBCD Stereoisomers: Effect of Dose, Time, Repeated Exposure and Route.” Szabo is a Ph.D. candidate in toxicology who attends University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who would like to be part of the movement to transition toxicology from a predominantly observational science to a predictive one focused on mechanism-based biological observations. He would like to advance the science as a spokesperson and ambassador for evidence- and science-based safety assessment. |
Dharm V. Singh Association of Scientists of Indian Origin Student Award Fund
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Dr. Mayurranjan S. Mitra, Washington University, scientific papers entitled, “Role of Lipin 1 Protein in Lipid Homeostasis” and “Down-Regulation of Myocardial Lipin 1 Gene Expression by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is not Rescued by PGC-1α Overexpression” |
Dharm V. Singh Carcinogenesis Award Fund
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Ms. Lauren Mordasky Markell, Pennsylvania State University, recipient of the Dharm V. Singh Carcinogenesis Award, for her scientific paper entitled, “Pharmacological Inhibition of TGFβ1 Signaling Enhances Malignant Progression of Chemically Induced Skin Cancers through Changes in Inflammatory Response.” Her research involved the use of a skin cancer model to determine how a pharmaceutical agent alters tumor formation and malignant conversion. Ms. Markell hopes to advance the science of toxicology by helping people make better choices about their daily exposures and ensure the safety of skin products. |
Carl C. Smith Student Mechanisms Award Fund
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Mr. Donald S. Backos, recipient of the Carl C. Smith Student Mechanisms Award for his paper entitled, “Post-translational Modification and Regulation of Glutamate Cysteine Ligase by 4-Hydroxynonenal.” Backos is a graduate student at the University of Denver who hopes to play a role in advancing the science of toxicology in the 21st century. |
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Mr. Neal S. Gould, recipient of the Carl C. Smith Mechanisms Student Award for his paper entitled, “Aging Adversely Affects the Cigarette Smoke Induced Glutathione Adaptive Response sensitizing the Lung to Inflammation and Oxidation.” Gould is a graduate student at the University of Denver and his work is designed to see how cigarette smoke can alter antioxidants in the airways, and by doing so potentially cause damage. He hopes to make an impact in the field of mechanisms and help the next generation of scientists learn and advance their careers. |
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Mr. Bradley P. Sullivan, first place student recipient of the 2010 Carl C. Smith Mechanisms Student Award for his scientific paper entitled, “Thrombin Signaling Enhances TGF-Beta Induction of Integrin Beta6 in Bile Duct Epithelial Cells.”
Mr. Sullivan is a student at the University of Colorado. |
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