From the President Un saludo muy especial con los mejores deseos

de bienestar, aprecio y muchos éxitos para este

2011. This year we are celebrating the 50th

Anniversary of the Society of Toxicology and the

HOT Board is planning an enjoyable reception in

the heart of Washington, DC. HOT will display a

poster highlighting the historical and rich

contributions our members have made to SOT. In

addition, our Sister Organizations will have the

opportunity to display an informational poster at the

HOT stand in the Pavilion area. The official

invitation from HOT will reach you next week with

all details to prepare the poster.

The HOT Board would like to THANK all Sister

Organizations for their support distributing among

their members all the information HOT provides for

the benefit of all toxicologists in Spanish and

Portuguese speaking countries. Congratulations to

SRA-LA and its President Dr. Marcelo Wolansky

on their new elected board.

The 2010-2011 Fundraiser campaign continues

with the remainder to all members who would like

to contribute that your donation is fully tax

deductible as HOT is a non-profit organization.

Sincerely,

Pedro Del Valle, President

Welcome New Sister Orgs P.2Featured Trainee P.2

HOT Board Elections P.3McConnell Díaz Honored P.3

Student Accomplishments P.4Mini Review P.5

Events & Financials P.6Sponsorship Plan P.8

The Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists

(HOT) is a Special Interest Group of the

Society of Toxicology (SOT)

http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot/

I S S U E

D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0 / J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1

10 Toxenlaces

HOT Officers and Contacts Pedro L. Del Valle, Ph.D. President Pedro.DelValle@covance.com Ofelia A. Olivero, Ph.D. Vice President oliveroo@exchange.nih.gov Minerva Mercado-Feliciano, Ph.D. Secretary mercadofelicim@niehs.nih.gov Sergio Villalobos, Ph.D. Treasurer svillalobos@nalco.com Javier Avalos, Ph.D. DABT Councilor javier.avalos@toptox.com Ranulfo Lemus Olalde, Sc.D. DABT Councilor ranulfo.lemus-olalde@arcadis-us.com Betina Lew, Ph.D. Councilor lew.bj@pg.com Enrique Fuentes-Mattei Postdoctoral Representative enrique.fuentes@upr.edu José A. Torres Student Representative Torresja@tsu.edu Braulio Jiménez-Velez, Ph.D. Past-President braulio.jimenez@upr.edu

SOT/HOT Membership RenewalHOT member dues are important to our overall financial health and help us continue to provide some funds for our Travel Awards and our SOT reception. Additionally, for members who athe Annual Meeting, a portion of your meeting registration fees comes back to HOT- so we reallneed you to renew your membership as soon as possible! Please go to http://www.toxicology.org/ms/renew.asp

ttend y

and follow links. Happy New Year and THANK YOU for your support! Ranulfo Lemus, HOT Councilor & Membership Committee Chair

Featured Trainee Jorge G. Muñiz-Ortiz next to his

poster at this year’s EMS

Meeting in Ft. Worth, TX.

Welcome HOT New Sister Organizations: ALATOX, CETR/UPR, CTAA/UN and PLAGBOL

The HOT Executive Board is very pleased to welcome four new sister organizations: Asociación Latinoamericana de Toxicologia (ALATOX), Center for Environmental and Toxicological Research (CETR) of the University of Puerto Rico, Centro de Toxicología Aquática y Ambiental de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and Fundación Plagbol de Bolivia ALATOX president is Dra. Pilar Acosta (Colombia), vicepresidents Dr. Jorge Gaibor Carpio (Ecuador) and Dr. Carlos García Bustamante (Peru), secretary Dr. María Aldana Madrid (Mexico), and treasurer Dr. David Combariza Bayona (Colombia). In March 2010, ALATOX celebrated its 1st Clinical Toxicology Meeting and its 13th Toxicology and Chemical Safety Meeting in Bogota, Colombia. (http://www.alatox.org/) CETR director is Dr. Braulio Jimenez, with headquarters at the UPR Medical Sciences Campus provides the infrastructure to support interdisciplinary research among 12 scientists and 27 graduate students (http://cetr.rcm.upr.edu/). Dr. Jaime González leads the Centro de Toxicología Aquática y Ambiental (Center for Aquatic and Environmental Toxicology) of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Their work emphasizes using fish as indicators of environmental contamination. (http://www.docentes.unal.edu.co/jfgonzalezma/)

