In the Spotlight

New Release—Announcing the Release of ToxLearn Module I: “Introduction to Toxicology and Dose Response,” A New National Library of Medicine resource Developed in Conjunction with the SOT Education Committee.

Safety First! Careers in Drug Safety and Toxicology—Many see the development of new drug safety metrics as the field's future. Find more information on the Science Careers Web site.

Why Teach Toxicology?  Since toxicology is an interdisciplinary science drawing upon biochemistry, physiology, genetics, ecology, health science, mathematics, statistics and many other fields, topics in toxicology can be used in many areas of the curriculum, even in subjects such as ethics, political science and sociology.  Toxicology-related subjects are frequently in the news and in our concerns. Thinking about questions such as "Is this product safe?" and "What evidence do we use to determine if an environmental hazard exists?" provides good experience in the application of the scientific process and weighing of evidence. Learn more about why to teach toxicology.

Educational Resources

NIEHS Lesson Resources

NIEHS Curricular Material

Publication Resources

Paracelsus Series

Basic Principles of Toxicology—This exercise is designed to help you to understand some of the general principles that are important to toxicologists in their quest to understand the biological effects of chemicals. What follows is a description of several terms that will help you to understand how to think about foreign chemicals in natural systems. There are no reference materials necessary for this exercise except the list of Common Toxicology Terms.

Find the Toxic Dose—This exercise will allow you to become a toxicologist. You will determine the toxic dose of a chemical that will inhibit seed germination. The living system in which you will perform this exercise is the rapid-cycling Brassica rapa, a plant related to cabbages and mustards. 

Toxicology Topics Enrichment Exercises—Try giving these independent assignments to students so they can learn about current events.

What Toxicologists Say

Several of SOT’s past presidents talked recently about toxicology and their experiences as members of SOT.
View what these Toxicologists had to say.