Published on: 20-10-2024
"Changes", David Bowie
Dear Members of TIAFT,
I am very honoured and excited to address you for the first time as the President of our association in the traditional President’s Message. Indeed, in relation to tradition and for those present at the Business Meeting in St. Gallen, you would have heard me celebrate the ethos of TIAFT and collegiate membership of individuals linked by our commitment to toxicology within a scientific and social context. The Association started from a foundation of professionalism and friendship to share ideas and further the field, and I am committed as President to continue this legacy with us all together as members of this special organisation. This was exemplified by the annual meeting in St. Gallen, Switzerland with congratulations to Jochen Beyer and the hosting team as well as the scientific committee for putting together a fantastic science and social programme. I would also like to thank the sponsors and the membership for supporting the meeting, and look forward to this continuing at next year’s annual meeting in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
You may have seen at the meeting that I like running and with a love of music (especially 1970s, 1980s and 1990s) when I record my runs I name them after relevant song titles. So I thought I’d do the same with my President’s Messages but let’s see if I can keep it going for 3 years! For this first message, there is no better title than “Changes” by David Bowie which reflects the introduction of the new Board. First and foremost, I would like to extend my immense thanks to our outgoing President, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, for his leadership and dedication to the role. Much has been achieved during his term and I commend my good friend Dimitri and the Board for accomplishing many tasks and goals. I would of course also like to thank our outgoing Past President Marc LeBeau and Secretary Carmen Jurado for their many years of service to the Board as well as Board members Jean-Claude Alvarez and Nikolas Lemos for their significant contributions and efforts. Following the recent Board election I therefore introduce your new Board joining myself and Past President Dimitri with Sarah Wille as President Elect, Simona Pichini as Secretary and Christophe Stove as returning Treasurer, in addition to our new Board members from all the regions of the world; Sara Abdennour (Africa), Serap Annette Akgür (Asia), Marta Concheiro-Guisan (North America), José Luiz da Costa (South America inc. Latin America & the Caribbean), María A. Martínez (Europe) and Jennifer Schumann (Oceania). As you know this is the first time we have a Board to ensure TIAFT has worldwide representation which was a key part of the strategic plan of the previous Board and President Dimitri Gerostamoulos.
The new Board has already met and started our work to continue to support the association and you as members, with all Board members being reminded of the importance of our responsibilities. It has been reiterated by Past Presidents and I do the same here, that all Board members volunteer a great deal of time for the membership and it is very much appreciated but is also required given the necessary tasks and development we look to achieve for the benefit of the association. This also extends to the many volunteers for the Committees and you will be aware that expressions of interest for various Committees requiring new members have been issued to the entire membership and are being reviewed. Within further context of “Changes” as per my song title theme for this message, I am delighted to present to you the Board approved strategic plan for the next 3 year term that was presented in St. Gallen.
We will be focusing on the following goals:
- Rationalise costs whilst maximising member benefits.
- Establish “TIAFT Task Forces” for emerging topics, challenges and issues relevant to members.
- Further enhance the role of TIAFT in relation to NPS.
- Improved meeting support for annual TIAFT conferences.
- Expanding and strengthening TIAFT in multiple regions around the world.
There is much more information and action to come but have been pleased with the feedback and enthusiasm so far so I am confident that with collaboration and your support we can achieve all these goals. I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to working with the Board and wider membership. In fact we have already started progressing things and have identified Artificial Intelligence as the topic of the very first TIAFT Task Force (TTF1!) and have issued an expression of interest seeking active members to contribute to this temporary collaborative group looking at the opportunities and considerations (positive and negative) posed by AI for toxicology, with the output to be shared with you, the membership.
Another aspect of the strategic plan that has been actioned is that due to costs and logistics, a very difficult decision has been made by the Board which is to no longer print and send out the Bulletin. I know many of us enjoy reading a physical copy and this has been discussed by various Boards but postage costs in particular have continued to increase amongst other issues and we now have many ways to ensure you get to the read the excellent content in a more accessible and cost effective way. As such, the November 2024 issue will be the last printed paper issue of the TIAFT Bulletin.
So, here we go for the next 3 years! Thank you for being part of our association, look out for more TIAFT news, blast emails, bulletin articles, webinars and meetings, and I’ll start thinking of the song title for next time…
My very best regards to you all,
Dr Simon Elliott,
TIAFT President
www.tiaft.org