La Fundacion Plagbol de Bolivia trabaja desde hace 10 años en el campo de los plaguicidas, con una mirada integral desde las áreas de la salud, agricultura, medio ambiente y comunicación-educación, para mejorar la calidad de vida del agricultor y de la sociedad boliviana en general. Dr. Guido Condarco es el director, Susana Renjel Encinas es la Coordinadora de Comunicaciones y el Dr. Rafael Cervantes miembro de la junta directiva.

HOT continues its Global Outreach efforts to establish mutual collaboration with national, international, and local organizations in toxicology to serve as facilitators for interaction, fellowship, networking, and professional development among Hispanic toxicologists in the United States and the international Spanish and Portuguese-speaking scientific communities.

P.2

HOT Sister Organizations

P.3

Upcoming HOT Executive Board Elections It is time to elect new members to the HOT Executive Board. Officers

will be elected by a majority vote of the ballots cast by the HOT

membership. The HOT Nominations Committee is currently

preparing candidate profiles for your consideration (last day to

nominate candidates is January 14, 2011) and here is a description

of the open positions and their responsibilities so HOT members are

prepared to cast their votes.

Vice-President. The Vice President will become the President of

HOT after serving one year as Vice President. The Vice President

can serve in the absence of the President. Nominees must send an

assay of their ideas and goals if they become elected and future

vision and direction of our organization. This position requires a 3-

year commitment.

Vice-President elect. A Vice President-elect will become the Vice

President of HOT after serving one year as Vice President-elect. The

Vice President-elect will serves in the absence of the President and

Vice President if such situation occurs. Nominees must send an

assay indicating why they want to run for this position (see Vise-

President description). This position requires a 4-year commitment.

US Councilor. The US Councilor will serve as chair of one of the

HOT Board committees and actively participate in other

committees. This position requires a 2-year commitment.

Sister Organization Councilor. A Councilor is needed that

represents all HOT Sister Organizations. The councilor will serve

as chair of one of the HOT Board committees and actively

participate in other committees as needed. This position requires a

2-year commitment.

Graduate Student Representative. A Graduate Student Rep. will

serve as chair of the Graduate Student committee and actively

participate in other committees as needed. He/she also represents

HOT at the SOT Student Advisory Council (SAC). This position

requires a 1-year commitment.

Postdoc Representative. A Postdoc Rep will serves as the chair

of the Postdoc committee and actively participates in other

committees and participate in all HOT board meetings and

activities. He/she also represents HOT at the SOT Post Doctoral

Assembly (PDA). This position requires a 1-year commitment.

Featured Trainee: Environment, Genetics & Personalized Medicine Jorge G. Muñiz-Ortiz was born in Medellín, Colombia and grew up in San Juan, PR. After finishing high school in

Puerto Rico, Jorge moved to Dayton, OH where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of

Dayton (UD) in 2002. Jorge’s interests in genetics rose from his own life. Jorge is one half of a pair of fraternal twins

who were adopted by their parents. Therefore, he lacks knowledge on his ancestor’s health and genetic makeup.

Jorge had his first research experience at UD under Dr. Jeff Stavenhagen working with the yeast model system.

However, he later moved on to work with Dr. Mark G. Nielsen who specialized on evolutionary genetics, more

specifically on the evolutionary constraint of the β2-tubulin protein of the Drosophila axoneme spermtail.

Jorge then attended the University of Cincinnati, where he attained a Ph.D. from the Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, under the guidance of Dr. Iain L. Cartwright. The research

focus in Cartwright’s lab was to identify genes involved in a response pathway towards arsenic. It was demonstrated

that flies and larvae expressing lower levels of glutathione synthetase, as compared to expressing wild type levels,

were more susceptible to arsenic exposure using a variety of genetic approaches in the Drosophila model system.

