President’s Message - February 2023

A Message from José Manautou, February 2023

Dear Colleagues,

The IUTOX 16th International Congress of Toxicology (ICTXVI) held in conjunction with EUROTOX in Maastricht, the Netherlands came to a close on September 21, 2022 to great success, as a result of years of hard work and planning from our host, the Netherlands Society of Toxicology.

The triennial ICT meetings also host the IUTOX General Assembly, which provides a forum for the Member Societies to conduct the important business of IUTOX. The membership met on Monday, September 19 to hear final reports from the IUTOX leadership and to elect officers and directors who will serve three-year terms until the next ICT meeting in October 2025 in Beijing, China.

IUTOX Councilors also voted to accept the bids put forward to host future IUTOX congresses. The Genetic Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina will host the 13th Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries (CTDC13) in the inviting city of Sarajevo in 2027. The Society of Toxicology of Canada will act as host of the ICTXVIII in the beautiful setting of Vancouver, Canada in 2028.

Please see the listing of IUTOX Executive Committee members for the term of 2022–2025 and join me in wishing well to those Directors and Officers that completed their terms in September.

IUTOX was honored to bestow the 2022 IUTOX Merit Award to Herman Autrup for his distinguished career and many contributions to the international toxicology community. Among his other accomplishments, IUTOX is proud to have Dr. Autrup as a former President, serving on the Executive Committee from 2010–2016.

Our gathering in Maastricht for the first IUTOX meeting since the COVID pandemic also allowed us to honor Mary Gulumian with the 2021 IUTOX Lifetime Achievement Award in person. The IUTOX Executive Committee created this award to honor “a distinguished scientist who has made lasting contributions to toxicology in countries where toxicology is under-represented,” and Dr. Gulumian exemplifies these characteristics.

Mary would have received her award June 2021,in-person at CTDC11 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, however, the Covid pandemic forced us to switch the congress to a virtual format. I would like to thank Salmaan Inayat-Hussain, CTDC11 Chair, and the leadership of the Malaysian Society of Toxicology (MySOT) for their resourcefulness and outstanding job converting the congress into a highly succesful virtual exchange of scientific findings and ideas.

Returning to ICTXVI, thank you to our colleagues in EUROTOX and the Netherlands Society of Toxicology for such a warm welcome and invigorating social events, bringing us all together for the shared purpose of the celebration of toxicology, education, and meeting old friends and new. The “Pub Up Your Poison” event organized by ICTXVI Chairperson, Theo de Kok, was a quiz pub tour that brought together renowned scientists, University of Maastricht students and the people of Maastricht to discuss their favorite poison and toxicology topics, bringing a new level of excitement and engagement to the next generation of toxicologists.

As I enter the years of my Presidency, the mission of IUTOX remains the highest priority: to improve human health through the science and practice of toxicology worldwide. We will continue this important work by doing what we do best: training toxicologists and risk assessors, especially in developing countries by organizing courses under the IUTOX RASS (Risk Assessment Summer School) brand. Under the stellar organization of Nurşen Başaran, a long-time friend of IUTOX and outgoing Vice President, IUTOX, along with the Turkish Society of Toxicology and EUROTOX, was able to hold a RASS course in Istanbul from May 22 to 28, 2022.

The course was attended by 43 students from countries including Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Crotia, Egypt, Zimbawe, Tunisia, Brazil, and Cyprus. Sponsors were the IUTOX, the EUROTOX, the American College of Toxicology, the Society of Toxicology USA, Gowan Crop Protection Company, and the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA). See the video below for highlights.