February 2020 Newsletter
Message from Chair
TOXI National ACS Meeting Program
Call for Abstracts
Travel Awards for Students and Post-Docs
TOXI Future National ACS meeting program
New Officers on the Executive committee of the Division of Chemical Toxicology
Call for Nominations for Founders’ Award and ACS Fellows
Message from Chair
Greetings TOXI members! I hope you have had a good start to 2020 and are ready to make summer conference plans! We are pleased to share in this first TOXI newsletter of the year the program for our annual meeting to be held August 16-20 in San Francisco, California.
In addition to the excellent thematic symposia, contributed presentations and social events really make our meeting a wonderful and unique small-meeting-in-a-big-meeting experience. I am always pleased to note that our young investigator sessions are equally well attended by leaders in our field as sessions with invited top speakers, and of course, the TOXI poster and awards session is officially the best event there is at ACS. Students and postdoctoral researchers can apply to give talks, and all are encouraged to submit abstracts for posters or the general oral session. Students and postdoctoral researchers can also obtain financial support from TOXI to participate in the meeting. Please read further about the 2020 National Meeting Program, Call for Abstracts and Travel Grants
The scientific and professional opportunities supported by TOXI are organized by the volunteer efforts of the elected officers of the division and committees supporting them. We are pleased to announce the results of the recent elections and introduce new TOXI officers. Please join me in congratulating the winners and thanking them for being ready to give back to the division! New TOXI Officers
Last but not least, please recognize fellow scientists who have made major contributions in Chemical Toxicology with nominations as ACS fellows or as candidates for the TOXI Founders’ Award: TOXI call for Award Nominations
In closing, a big shout out to our TOXI Program Chair Prof. Penny Beuning, Program Chair Select Prof. Michael Trakselis and the Members of the Program and Program Development Committees for their great efforts in planning the meeting. Thank you to our Awards Committee Chair, Prof. Kent Gates, and to our Communications Chair, Prof. Thomas Spratt for this newsletter. Finally, please share this newsletter with others: encourage co-workers to become TOXI members and join our annual meeting this summer. Looking forward to seeing many familiar faces and welcoming as many first-time ACS-TOXI attendees as possible!
TOXI National ACS meeting program
Abstract submission is open for the Fall ACS National Meeting, August 16-20, 2020, in San Francisco.
TOXI programming will be held Sunday-Wednesday. Symposium sessions are:
Chemical Exposures and Impact on Health. Organizer: Rob Turesky, University of Minnesota, and Sarah Shuck, City of Hope
Chemical exposures linked to neurotoxicity and cognitive function is an area of ever-increasing importance to public health. The risk assessment of health hazards requires knowledge about environmental and chemical exposures, followed by mechanistic studies to understand toxicity, which can be linked to epidemiology observations and biomarkers on health effects in human cohorts. In this symposium, state-of-the-art mass spectrometry technologies are presented to identify exposures to a wide range of toxicants in the environment, followed by mechanistic studies on chemicals that impact cognitive function/neurotoxicity, and findings in human cohorts.
Genome-wide Perspectives on the Formation, Repair, and Consequences of DNA Damage. Organizers: Sabrina Huber, ETH Zürich, and Maureen McKeague, McGill
Toxicant-induced, covalent modification of DNA, resulting in the formation of DNA adducts, is one of the earliest events in chemical carcinogenesis. If not repaired, these modifications can lead to mutations, which can alter gene expression and disrupt normal cell function. Thus, the study of DNA adduct formation, abundance, and mutagenic consequences is of fundamental importance to better understand the biological consequences of exposures and their associated mechanisms of toxicity as a basis for promoting prevention strategies in environmental health. This session will provide an overview of mutation signatures in toxicology, illustrate chemical approaches to shed light on mechanisms of DNA damage, repair, and maintenance in normal physiology and disease.