Currently, Jorge is a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Andrew Kligerman’s lab at the US EPA studying oxidative stress

induction from environmental stressors using in vitro and ex vivo models. Jorge’s future interests include studies on

genetic susceptibility to environmental and artificial substances, paving the way to becoming part of the booming field

of personalized medicine.

P.4

Este año se celebran los 50 años de fundación de la Sociedad de Toxicología y la reunión anual será muy especial. Se esperan más de 6000 participantes y expositores en Washington, D.C., la capital de Estados Unidos. Aprovecha la registración temprana a precio reducido antes del 21 de Enero y podrás recibir tu escarapela (badge), el programa y el CD de Toxicologist para que planifiques tu participación en la reunión. Para más información, el enlace para la página de Internet se encuentra en la figura de arriba. Si tienes alguna pregunta, por favor contacta a la junta directiva de HOT.

TE ESPERAMOS EN WASHINGTON, D.C. MARZO 6-10 Our

Sponsors

http://www.battelle.org/index.aspx

Ingenieros Lemus de

Mexico

http://www.clorox.com/

http://www.celanese.com/

La recepción anual de HOT esta programada para el Domingo 6 de Marzo 6:30-8:30 p.m. TE ESPERAMOS

McConnell Díaz Honored as 2010 HENAAC Military and Civilian Heroes in STEM

HOT member Dr. Maureen McConnell Díaz was honored as one of HENAAC Military and Civilian Heroes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at their annual conference last October at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Dr. McConnell Díaz received this honor for her work on the effects and risks of non-lethal weapons at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. In her acceptance speech, Dr. McConnell Díaz emphasized the importance of empowering young latino scientist, whom are usually the first generation in their families to pursue higher education, by mentoring, funding scholarships and providing them opportunities to give back to the community.

She also echoed the words of the Mexican

American farm worker labor leader Cesar E. Chavez: “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community. Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.” For twenty-two years, HENAAC has recognized the achievements of America's best and brightest engineers and scientists within the Hispanic community, and with this award celebrates the contributions of Hispanic STEM professionals in America's military branches who have dedicated their lives to protecting and serving our nation. For more information about HENAAC visit their website at http://www.henaac.org/.

P.5

2011: a Year Full of Accomplishments for HOT Student Rep. José A. Torres

We are very happy to report about some of the many accomplishments of our HOT student representative, Jose A. Torres. First, Mr. Torres was accepted in September as a member of the American College of Toxicology. Additionally Mr. Torres participated this past November as a FASEB-MARC peer mentor in the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minorities Students (ABRCMS) 2010 at Charlotte, North Carolina. During ABRCMS he mentored seven undergraduates from places such as Virginia, New York and Puerto Rico. He enjoyed sharing his experience and help students to clarify their career goals and how to use networking skills. Mr. Torres participation at ABRCMS continues a long tradition of HOT members participating in this important annual event. For more information about ABRCMS visit their website http://www.abrcms.org. Finally, Mr. Torres was recently selected as one of five winners of 2011 APS/NIDDK fellowship to participate in a professional skills training course on “Writing & Reviewing for Scientific Journals”. He hopes to learn the necessary skills to polish his manuscript for publication.

HOT invites all members and sister organizations to write short articles of scientific interest that highlight toxicological issues of relevance for our community in US, Latin America, Brazil, Spain and Portugal. Please send your contributions to Dr. Minerva Mercado-Feliciano, Editor Toxenlaces. Visit our webpage http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot/ to find more news and updated information about national e international meetings in Latin America countries. Rene Viñas

Torres with Dr. Jennifer Rayner and Dr. José E. Manautou during ABRCMS 2010.

Mentoring students during dinner discussion about goal-setting.

Torres meeting two of his mentees from Puerto Rico.

