INTERDISCIPLINARY FACULTY OF TOXICOLOGY (IFT)

The IFT is a degree-granting graduate program composed of faculty from 16 Texas A&M departments in six colleges/schools and associated laboratories. Since 1989, the IFT has awarded over 50 MS degrees, nearly 200 PhDs; and two DVM/PhD degrees. In addition, over 100 postdocs have trained in toxicology at Texas A&M University. Training future generations of toxicologists in novel scientific discoveries should go together with ensuring that trainees develop a broad set of complementary competencies that span multiple disciplines, from basic biology to exposure science, biostatistics, and epidemiology. In addition, trainees must understand how these data and knowledge are translated into decisions and policy. Areas of research include Mechanistic Toxicology, Public Health, Risk Assessment, Exposure Science, Cancer Biology, Epidemiology, and Modeling/Data Science. Highlights from FY22 include:

Awards/Accomplishments

• Alexandra Cordova was awarded SETAC North America Annual Meeting Attendance Grant and the SOT Perry J. Gehring Best Abstract Risk Assessment Specialty Section Endowment Award.

• Alumnus Dr. Kristie Willet received the University of Mississippi’s top research award and won the 2022 Society of Toxicology's Undergraduate Educator Award.

• Danila Cuomo (postdoc) was awarded Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee (GTTC) Professional Development Award.

• Dr. Stephen Safe was recognized as “0.01% worldwide” as the top cited scientists.

• Dr. Suresh Pillai earned the Senior Faculty Fellow honor from AgriLife Research.

• Lucie Ford received the 2022 Best Student Abstract award from the Mixtures Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology.

• Lydia Zhang was awarded the Molecular Pharmacology journal Highlighted Trainee Author Award, 3rd place in the Drug Discovery Student Poster Competition, and the Dharm V. Singh Carcinogenesis Graduate Student Award.

• Meichen Wang won 2nd place in the VMBS Trainee Research Symposium Poster competition at SOT 2022.

• Toriq Mustapha is awarded the George T. Edds Award for Academic Excellence in Toxicology.

Research and Service Features

• Aracely Perez was selected to serve on the VMBS Graduate Student Panel and as IFT Executive Committee Student Representative.

• Drs. Weihsueh Chiu and Ivan Rusyn presented at the International Congress of Toxicology 2022 in a continuing education course on population-based models in toxicology.

• Kelly Rivenbark and Alexandra Svetlik served as volunteer peer mentors in the SOT 2022 Undergraduate Diversity Program.

• Lucie Ford served as the Toxicology Representative for the VMBS Graduate Student Association and the as the Co-Chair for the 2022 Lone Star Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting.

• Pierre Ferrer presented at 2022 American Society of Andrology meeting.

• Dr. Ivan Rusyn led “The Toxicology Workforce for the 21st Century” session at the 2022 Summer Toxicology Forum meeting.

High Profile Publications

• Rivenbark KJ et al. Development and characterization of chlorophyll-amended montmorillonite clays for the adsorption and detoxification of benzene. Water Res. 2022; 221:118788.

• Goodman S et al. Epigenetic alterations induced by genotoxic occupational and environmental human chemical carcinogens: An update of a systematic literature review. Mutat Res Rev Mutat Res. 2022; 789:108408.

• Schoeller A et al. Short chain fatty acids exhibit selective estrogen receptor downregulator (SERD) activity in breast cancer. Am J Cancer Res. 2022; 12(7):3422-3436.

• Ford L et al. A Population-Based Human In Vitro Approach to Quantify Inter-Individual Variability in Responses to Chemical Mixtures. Toxics. 2022; 10(8):441.

• Valdiviezo A et al. Analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay following a largescale industrial fire using ion-mobility-spectrometry-mass spectrometry. J Environ Sci. 2022; 115:350-362.

• Blanchette AD et al. A tiered approach to population-based in vitro testing for cardiotoxicity: Balancing estimates of potency and variability. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods. 2022; 114:107154.

• Bhandari S et al. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Impacts of Hurricane Florence on Criteria Air Pollutants and Air Toxics in Eastern North Carolina. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(3):1757.

• Behlen JC et al. NRF2-Dependent Placental Effects Vary by Sex and Dose following Gestational Exposure to Ultrafine Particles. Antioxidants. 2022; 11(2):352.

• Roman-Hubers AT et al. Characterization of Compositional Variability in Petroleum Substances. Fuel. 2022; 317:123547.