Northland SOT Annual Report

							                              Northland SOT Annual Report
                                May 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009


I. Officers/Committees

Officers                         2008-2009                                 2009-2010
President:                       Laura Solem                               John Nichols
President-elect:                 John Nichols                              Tim O’Brien
Vice President:                  n/a                                       n/a
Secretary:                       Catherine Jacobson                        Catherine Jacobson
Treasurer:                       Catherine Jacobson                        Catherine Jacobson
Councilors:                      Michael Hornung                           Michael Hornung
                                 Nathan Pechacek                           John MacDonald
                                 Mary Haasch                               Anthony Kiorpes
Past-President                   Anthony Kiorpes                           Laura Solem
SAC Representative:              Sarah Gilpin                              Sarah Gilpin

Committees (Chairperson)
Program Committee (Laura Solem)
Nominating Committee (Andy Kiorpes)
Membership Committee (Teri Fick)
Education Committee (Pamela Shubat)
Awards Committee (Steve Gordon)
Communication Committee (Chuck Stroebel)


II. Activities

The Fall 2008 Meeting was held on November 7 in St. Paul, MN. Sixty-one people
attended. The agenda was as follows:
    9:30    Registration

    10:00   Opening Remarks

    10:15   Recalls, Outbreaks, and Food Contamination Issues
            Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

    11:15   Should Global Food Safety Consider Feed Safety?
            Dr. Mike Murphy, University of Minnesota, College of Veterinary Medicine

    12:15   Lunch

    1:00    NLSOT Business Meeting

    1:30    Risk Factors for a Novel Progressive Inflammatory Neuropathy Among Swine Abattoir
            Workers in the United States — 2007–2008
            Dr. Stacy Holzbauer, Minnesota Department of Health
    2:30     Food Irradiation: The 4th Pillar of Public Health?
             Mr. Ronald F. Eustice, Executive Director, Minnesota Beef Council

    3:30     Adjourn

The agenda and some presentations can be found at
http://www.toxicology.org/isot/RC/northland/Events.htm.

The Spring 2009 Meeting was held on April 22 in St. Paul, MN. Fifty people attended.
The agenda was as follows:

    8:30     Registration and refreshments

    9:00     Opening remarks

    9:15     Sensing Imaging and Therapy in Small Spaces
             Dr. Martin Philbert, University of Michigan, School of Public Health

    10:15    Issues in Nanoparticle Exposure Assessment and Hazard Evaluation
             Dr. Gurumurthy Ramachandran, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health

    11:15    Analytical Considerations in Nanotoxicology
             Mr. Bryce Marquis, University of Minnesota, Department of Chemistry

    12:00    Lunch

    12:45    Business meeting

    1:15     Nanotechnology plays
             Science Museum of Minnesota

    1:45     Health Risk Assessment and Management of Engineered Nanoparticles -
             An Example Control Banding Approach
             Ms. Renae Goldman, 3M Corporate Industrial Hygiene

    2:45     Current and Emerging Regulation of Engineered Nanomaterials
             Mr. Greg McCarney, 3M Medical Department

    3:45     Adjourn

The program can also be found at http://www.toxicology.org/isot/RC/northland/Events.htm.

Projected Meetings

      Proposed Date                          Proposed Topic                  Proposed Location
            Fall 2008               Asbestos and Mesothelioma                       Duluth, MN
           Spring 2009                Chemical Sustainability                       St. Paul, MN
Other Regional Chapter Activities

Continuing Education Course

Northland SOT co-sponsored with 3M Company and the Minnesota Department of
Health a 4-hour continuing education course on endocrine disrupters. The course was
held on January 28 in St. Paul, MN. Ninety people attended. The agenda was as follows:

   12:30   Registration

   1:00    Introduction – Dr. Ann Thompson, 3M

           Overview of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           Understanding Normal Endocrine Function – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           Mechanisms by which Chemicals Disrupt Endocrine Function – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           Ecological and Human Evidence for Endocrine Disruption – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

   2:50    Break

   3:10    Ongoing Research on Chemical Endocrine Disruption – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           Examples of Endocrine Disrupters – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           List-Based Hazard Determination for Endocrine Disrupters – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           Criteria-Based Hazard Determination for Endocrine Disrupters – Dr. Hillary Carpenter, MDH

           Regulatory and Public Perception of Endocrine Disrupters – Dr. Robert Skoglund, 3M

   5:00    Adjourn

Education Committee

The Education Committee’s activities for 2008-2009 are described below.

January 16, 2009
Science Extravaganza
    Presenters from the community came to Countryside Elementary School in Edina,
    MN, to teach students about science. An NLSOT representative discussed careers in
    toxicology and shared information regarding principles of toxicology with
    approximately 50 children in grades 1 through 3.

January 23, 2009
Minnesota State High School Bowl
   An NLSOT member served as a judge at this event.
February 7, 2009
Northeastern Minnesota Regional Science Fair
   An NLSOT representative served as a judge at this event. Top place presentations
   advance to the Minnesota Academy of Sciences State Science Fair and the Intel
   International Science & Engineering Fair.

February 28, 2009
Girl Scout Environmental Health Career and Badge event
    NLSOT was represented at a career and badge event for about 150 Girl Scouts and
    their leaders. An NLSOT member staffed a toxicology booth. Other NLSOT
    members assisted in planning and delivering the event.

March 20, 2009
Richfield High School
   An NLSOT representative presented on product development and toxicology.

March 27-28, 2009
Minnesota Science Teachers Association Meeting (MNSTA)
   Approximately 200 teachers from grades 1 through 12 attended the conference. Three
   NLSOT representatives staffed a booth, where a bottled water literacy activity, seed
   bioassay kits, sharks blood exercise, pollution soup exercise, and Tox-in-a-Box were
   displayed and used to describe principles of toxicology to teachers. In addition,
   toxicology career posters, toxicology history posters, and copies of Toxicology: An
   Environmental Education Unit for Secondary Schools and Communities, Educator's
   Resource Guide were distributed to teachers who stopped by the booth. Contact was
   made with approximately 50 teachers.

March 30, 2009
Minnesota Academy of Sciences State Science Fair
   An NLSOT representative served as a judge at this state-wide event. There were
   many experiments that used seeds, seedlings, insects, or plant communities as
   indicators of toxicity or stress. These experiments gave our representative a chance to
   discuss toxicology concepts with the students.

April 11, 2009
Girl Career Event
    An NLSOT member discussed careers in toxicology careers at this high school girls’
    event.

April 23, 2009
Crosswinds Arts and Science School, Woodbury
   An NLSOT representative presented on product development and toxicology.
SOT RC Funding

National SOT covered the travel expenses of Dr. Martin Philbert to the Northland SOT
spring 2009 meeting, at which he was a speaker.