“My Universe”, Coldplay x BTS
Dear Members of TIAFT,
Whilst it is still relatively early in my President’s Messages for song title requests, at the recent gala dinner in Auckland, member Katharina Grafinger, spoke to me about the song “My Universe” which reflects the coming together despite geographical and cultural differences with a common shared desire. I thought this nicely exemplified the annual meeting in New Zealand with attendance from members and accompanying persons from all around the world, demonstrating the united efforts for toxicology and our Association.
With over 500 delegates, keynote lectures and over 100 oral presentations and nearly 200 poster and rapid-fire presentations, the 2025 TIAFT Annual Meeting, provided those in attendance with the latest information relating to many aspects of toxicology. Starting with an opening ceremony that included an impressive traditional Māori greeting until the saxophonist DJ at the gala dinner, the conference was a non-stop mixture of science and social networking. Particular highlights were the engagement of the delegates, regional flavour of the science (including clear warnings about the fauna and flora “Down Under”) and of course beware the volcanoes, some of which were visited by attendees during the excursion afternoon. The meeting also hosted a ToxPod Live episode where members of the very first TIAFT Task Force discussed their report on Artificial Intelligence in Forensic Toxicology with questions from the audience. The ToxPod continues to be a great source of toxicological information for the Association and beyond and I urge you all to listen past and future episodes. Overall, the first TIAFT meeting in New Zealand was a triumph and congratulations go to FACTA, Matthew Hosking and the whole organising team, who even now may still be recovering.
The issue of the Bulletin includes many reports (including the TTF AI report) and especially the minutes of the business meeting. As such, I will not reiterate the many actions and activities undertaken by myself, the Board and TIAFT members during the year and achievements made but it is worth highlighting some, particularly those to look out for. The Board’s strategic plan continues to be worked through including updates to the public and member websites, the launch of TTF2 “Green Toxicology”, TIAFT’s work with the UNODC and EU Drugs Agency for NPS, Regional meetings (including an African meeting in Algeria) and an upcoming member benefit survey. These are in addition to an updated Code of Ethics and Constitution, the former being relevant for the renewal of membership in January. With that comes a reminder, please renew your membership as quickly as possible and do not leave it to the deadline in March after which late fees are applied. Delays not only present additional work for the Secretary and Treasurer (as well as the Regional Representatives), but if remaining unpaid without logging into the members website, may also result in lapsed and subsequently dropped membership. With so much planned and happening, there is a lot to look forward to for TIAFT members so please renew as early as possible.
In Auckland, we also heard exciting updates (and a dance from Serap) for the future TIAFT annual meetings in the USA (joint with SOFT in 2026), Türkiye (in 2027) and Brazil (in 2028). So, focus now shifts to Chicago and September 2026. It will have 8 years since our last joint SOFT-TIAFT meeting so provides a special chance for the associations and members to meet and share what’s new and with the USA often seeing NPS before many countries, this presents a great opportunity for early warning. Obviously as 2026 progresses, more details will be released by both SOFT and
TIAFT so keep an eye on your email, the website and our social media channels. In terms of future meetings, there were two excellent bids presented at the business meeting for 2029 from Canada and Greece. Voting was extremely close with the outcome being we’re going to Vancouver in 2029 so make a note for long term diary planning.
As we are the end of the year, 2025 marks the end of my first year as President and I am grateful for the support of the Board and the membership, with the Auckland meeting also allowing me to catch-up with Past Presidents to keep me in-line. With 2026 upon us, the Board and I will continue our efforts to maintain and enhance the Association to the benefit of the membership and its legacy. Time to start planning for Chicago!
Happy 2026 to all,
Dr Simon Elliott
TIAFT President