2025 Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting Awards and Announcements
Congratulations to CIEHS members and their trainees who served as chairs, won awards, and presented at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) annual meeting that occurred March 16-20 in Orlando, FL (Members names in bold).
The Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting and ToxExpo is a premier international conference where scientists, trainees, and professionals discuss the latest advancements in toxicology. It features scientific sessions, networking events, career development opportunities for young scientists, and an exhibition showcasing cutting edge research and technology.
The NIEHS R25 KEEP Program attended the SOT conference as a group and shared their program poster entitled "Launching of the Kentucky Environmental Education Pipeline (KEEP) Undergraduate Training Program" during the Educating Future Toxicologists and Communicating with the Public poster session.
The KEEP (Kentucky Environmental Education Pipeline) program recruits and trains undergraduate student researchers from historically marginalized populations for careers within the field of environmental health sciences.
Undergraduates representing KEEP:
- Gavin Phillips
- Makayla Stephens
- Aubrey Reitzel
Graduate students representing KEEP:
- Selma Podbicanin
- Isaiah Burciaga
KEEP faculty (PIs) that are also members of CIEHS:
Awards
2025 SOT Translational Impact Award
Winner: Lu Cai
Dr. Lu Cai received the 2025 SOT Translational Impact Award for his groundbreaking research into understanding the mechanisms of diabetic cardiomyopathy, the role that environmental metals play in these toxicological processes, and the translational impact potential that these findings have for patients suffering from cardiovascular complications induced by diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology Graduate Student Excellence Award
Winner: Gabrielle Griffin
Mentor: Jamie Wise
Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section Graduate Student Excellence Award
1st Place: Gabrielle Griffin
Mentor: Jamie Wise
Colgate-Palmolive Postdoctoral Fellowship Award in In Vitro Toxicology
Winner: Idoia Meaza
Mentor: John Wise, Sr
Dharm V. Singh Carcinogenesis Graduate Student Endowment Award Specialty Section
1st Place: Idoia Meaza
Mentor: John Wise, Sr
Celebrating Women in Toxicology Endowment Award
Winner: Idoia Meaza
Mentor: John Wise, Sr
Graduate Student Research Award- Metals Specialty Section
1st Place: Sam Vielee
Mentor: John Wise, Jr
Served as Chair
Chair: John Wise, Sr., Coming into Focus: The Role of DNA Repair Inhibition in Carcinogenesis through the Lens of Metal-Induced DNA Damage and Repair Inhibition Symposium Session.
Session Presentations
Aruni Bhatnagar. Local Association of Pollutant Exposures with Cardiovascular Toxicity in a Low-Income and Underserved Neighborhood. Exposure Assessment Strategies for Susceptible and Vulnerable Communities Workshop Session
Lu Cai. A Journey of My Research for Diabetic Cardiotoxicity-Its Prevention with Zinc and Metallothionein.
Translational Impact Award Featured Session
Daniel Conklin. What’s “Sexy” about Endothelial Dysfunction? Sex-Dependent Vascular Dysfunction Induced by Electronic Cigarette-Derived Aldehydes in Mice.
What's Sex Got to Do with It? Sex-Dependent Cardiopulmonary Effects of Inhaled Environmental Pollutants Symposium Session
Daniel Conklin. Biomarkers of 6-Methylnicotine (Metatine): A New Synthetic Nicotine Analog.
Hot Topic Session: Unregulated Synthetic Nicotine Analogues in E-cigarettes and Oral Products: An Emerging Public Health Threat? Featured Session
Abigail Ekuban. Mentor: Walter Watson. Hepatocyte-Specific α4 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Mediate Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury.
Liver Let Live: Use Your Mechanism I Session and Activity Type
Petra Haberzettl. Air Pollution and Circadian Rhythm: Impact on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health.
Circadian Rhythms in Environmental Toxicology and Chronic Diseases Symposium Session
Hibah Husain. Mentor(s): Igor Zelko, Sanjay Srivistava. Contribution of Heat Shock Proteins in Preventing Thermal and Chemical Stress-Induced Endothelial Toxicity.