HOT Executive Board Student-HelpersThe HOT Executive board is very VERY thankful for the administrative help provided by two student members during the past year. Our intention in involving these students with HOT work was not only to streamline board operations, but also to provide hands-on leadership experience and mentoring opportunities to our younger members. Sandra Vanessa Pirela is the secretary of the Global Outreach Committee helping Chairman Dr. Pedro L. Del Valle to set conference calls for meetings, meeting

minutes and actively participation in this committee. Sandra Vanessa is a doctoral student at Harvard School of Public Health and is currently visiting Brazil on a collaborative course with the Fiocruz's Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz, and the Brazil Studies Program at Harvard University's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS). Sandra V is also taking this opportunity to establish personal communication with our Brazilian Society of Toxicology (SBTox) colleagues in Sao Pablo. René Viñas has been helping HOT secretary Dr. Minerva Mercado-Feliciano compiling and revising Board meeting minutes and Toxenlaces. Mr. Viñas is a graduate student at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Galveston. We encourage other HOT student members to volunteer and/or seek mentoring from the HOT Executive Board. HOT student representative Mr. Jose Torres often emails students with such opportunities, but you do not have to wait for José’s emails. Especially if you need career advice or scientific guidance, all HOT Board members will welcome your emails or phone calls, and if we are not the right person to answer the question, we will find another HOT member that is a more suitable mentor.

Sandra V. Pirela

Mini-Review Toxenlaces Issue 10, 2010/11 P.6

An Update on Obesity Treatment

Obesity is one of the risk factors for developing Type 2 Diabetes and few options exist for its pharmacological intervention as mentioned previously (1). Currently, orlistat (Xenical® and Alli®) is the only marketed drug for obesity control. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved orlistat-120 mg as prescription product (Xenical®) in 1999 and orlistat-60 mg (Alli®) as the over-the-counter product in 2007. Both strengths are marketed for obesity management and for reducing the risk of regaining weight after prior weight loss in overweight adults, 18 years and older and both products should be used in conjunction with a reduced-calorie and low-fat diet. (2) The FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee reviewed early in December 2010 the new-drug application (NDA) for naltrexone HCl/bupropion HCl (CONTRAVE®) extended-release tablets for the treatment of obesity. The advisory committee accepted by majority that the data provided adequately established the potential benefits of this drug and that the benefits outweigh the potential risks when CONTRAVE® is used for long-term in overweight and obese individuals and therefore, it supports its approval. In addition, the committee approved a post-approval rather than a pre-approval dedicated study to examine the drug’s effect on risk for major adverse cardiac events. (3) The FDA has set 31 January 2011 as the PDUFA date for the review of the NDA application. The “PDUFA date” term comes from the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, a law enacted to allow the FDA collect fee for conducting the review. CONTRAVE® will probably be in the market by the second semester of this year. CONTRAVE® targets activated pro-opiomelanocortin neurons that activate the melanocortin system, which it is believed to regulate appetite and energy expenditure. These neurons also produce opiods as negative-feedback on their own. Bupropion and naltrexone are marketed generic drugs and have established safety profiles. (3) Bupropion will activate pro-opimelanocortin neurons by increasing dopamine levels and naltrexone, an opiod-antagonist, will provide the negative feedback to these neurons as it has been shown to negatively alter the taste or palatability of many foods, particularly sweets and therefore, reducing their perceived reward. The manufacturers of CONTRAVE® believe Bupropion helps initiate weight loss while naltrexone may sustain weight loss by preventing the body’s natural tendency to counteract efforts to lose weight. (4)

A randomized, placebo- and monotherapy-controlled, double-blind, dose-finding Trial with bupropion/ naltrexone combination therapy was conducted during 24 weeks with 419 patients with uncomplicated obesity. Results showed statistically significant weight loss of the combination therapy versus monotherapy or placebo. The most common side effects of the combination therapy were nausea, headache, dizziness, and insomnia. (5) Similar side effects may be expected when taking CONTRAVE® depending on the dose levels approved for use. Pedro L. Del Valle, PhD. To reference this article use the following citation: Del Valle, PL, “An Update on Obesity Treatment,” Toxenlaces 10: 6 (2010). References 1. Del Valle, PL, “Diabetes in Hispanic Americans.

