“Born In The USA”, Bruce Springsteen
Dear Members of TIAFT,
I write this on my return from the TIAFT Regional Meeting in China, as part of the Asian Forensic Science Network meeting which was very successful and showcased the breadth and quality of forensic toxicology in the Asia region. The meeting exemplified the Board’s strategic plan to further grow across multiple regions. Indeed, demonstrating the dedication of our members, the Latin American Regional Meeting of TIAFT occurred at the same time, this year held in Peru. Members of the Board were pleased to be able to support across both events and we thank the respective organisers (Chang Jing and Wilfredo Revilla in particular) and all those involved, including our Regional Representatives in those areas.
Just prior to these meetings was September’s Annual TIAFT Meeting in Chicago, 8 years since our last joint meeting with SOFT and apparently the largest collection of forensic toxicologists in history with over 1300 delegates! Not surprisingly it was an extremely busy meeting with 24 workshops, 192 oral platform presentations, 32 lightening orals and 238 posters covering a wide range of topics. Within this it was particularly interesting to see the continued use and impact of AI. Of course this was the topic of the first TIAFT Task Force and it was not unexpected to see an evolution of its application. Speaking of TTFs, as mentioned in Chicago, the output of TTF2 Green Toxicology will be available soon and this brings me to the first reason for the song title choice for this message…
There were a number of decisions and announcements made at the annual meeting and one of them was the topic for TTF3 which is the use, development and considerations around Laboratory Information Management Systems which are intrinsic to the work of toxicology laboratories worldwide. Something else “born in the USA” was the inaugural awarding of the Impact Award by the Young Scientist Committee which went to Jared Castle of Australia. The award creates an opportunity to recognise the wider contribution of the work to the country or region and we look forward to future winners.
The results of the members survey were shared which highlighted members’ appreciation and utilisation of some key benefits of membership, not least the online webinars and lectures (thank you to the Continuing Education Committee and contributors), the Bulletin (thank you to the Bulletin Editors) and complimentary access to the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. Whilst the members rated the value, communication (thank you to the Communications Committee) and activities of TIAFT highly, it was clear that we could communicate better the benefits of membership. So, to assist, in addition to those just mentioned, remember that members benefit from discounted attendance at our meetings, access to funding of travel and attendance at TIAFT and SOFT meetings as well as training opportunities to visit and learn from fellow members around the world. One benefit that was poorly understood and under-utilised was the mentoring programme, so a further announcement in Chicago was the intention to modify and relaunch it so look out for the details in 2027.
Last but certainly not least, in Chicago, the host of the 2030 TIAFT annual meeting was decided, and we look forward to going back to Japan for what will be 18 years since a memorable meeting in Hamamatsu. You can read about all the details of Chicago in the bulletin so with that, congratulations and thank you to the hosts, Andre Sukta and Luke Rodda as well as Beth Olsen, SOFT President Jeri Ropero-Miller and the whole SOFT team.
Of course, having seen Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex at the Field Museum excursion in Chicago, the song title for this message could have been “Walk the dinosaur” by Was (Not Was) from the 1980s but I don’t think they are as well known as “The Boss”, Bruce Springsteen. Thank you to 2026 Alan Curry Award winner Thomas Kraemer for his photo of Sue.
All the best and see you in 2027.
Dr Simon Elliott
TIAFT President