Feeling Hot Hot Hot: Exploring the Toxicity of Heat Platform Session
Idoia Meaza. Mentor: John Wise, Sr. Assessment of Metal Contamination in Whale Samples from the Gulf of Maine, Sea of Cortez, and Off the Coast of Santa Barbara: A Comparative Study.
Into the Wild: Exploring Toxic Chemical Effects in Wildlife Species Symposium Session
Yiqun Mo. Mentor: Qunwei Zhang. Nickel Nanoparticle-Induced Cell Transformation: Involvement of DNA Damage and DNA Repair Defect.
Coming into Focus: The Role of DNA Repair Inhibition in Carcinogenesis Through the Lens of Metal-Induced DNA Damage and Repair Inhibition Symposium Session
Jamie Wise. Introduction to DNA Damage and DNA Repair Inhibition in Metal-Induced Carcinogenesis.
Coming into Focus: The Role of DNA Repair Inhibition in Carcinogenesis Through the Lens of Metal-Induced DNA Damage and Repair Inhibition Symposium Session.
Poster Presentations
Variation in urban air pollution and greenness at an intra-neighborhood scale predicts wildlife stress markers. M. Abolins-Abols, J. Turner, T. Smith, A. Bhatnagar, and R. Yeager
PPARα-Mediated Hepatic Responses to PFOS Exposure in a Humanized and Knockout Mouse Model of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. P. Ames, F. A. Ekuban, A. Ekuban, O. E. Bolatimi, J. Luo, J. Abramson, M. Iyer, J. H. Hardesty, T. Gripshover, W. H. Watson, B. Wahlang, D. Bello, J. Schlezinger, C. J. McClain, and M. C. Cave.
Quantifying the Contribution of Stochastic Gene Expression in Arsenic Exposure-Induced Skin Carcinogenesis. M. Banerjee, S. Srivastava, S. N. Rai, and J. C. States.
Low dose exposure to dioxins alters hepatic energy metabolism and results in sex-specific steatotic liver disease development. O. Bolatimi, Y. Hua, F. A. Ekuban, T. C. Gripshover, A. Ekuban, B. Luulay, W. H. Watson, J. E. Hardesty, and B. Wahlang.
Using a Toxic Aging Coin Approach to Investigate How Low Concentrations of Hexavalent Chromium in Drinking Water Induce Blood-Brain Barrier Damage. W. Buchanan, S. T. Vielee, S. H. Roof, H. Lu, J. L. Wise, I. Meaza, A. R. Williams, J. Kouokam, S. S. Wise, L. Guo, R. M. Wise, J. Cai, L. Cai, and J. P. Wise, Jr.
Prenatal Cigarette Smoke Exposure Exacerbates Effects of Adulthood Western-Style Diet. I. Burciaga, M. Jacobs, K. Chism, S. Podbicanin, K. Overton, A. Harris, R. Neal, and C. Corbitt.
Establishing a Guinea Pig Oropharyngeal Model for Particulate Hexavalent Chromium. N. Butzke-Souza, I. Meaza, J. L. Wise, H. Lu, A. R. Williams, S. S. Wise, M. Delnicki, J. Easley, J. Kouokam, J. P. Wise, Jr., S. T. Vielee, J. T. F. Wise, R. M. Wise and J. P. Wise, Sr.
Examination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in human alcohol-associated liver disease. M. C. Cave, M. R. Smith, H. Zheng, V. Vatsalya, J. Frimodig, F. A. Ekuban, J. Luo, P. Ames, Y. Liang, S. Teeny, W. H. Watson, Y. Go, M. Kong, D. P. Jones, and C. J. McClain.
Mapping of Human Phase II Urinary Metabolome. J. Y. Chen, S. R. Sutaria, Z. Xie, M. Kulkarni, R. J. Keith, A. Bhatnagar, C. G. Sears, P. Lorkiewicz, and S. Srivastava.