Part I: Current Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes,” Toxenlaces 9: 3-7 (2010) http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot/doc/HOTnewsletter_OctNov10.pdf

2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Postmarket

Drug Safety Information for Patients and Providers. Orlistat (marketed as ALLI and Xenical) Information. May 26, 2010. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm213038.htm

3. Drug Information Online. http://www.drugs.com/

Accessed Dec 2010-Jan 2011 4. Product Candidates: Contrave.

http://www.orexigen.com/candidates/candidates_contrave.php

5. Greenway, FL, Dunayevich, E, Tollefson, G,

Erickson, J, Guttadauria, M, Fujioka, K Cowley MA, “Comparison of Combined Bupropion and Naltrexone Therapy for Obesity with Monotherapy and Placebo,” J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 94(12):4898–4906 (2009)

Upcoming Events 2011

Jan 19 Jan 20

ICCVAM Workshop Series on Best Practices for Regulatory Safety Testing: Assessing the Potential for Chemically Induced Eye Injuries

ICCVAM Workshop Series on Best Practices for Regulatory Safety Testing: Assessing the Potential for Chemically Induced Allergic Contact Dermatitis http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/meetings/Implement-2011/ImplmtnWksp.htm

Mar 6-10 SOT Annual Meeting http://toxicology.org/ai/meet/am2011/

Mar 10 Evidence-based Toxicology (EBT) Collaboration Kick-Off Meeting http://caat.jhsph.edu/programs/workshops/ebt.com

Apr 2-10 IV Latin American Risk Assessment Workshop http://www.sbtox.org.br/laraw.php

May 24-27 3rd International Symposium on Trace Elements and Health http://www.tracel2011.com/

May 22-25

3rd International Conference on Risk Analysis and Crisis Response http://www.srala.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68%3Athe-3rd-international-conference-on-risk-analysis-and-crisis-response&catid=36%3Aeventos&Itemid=57&lang=en

Jun 22-25 XVII Congresso Brasileiro de Toxicologia http://www.cbtox.com.br/2011/

July 10-15 2011 Gordon Research Conference on Genetic Toxicology http://grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2011&program=gentox

July 26-28 XIX Congreso Español de Toxicología http://www.aetox.com/

Aug 7-12 Gordon Research Conference on Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicity http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2011&program=toxicity

Aug 21-25 Eighth World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences http://www.wc8.ccac.ca/

Send your letters,

suggestions and events to mercadofelicim @niehs.nih.gov

P.7

A

THANK YOU HOT MEMBERS

Who have donated to our organization during the 2010-2011 Fundraiser Activity (in alphabetical order):

Fanny Casado-Peña Pedro L Del Valle Peter Goering Betina Lew Jose Manautou Maureen McConnel Ofelia Olivero Alvaro Puga Mari Stavanja Sergio A Villalobos

AArrreee yyyooouuu ppprrreeessseeennntttiiinnnggg aaattt SSSOOOTTT 222000111111 ???

Send your presentation/poster title, authors, date and time to Rene Viñas at revinas@utmb.edu for

inclusion in our special Feb-Mar edition of Toxenlaces.

P.8

2011 HOT-SOT Annual Meeting Sponsors

The Hispanic Organization for Toxicologists (HOT) is a Special Interest Group (SIG) within the Society of Toxicology integrated by professionals of Hispanic origin with expertise in scientific areas associated with Toxicology. HOT membership is diverse representing industrial, academic, governmental, and commercial organizations from the USA and Ibero-America countries. It serves as a focal point for interaction, fellowship, networking, and professional development among Hispanic Toxicologists in the United States and the international Spanish and Portuguese-speaking scientific communities with emphasis in outreach to the Hispanic population and it operates in compliance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Please visit our web site at ttp://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hoth .

