MSRC Makes Strong Showing at 25th Annual SETAC Meeting

Sixteen MSRC alumni current graduate students, faculty and post-docs gathered in Portland, OR last month for the 25^th annual North American meeting and Fourth World Congress of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). Collectively, they authored 21 presentations over the five-day meeting on topics ranging from the bioavailability of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to variations in gene expression resulting from toxicant exposure. “Pollution related research requires you to integrate many subdisciplines, so it’s a good fit for MSRC grads,” noted Sharon Hook (Ph.D. 2001) who is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with Batelle Marine Research Operations at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

MSRC alumni came from as far away as New Zealand and Hong Kong to attend the meeting. Michael Ahrens has been in the Ecotoxicology and Aquatic Chemistry department at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Hamilton, New Zealand, since completing his Ph.D. at MSRC in 2000. “New Zealand may have a ‘clean green’ image abroad,” said Ahrens, “but the creeping effects of urbanization, intensive farming and legacy contamination are becoming visible down here as well. Studying coastal issues in Long Island Sound and Great South Bay gives you a 20-year head start and where things are going elsewhere in the world.”

SETAC is an international society that takes a multidisciplinary approach to global environmental issues. Meetings convene annually for the North American chapter and this year’s meeting marked the 25^th anniversary of the Society’s founding. This year’s World Congress combined the myriad international chapters with the theme: “Interdisciplinary Science Serving Global Society.” Thousands of people from academia, government, and industry were among the conference participants.