Metabolism of Fluorinated Compounds and Safety Relevance
Organizers: Nicholas Meanwell, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Fred Guengerich, Vanderbilt University
Fluorine is widely used in medicinal chemistry and of the 38 small molecule drugs that were approved by the FDA in 2018, 18 contain fluorine. In the presence of a nucleophile or drug-metabolizing enzymes, the release of fluoride can be facile and for a drug suffering from significant C−F bond cleavage, fluoride’s strong affinity for bones may lead to safety issues such as skeletal fluorosis. Considering the reactivity of some fluorinated drugs and their metabolites, they may alkylate biological targets and lead to toxicity, especially if the fluorine is positioned close to a cysteine thiol when the drug molecule is bound to an off-target protein. Cytochrome P450-mediated hydroxylation at fluorinated aliphatic carbons can also release fluoride and produce toxic metabolites.
Toxicology of Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Organizers: Natalia Tretyakova, University of Minnesota, and Michael Trakselis, Baylor University
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) represent an exciting new area of anticancer drug discovery. This approach allows for targeted drug delivery to the tumor with increased accuracy and reduced side effects. However, studies in laboratory animals and clinical trials revealed unexpected dose limiting toxicity for many ADCs, which is not completely understood. This session will focus on the design, clinical effects, and mechanisms of toxicity ADCs. ADC drugs currently in clinical trials, novel approaches, and challenges with ADC safety will be discussed.
Keynote address,
The Keynote address will be presented by Cynthia Burrows. Dr Burrows is Distinguished Professor and Thatcher Presidential Endowed Chair of Biological Chemistry at the University of Utah. She has performed outstanding research in mechanisms of DNA damage formation and repair.
Chemical Research in Toxicology Young Investigator Award
The Chemical Research in Toxicology Young Investigator Awardee will be announced by the Journal soon.
Founders Award Lecture and Symposium
The Founders’ Award recipient will be announced in our next newsletter
Poster session
This session is currently accepting submissions.
Student and Post-Doctoral Scholar Symposium
This session is currently accepting submissions.
Topics in Chemical Toxicology
This session is currently accepting submissions.
Call for Abstracts
The Call for Abstracts is open for the Fall Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco CA, on August 16-20. We have three open session in which scientists can submit abstracts.
Student & Post-Doctoral Scholar Symposium is an oral session for students and post-docs. Individuals present 15 minute talks with 5 minutes of discussion.
Topics in Chemical Toxicology is oral session in which scientists present 15 minute talks with 5 minutes of discussion.
General Posters is a poster session that occurs during our Division Reception.
Submit abstracts at: https://callforpapers.acs.org/sanfrancisco2020
Abstract submission deadline is April 6.
We hope to see you there!
Travel Grants for Students and Post-docs
The Division of Chemical Toxicology (TOXI) will make available Travel Assistance Awards to undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The awards, up to $750, will reimburse travel and hotel costs for the National ACS meeting in San Francisco this August (receipts will be required). Applications will be awarded on the basis of financial need, scientific merit, and diversity factors. Preference will be given to first-time attendees.
All students and postdocs who are members or affiliates of TOXI and who have submitted an abstract to the TOXI program at National ACS meeting are eligible to apply. You can register to be a TOXI member by downloading our application and mailing it to our treasurer.
The application should consist of a single pdf file containing:
- A nomination letter from the faculty advisor or laboratory director. The letter should explain why Travel Assistance Award funds are needed.
- A curriculum vitae for the applicant.
- The abstract for the work to be presented by the nominee at the meeting.
Email applications to Program Chair Penny Beuning at P.Beuning@northeastern.edu.
The deadline for applications is May 15, 2020.
TOXI Future National ACS meeting program
We invite you to suggest TOXI symposia for future ACS National Meetings. Note that programming occurs well in advance of the national meeting. Proposals for the 2021 meeting (August 22 – 26, 2021, in Atlanta, GA) are due May 15, 2020.
Early submissions are encouraged as proposals are considered as they are submitted. Proposals not selected for the current meeting may be considered for future meetings.
