Project Summary/Abstract
The goal of this application is to obtain support for the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical
Toxicology (TOXI) at the 264th 2022 National Meeting program, which will be held August 21-25, 2022, in
Chicago, IL. The mission of the Division of Chemical Toxicology is to improve human health and public
welfare by promoting the understanding of chemical mechanisms that govern disease processes and the
toxicity of drugs, environmental agents, and endogenous chemicals. The Fall 2022 programming will focus
on the “molecular mechanisms and predictions of environmental toxicological responses”. Our goals include
providing a forum for communicating research in the field of chemical toxicology, encouraging research in
chemical mechanisms of toxicity, and facilitating connections between academia, industry, and policy in
scientific areas of mutual interest, as well as leadership and professional development of scientists at all
levels. Thus, the requested funds will be used to support travel awards and expenses for graduate students,
postdoctoral scholars, and junior faculty. The overall program is organized around the theme of “molecular
mechanisms and predictions of environmental toxicological responses”. The program includes four thematic
symposia, which will feature invited oral presentations by a diverse group of established and emerging
investigators with a range of perspectives on each topic. The four thematic symposia are: (1) “A Developing
Role for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Drug Discovery in Drug Design, Development, and Safety Assessment”,
co-promoted by the Divisions of Medicinal Chemistry (MEDI) and Computational Chemistry (COMP), will
explore the role of AI in toxicological hazard identification and risk assessment; (2) “Current Approaches to
COVID-19 Drug Discovery and Safety Assessment”, co-promoted with MEDI, will examine the therapeutic
spectrum of pharmaceuticals and biologics and their associated safety efficacies; (3) “Mechanism-Driven
Hazard Identification of Chemical Respiratory Allergens,” focuses on recent progress in development of in
silico and in vitro methods to identify respiratory sensitizers and hazards; (4) “Chemical Biology of DNA
Damage and Repair”, copromoted with the Division of Biological Chemistry (BIOL), describes recent
advances in chemical biology approaches used to characterize the distribution of genome-wide lesions and
molecular mechanisms of repair outcomes. The scientific program is clearly aligned with the mission of
NIEHS.