Combined Impact of Hypertension and Air Pollution Exposure on Cardiac Remodeling in Mice. L. Jin, M. Junard, G. Bonvillain, S. Barnett, A. Miller, G. Shirk, R. Singhal, and D. Conklin.
A Tale of Two Toxicants: Investigating the Effects of Co-Exposure to PFAS and Hexavalent Chromium in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells. M. E. Delnicki, J. P. Wise Sr., and J. L. Wise.
Baseline Metal Measurements Indicate Site-Specific Effects in American Alligators from Developed and Undeveloped Areas. J. Easley, J. L. Wise, F. Robb, J. T. Wise, S. S. Wise, R. H. Lowers, I. Meaza, A. Williams, E. R. Wise, and J. P. Wise, Sr.
The forever chemical, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), alters hepatic metabolism and worsens alcohol-associated liver disease severity in a mouse chronic-binge ethanol feeding model. F. A. Ekuban, T. C. Gripshover, P. Ames, K. Biswas, O. E. Bolatimi, J. Abramson, M. Iyer, J. Liu, A. Ekuban, J. Y. Hwang, J. W. Park, M. Banerjee, W. H. Watson, B. Wahlang, D. Bello, J. Schlezinger, C. J. McClain, and M. C. Cave.
How Does Exposure to Cr(VI) Affect CTX-TNA2 Astrocytes? E. Evans, S. H. Roof, R. Kahloon, W. J. Buchanan, Q. Wise, S. T. Vielee, and J. P. Wise, Jr.
PM2.5 exposure promotes telomere shortening accelerates cellular aging by inhibiting the activity of telomerase reverse transcriptase. D. C. Gomes, T. E. O'Toole, M. Malovichko, J. Zhao, and D. J. Conklin.
Unraveling the Sex-Dependent Mechanisms of Hexavalent Chromium-Altered, Diet-Induced Metabolic-dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease. G. C. Griffin, M. E. Delnicki, L. Guo, H. Lu, I. Meaza, A. Williams, R. M. Wise, R. Liu, C. Kouokam, S. S. Wise, J. P. Wise Sr., J. P. Wise Jr., S. T. Vielee, O. E. Bolatimi, M. C. Cave, and J. L. Wise.
Assessment of the quantities of essential and nonessential metals in the American alligator for Three Florida sites (Alligator mississippiensis). S. F. Gueye, A. R. Williams, J. L. Wise, J. F. Wise, R. M. Wise, S. S. Wise, R. H. Lowers, I. Meaza, T. J. Croom-Perez, J. H. Toyoda, and J. P. Wise Sr.
Inhaled benzene increases respiratory resistance in diabetic mice and significantly alters surfactant composition. A. Hussain, S. McFall, S. Srivastava, and I. Zelko.
Beetroot-derived E162 Decreases Hexavalent Chromium-induced Cytotoxicity and Inflammation in Human Lung Fibroblasts. J. Kouokam, R. Patel, M. Hamilton, A. Duncan, Z. Galvin, Y. Aleissa, J. Lechner, and J. P. Wise, Sr.
Influence of whole life arsenic exposure and a high-fat diet on the kidney proteomes of male and female mice. M. L. Merchant, T. D. Cummins, M. T. Barati, A. E. Gaweda, D. W. Wilkey, J. B. Klein, and J. C. States.
Activation of NLRP3 inflammasome via HDAC6 is involved in nickel nanoparticle-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. Y. Mo, Y. Zhang, J. Yuan, and Q. Zhang.
Human Keratinocytes Exhibit Poor Arsenic Methylation Capacity. A. N. Nail, M. Banerjee, M. Xu, C. H. Reynolds, M. Styblo, P. H. Cable, D. W. Wilkey, M. L. Merchant, A. P. Ferragut Cardoso, S. T. Thomas, and J. C. States.