Corporate sponsorship will help HOT bring together Hispanic Toxicologists in the United States and international Spanish and Portuguese-speaking Toxicologists attending the 2010 SOT Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, March 6-10th for interaction, networking, mentoring, and expanding the SOT outreach efforts in global toxicology. Your organization’s sponsorship will help sustain HOT’s effort to promote scientific excellence in toxicology. HOT offers Travel Awards to support Students and Postdocs in the United States and other countries to offset the cost for presenting their research at the SOT Annual Meeting. HOT activities also include the evening reception and dinner sponsorship and bimonthly publication of our newsletter Toxenlaces. Your sponsorship also helps increase your organization visibility to SOT and HOT members, annual meeting attendees, and the international Spanish and Portuguese-speaking scientific communities, and provides opportunities for recruiting young scientist and experienced toxicologists to our company. y

T

here are four levels of sponsorship available, as follows:

HOT Distinction Level 1: Evening Reception Sponsorship, $1,700 or more HOT Distinction Level 2: Distinguished Hispanic Toxicologist Lecture & Luncheon Sponsorship, $1,200 HOT Distinction Level 3: Student & Postdoctoral Travel Awards Sponsorship, $800 HOT Distinction Level 4: Toxenlances Sponsorship Acknowledgement, $500 If you would like to sponsor any of these events of HOT at the 2010 SOT meeting, please send your check payable to “Society of Toxicology Fund for HOT-SIG” and mail to Society of Toxicology Fund, 1821 Michael Faraday Drive, Suite 300, Reston, VA 20190. If you have any further questions or need clarification, please email your inquires to Sergio Villalobos, Ph.D. Treasurer, svillalobos@nalco.com

2011 HOT-SOT Annual Meeting Sponsorship Opportunities HOT Distinction Level 1: HOT Evening Reception Sponsorship Benefits ($1,700 or more) • Prize drawing box in your booth for a HOT drawing – two prizes awarded. Attendees will drop their business cards at your booth • Special front-page sponsorship acknowledgement in the February-March 2011 HOT newsletter, Toxenlaces, copies available at the Annual Meeting HOT stand • Acknowledgment of your sponsorship and participation in the HOT Reception Night in a special report about the event in the April-May 2011 Toxenlaces, including pictures • Special sponsorship acknowledgement in the HOT Web site (http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot) and Toxenlaces newsletter (June 2010 through May 2011) • Five invitations to the HOT Reception Night at the SOT 50th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, March 2011 HOT Distinction Level 2: Distinguished Hispanic Toxicologist Lecture or Lunch & Learn Sponsorship Benefits ($1,200) • Special sponsorship acknowledgement in the February-March 2011 HOT newsletter, Toxenlaces, copies available at the Annual Meeting HOT stand • Acknowledgment of your sponsorship and participation in the HOT Reception Night in a special report about the event in the April-May 2011 Toxenlaces, including pictures • Special sponsorship acknowledgement in the HOT Web site (http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot) and Toxenlaces newsletter (June 2010 through May 2011) • Four invitations to the HOT Reception Night at the SOT 50th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, March 2011 HOT Distinction Level 3: Student & Postdoctoral Travel Awards Benefits ($800) • Recognition in the February-March 2011 HOT newsletter, Toxenlaces, copies available at the Annual Meeting HOT stand • Acknowledgment of your sponsorship and participation in the HOT Reception Night in a special report about the event in the April-May 2011 Toxenlaces, including pictures • Special sponsorship acknowledgement in the HOT Web site (http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot) and Toxenlaces newsletter (June 2010 through May 2011) • Three invitations to the HOT Reception Night at the SOT 50th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, March 2011 HOT Distinction Level 4: Toxenlances Sponsorship Acknowledgement Benefits ($500) • Special sponsorship acknowledgement in the HOT Web site (http://www.toxicology.org/isot/sig/hot) • Special sponsorship acknowledgement in the HOT Web site and Toxenlaces newsletter (June 2010 through May 2011) • Two invitations to the HOT Reception Night at the SOT 50th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, March 2011