The symposium proposal form is at: http://www.acschemtox.org/news-and-events/ under Symposium Proposals.
Get involved and make sure TOXI programming is of wide interest!
New Officers on the Executive committee of the Division of Chemical Toxicology.
Treasurer-Elect.
John Termini 
is a Professor of Molecular Medicine in the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope in Duarte California. His research has focused on the chemistry of DNA damage and its impact on genomic instability in relation to cancer and other diseases. Recent studies have focused on DNA damage induced by hyperglycemia as part of the pathophysiology of diabetes, and the ways by which it can enhance genomic instability and cancer risk. His laboratory has developed mass spectrometry approaches in conjunction with tissue culture and animal models to characterize the effects of chronic glucose exposure on DNA damage and repair at the DNA, RNA and protein level.
Secretary
Linlin Zhao
is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Riverside. His research has centered on the mechanistic enzymology of DNA-interacting proteins, with a focus on DNA replication and repair. His work provides mechanistic insights into the role of specialized DNA polymerase in bypassing chemical-induced DNA damage and in chemical mutagenesis.
Councilor
Sarah Shuck is an Assistant Research Professor of Molecular Medicine in the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope. Dr. Shuck is an expert in analytical chemistry and has developed a multiplexed mass spectrometry method to measure analytes for prediction and early diagnosis of diabetes and diabetic kidney disease. In addition to her primary research focus, she collaborates with numerous investigators to establish novel mass spectrometry methods for biomarker measurement.
Alternate Councilor
Ujjal Sarkar is a scientist at AstraZeneca in Boston. He is currently leading drug biotransformation efforts towards a series of small molecule projects from discovery to first-in-human at DMPK Oncology.
Member-at-Large
Erin Prestwich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicinal and Biological Chemistry in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Toledo. Her reserch focus is in developing bioanalytical tools and methods that can be utilized to study genotoxic, epigenetic, and epitranscriptomic modifications to biomolecules that impact human and environmental health.
Nomination Committee
Lisa Peterson is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences and co-program leader of the Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program in the Masonic Cancer Center. Her research focuses on mechanisms by which chemicals initiate carcinogenesis. Currently, she is investigating interactions between tobacco smoke chemicals in established rodent tumor models. In addition, she is Principal Investigator of the Minnesota HHEAR Targeted Analysis Lab in the Human Health Exposure Assessment Resource funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Call for Nominations for Founders’ Award
The award was established in honor of the founders of the Division and recognizes scientists whose work exemplifies the founders’ vision of excellence in the field of chemical toxicology. Nominees should be members of the Division of Chemical Toxicology whose scientific activities have emphasized innovative research in the general field of chemical toxicology.
The Award consists of a plaque and the recipient will organize a Symposium at the American Chemical Society National Meeting. The symposium will culminate with the recipient presenting the Richard Loeppky Lecture.
Nominations are sought by the Awards Committee for the presentation at the following fall meeting of the American Chemical Society Meeting.
A nomination document should include:
- Nomination letter containing an evaluation of the nominee’s accomplishments, innovative research into Chemical Toxicology.
- The candidates CV with a list of publications and patents.
Nominations should be submitted as a single PDF file (Name the PDF file with candidate’s name, for example: LawrenceMarnett_FoundersNomination.pdf).
Send nominations to Kent Gates at GatesK@missouri.edu.
Call for Nominations for ACS Fellows
The American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellows Program was created by the ACS Board of Directors in December 2008 to recognize members of ACS for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and the Society. TOXI is entitled to nominate four individuals.
A nomination document should include:
- Nomination letter containing an evaluation of the nominee’s accomplishments, scientific and service to the American Chemical Society.
- The candidates CV with a list of publications and patents.
Nominations should be submitted as a single PDF file (Name the PDF file with candidate’s name, for example: LawrenceMarnett_ACSFellow.pdf)
Send nominations to Kent Gates at GatesK@missouri.edu.