Launching of the Kentucky Environmental Education Pipeline (KEEP) Undergraduate Training Program. R. E. Neal, M. Abolins-Abols, and C. Corbitt.
Influence of Acute Heat Stress on Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmogenic Susceptibility. R. Paily, S. D. Dodwani, S. Raph, and A. P. Carll.
Sex-specific alterations of the mouse liver proteome with exposure to a mixture of persistent organic pollutants. G. J. Phillips, O. E. Bolatimi, Y. Hua, H. Zheng, M. Kong, M. L. Merchant, and B. Wahlang.
Development and initial characterization of a murine model of peri-conception and prenatal ENDS product use. S. Podbicanin, I. Burciaga, R. Patel, M. Jacobs, K. Chism, C. Corbitt, and R. Neal.
Maternal E-cigarette Exposure Promotes Perinatal Sympathetic Dominance and Ventricular Arrhythmias in Dams and Prolonged Repolarization in Adult Offspring. B. R. Reynolds, A. Ramalingam, H. E. Collins, and A. P. Carll.
Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(Vl)] Induced Microglial and Astrocyte Activation in Rats after Environmentally Relevant Concentrations in Drinking Water. S. H. Roof, R. Kahloon, E. Evans, W. J. Buchanan, Q. Wise, S. T. Vielee, L. Cai, J. Cai, and J. P. Wise, Jr.
Chronic Arsenic Exposure and hsa-miR-186 Overexpression Dysregulate Alternative Splicing in Human Keratinocytes, Promoting Carcinogenesis. J. L. Scott, M. Banerjee, A. Lykoudi, J. Y. Hwang, J. W. Park, and J. C. States.
Wastewater-based Monitoring for Community Exposome Surveillance. L. Cai, R. Holm, D. J. Biddle, C. Zhang, D. Talley, T. R. Smith, and J. States.
Effect of human N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) and CYP1A2 on DNA damage induced by nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. M. A. Stephens, A. A. Cass, M. R. Habil, and D. W. Hein.
Acute Toxicity of 1,3-Butadiene Exposure at the Air-Liquid Interface of Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells. B. Taylor, A. Noël, D. Conklin, and S. Srivastava.
Caenorhabditis elegans as a Novel Model for Hexavalent Chromium [Cr(VI)] Neurotoxicity: Identifying Neuronal Targets and Worming Through a DNA Damage-Dependent Apoptotic Mechanism. S. T. Vielee, P. Chen, R. Deza Ponzio, H. Lu, L. Cai, M. Aschner, and J. P. Wise.
Understanding the impact of persistent organic pollutant-diet interactions on female liver health and metabolic dysfunction. B. Wahlang, O. E. Bolatimi, Y. Hua, B. Luulay, S. Singh, H. Zheng, T. C. Gripshover, W. H. Watson, M. Kong, and M. L. Merchant.
Effects of Particulate Hexavalent Chromium in Alligator Lung Cells. A. Williams, I. Meaza, S. Wise, J. T. Wise, H. Gu, D. Chiarugi, and J. Wise Sr.
Lessons from a Toxic Aging Coin Approach: Chromium Tissue Distribution Following 90 Days Drinking Water Exposure Revealed Distinct Age- and Sex-Specific Differences. J. P. Wise, S. T. Vielee, S. H. Roof, R. Kahloon, E. Evans, W. J. Buchanan, Q. Wise, H. Lu, I. Meaza, A. R. Williams, J. C. Kouokam, S. S. Wise, L. Guo, J. L. Wise, J. Cai, L. Cai, R. Liu, and R. M. Wise.
HMGB1 derived from lung epithelial cells after cobalt nanoparticle exposure promotes the activation of lung fibroblasts. Y. Mo, J. Yuan, Y. Zhang, and Q. Zhang.
Oral Polystyrene Consumption Potentiates Atherosclerotic Lesion Formation in ApoE−/− Mice. J. Zhao, D. Gomes, F. Yuan, J. Feng, X. Zhang, and T. E. O'Toole.