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Global Initiatives
In order to increase the impact of toxicology on public health, SOT is intensifying its efforts to reach out to scientists from developing countries to encourage them to share research and engage with a global audience.
SOT/AstraZeneca/Endowment Fund/IUTOX Travel Fellowships
The Society of Toxicology and AstraZeneca sponsor travel fellowships administered by IUTOX. Awards will be available to senior scientists from a country where toxicology is underrepresented to assist with travel to attend the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting.
For the SOT 2012 Annual Meeting, the Global Activities Fund (formerly known as the International Activities Fund) sponsors two travel fellowships administered by IUTOX.
More information is available on the IUTOX Web site under Activities/Grants and Fellowships.
Membership Dues Discounts
Throughout the Year Scientists from Developing Countries Receive:
- Discounted SOT Membership dues*
- Scientists: $50
(includes 1 free Special Interest Group and 1 free Specialty Section membership)
- Students and Postdoctoral Fellows: $10
(includes 1 free Special Interest Group and 1 free Specialty Section membership)
- SOT Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are for members with common ethnicity, country of origin, or gender and promote discussion among toxicologists on issues germane to their community. SIGs can also act as an interface between the country’s toxicology community and SOT.
- SOT Journal, Toxicological Sciences
Free on-line access to the SOT journal Toxicological Sciences with membership.
For more details and a full list of (*) and (**) eligible countries, please see the Developing Countries Flyer. 
Continuing Education (CEd-Tox) Online Courses
Throughout the year, SOT members from eligible developing countries can take advantage of several continuing education courses that are available online. Most of the courses run approximately three and a half hours and are divided into a brief introduction followed by appropriately four, 45-minute segments that can be viewed individually. There are English transcriptions for many courses and listeners have the option of stopping the tape and reading the transcript for additional clarity.
Global Senior Scholar Exchange Program
The Society of Toxicology is pleased to launch the Global Senior Scholar Exchange Program. This program will sponsor developing country scientists to attend the annual SOT meeting, and spend up to 4 weeks at a partnering US-based academic toxicology department of mutual interest. The principle goal is to increase toxicology capacity in developing countries by reaching out to senior scientists. A primary expectation is for the senior scientists to use this opportunity to strengthen toxicology within their university and country. Other benefits of the program may include access to SOT-sponsored courses and symposia, and visits of the US researcher to the developing country university. Two partnerships will be funded for 2012, one each from the Central/South American and African regions.
Please review the eligibility criteria for the Global Senior Scholar Exchange Program.
Global Toxicology Scholar Program
The Global Toxicology Scholar Program is intended to bring toxicology to institutions in developing nations outside of North America. The Education Committee will support travel costs for campus visits by a professional toxicologist to increase awareness of educational and career opportunities in toxicology. The format of the visit (formal presentation, informal discussion, or a combination) is at the discretion of the campus host and the visitors. Application for matching funds from SOT's Global Initiatives, the appropriate SOT Special Interest Group, employers, and/or academic institutions involved is encouraged.
Global Initiatives Funds
A significant component of the SOT constituencies comes from outside the US Furthermore, many of the issues and opportunities SOT confronts are global in nature. To further its responsibility as a global organization, SOT has established goals to 1) provide opportunities for discussion of issues of global importance in a variety of venues, 2) stimulate interactions between colleagues with different perspectives and expertise on global issues, 3) partner with other international scientific societies and public health-based organizations to more effectively establish a global toxicology agenda, and 4) organize international workshops, satellite meetings, and other mechanisms to help reach a common understanding on important global health issues for policymakers and the public. These activities will aim to increase the reliance of international decision makers on the science of toxicology, to increase understanding of global scientific and regulatory issues, and to foster improved science and global regulatory harmonization.
As part of its strategy to foster its global initiatives, SOT has made available $20,000 to support activities consistent with the above goals. These funds are available to support the efforts of Regional Chapters (RC), Specialty Sections (SS), and Special Interest Groups (SIG) to develop global initiatives. SOT will fund proposals up to $4,000. SOT encourages proposals that 1) represent collaborations between SOT component groups and/or committees, or other non-SOT toxicology organizations (e.g., IUTOX, Japanese Society of Toxicology) and 2) that include a matching funds from one of the collaboration partner groups. Matching funds are not required, but will greatly increase the competitiveness of the proposal. Proposals are due by July 1 and will be competitively reviewed.
The Global Initiative Funds proposals should include the following information:
- Sponsoring RC, SS, SIG, and SOT Committees;
- Topic/Title of program, session, or other initiative;
- A statement of no more than 250 words explaining the relevance of the proposed activity to SOT’s strategic vision of creating a safer and healthier world by advancing the science of toxicology;
- Name of partnering organization (e.g., IUTOX, Japanese Society of Toxicology);
- Featured speaker(s) and presentation titles;
- Location of program or session;
- Date of program or session;
- Expected attendance or participation;
- Brief rationale for who would benefit from the session; and
- Proposed itemized budget indicating how SOT funds will be allocated.
To be competitive for support, program proposals should be of such merit that they would be competitive for selection for presentation at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting. Session proposals should be focused on an important toxicological issue, be balanced around any controversial topics, be timely, be complete as possible with regards to coverage of relevant topics, and should involve leading/experts in the field.
Proposals also will be evaluated for funding based on one or more of the criteria below that are articulated in the Society’s Strategic Plan 2008–2012.
- Serves as a forum for novel discoveries and approaches related to toxicology.
- Fosters the integration of sub-disciplines that support the evolution of toxicology.
- Strengthens partnerships with scientific and health-based organizations.
- Increases the visibility of the Society of Toxicology and SOT Members as scientific leaders and resources.
- Communicates benefit of toxicology to the general public.
- Attracts, retains, and develops scientific leaders.
- Enhances mechanisms for smaller group engagement.
- Builds bridges to connect diverse groups.
If these funds are being used to support or participate in a meeting, please comply with the requirements on the list below:
- Use of SOT’s name on promotional materials.
- Highlighted announcement on SOT’s upcoming meeting Web Page.
- One-time use of the SOT mail list, which is implemented through the Science News Alert sent as a broadcast e-mail to all SOT Members.
- Reciprocal one-time use of mail list.
- Link to SOT Annual Meeting Web site.
- Provide SOT with the list of meeting attendees with their full contact information.
If approved, initiatives will be funded up to $4,000. Honoraria are not a permitted expense. A summary report (no more than 750 words; photos welcome) is due within 30 days of the conclusion of the meeting. The report should be written so it is suitable for publication as an article in the SOT Communiqué.
Requests for Global Initiative Funds should be sent to: Society of Toxicology, 1821 Michael Faraday Drive, Suite 300, Reston, VA 20190-5348. Tel: 703.438.3115, Fax: 703.438.3113, or Email: Marcia Lawson.
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