Speakers

Rosalind Dalefield PhD DABVT DABT graduated from Massey University in veterinary science and completed a PhD in pathology in 1992. She undertook a postdoctoral residency in toxicology at Kansas State University from 1996 to 1999 and participated in assessments of brownfields and former military sites in the Midwest for the USEPA-funded TSCA program. Rosalind passed the Board examinations of both the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology and the American Board of Toxicology in 1999, and has been a member of the Society of Toxicology since 2000. Rosalind spent approximately a decade as a Study Director at contract toxicology laboratories in the USA, conducting preclinical safety assessments of pharmaceutical drugs. She has been employed as a Senior Toxicologist for Food Standards Australia New Zealand for more than 11 years. Rosalind is the author of 19 papers in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, eight chapters in books, and one book.

Roger has primary degrees in biochemistry and pharmacology and postgraduate degrees in toxicology with further toxicology training at the National Institute of Health in the USA. Twelve years were spent at Flinders University medical school. For several years he was Corporate Toxicologist of ICI Australia before establishing independent toxicology consulting firms. He has worked closely with regulatory authorities and industry organisations in developing and refining regulations relating to hazard assessment of chemicals and provision of information to interested and affected parties. He continues to teach postgraduate students. Dr Drew is certified in toxicology by the American Board of Toxicology (DABT). He is also a fellow of ACTRA (FACTRA) and currently is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine, Monash University. He has more than 60 published peer reviewed papers/reports.

MSc Environmental Toxicology; Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT); Registered Member, Australasian College of Toxicology & Risk Assessment (RACTRA) 

Tarah is currently the Technical Discipline Manager in Toxicology and Risk Assessment at SLR Consulting. Tarah is a certified toxicologist with over 13 years’ experience as a toxicology and risk assessment consultant conducting screening and detailed human health and ecological risk assessments for a variety of industries and government. Included are industrial emissions, contaminated land and water, consumer goods and food. She has written and co-written numerous major reports, which have been influential in shaping Australian health risk assessment methodology and policy decisions in relation to environmental issues. She has been involved with various publications reviewing the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials, setting safety limits for active ingredients of pharmaceuticals and consumer products, complex risk assessments for occupational and public exposure to PFAS and many other chemicals. She is also a Sessional Lecturer at RMIT University in the fields of toxicology and epidemiology and the current Secretary of ACTRA.

Glenn did his PhD at the University of Sydney before postdoctoral studies at the University of Oxford. After academic stints at the University of Sydney and University of Connecticut Health Center, he joined the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland in 2007. Glenn is a pioneer in the field of venoms-based drug discovery, in particular the development of drugs and insecticides derived from spider venoms. His early work on venoms lead to him to found an agricultural biotechnology company (Vestaron) that has successfully developed bee-safe, environmentally-friendly bioinsecticides. Glenn’s current research focuses on the development of drugs to treat nervous system disorders, including chronic pain. His laboratory maintains the largest collection of venoms in the world, sourced from more than 500 species of venomous animals including assassin bugs, caterpillars, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and wasps. Glenn has published 3 books, 19 book chapters, and over 280 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Dr. Sue Marty received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, specializing in reproductive toxicology. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State University, where she studied the neurotoxicity of methylmercury. In 1997, she joined The Dow Chemical Company in Toxicology & Environmental Research and Consulting (TERC). Dr. Marty worked for many years in Dow’s toxicology laboratory, conducting studies in developmental/reproductive, endocrine and neurotoxicology. Currently, she serves as TERC Science Director, developing research strategies on non-animal alternative methods in support of Dow’s Predictive Toxicology program. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (D.A.B.T.) and a member of the editorial board for Birth Defects Research. Dr. Marty also serves on several OECD committees, including the Working Party of National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Programme, the Developmental Neurotoxicity Expert Group, and the Endocrine Disruptor Testing and Assessment Group.

Dr. Méndez is a Senior Science Advisor in the US EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs Health Effects Division (OPP/HED). She has 20 years of experience in regulatory toxicology overseeing a number of projects intended to advance the state of the science and risk assessments produced by the OPP. She works closely with staff scientists providing guidance on dataset bridging, mode of action data analysis, hazard characterization, endpoint selection, identifying data gaps, and protocol reviews. She co-chaired the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Expert Group on Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology that developed the Extended One Generation Reproductive Toxicity Study (EOGRTS) Test Guideline. She has also served in several OECD Review Panels on numerous proposed Adverse Outcome Pathways, co-chairs the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology Workgroup and serves as an Expert Panelist to the WHO’s Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues.

LCDR Aaron Niman is an Environmental Health Officer in the United States Public Health Service and has with more than 15 years of experience in public health, exposure science, and risk assessment. LCDR Niman is currently an Environmental Health Scientist with United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs and provides expertise on the review and evaluation of observational research and on the adverse effects of pesticides. LCDR Niman also advises U.S. EPA on the development of modeling tools to assess pesticide exposure through dietary exposure pathways and coordinates U.S. involvement on the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, an international committee organized by FAO/WHO that helps harmonize international food safety standards. Prior to his work at U.S. EPA,  LCDR Niman served as a Program Manager on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Sentinel Initiative, a strategic effort to establish a national electronic system to monitor the safety and performance of medical product in the U.S. marketplace. As a Program Manager, he managed the scientific operations of the program and supported the transition from a pilot program to the fully operational Sentinel System that is routinely by FDA scientists to actively assess the safety of FDA-regulated medical products. LCDR Niman received his B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan in 2005 and M.P.H. in Environmental and Occupational Health from the Emory University in 2008.

B.Pharm 1963.; M.Pharm; 1965 PhD 1968 (Sydney University); Fellow, Australasian College of Toxicology & Risk Assessment (FACTRA) 2014

Brian Priestly has an Adjunct Professorial appointment in the School of Public Health, Monash University since his retirement in 2019. His primary area of expertise is in toxicology. His previous positions include Director of the Laboratories Branch in the Therapeutic Goods Administration and leadership of chemicals toxicology and chemicals risk management programs of the Commonwealth Health portfolio, with responsibility for input into national and international chemicals programs. Brian has been active on many government technical committees and scientific advisory panels over the past fifty years. He is an advisor to Australian government chemicals regulatory agencies including appointments as a Science Fellow to FSANZ and the APVMA. He has assisted several State government agencies with HHRA projects involving air, food, water and site contamination.

Dr. Robyn Leigh Tanguay is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University. She received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California-Riverside and postdoctoral training form the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Robyn has pioneered the use of zebrafish as a systems toxicology model. She has authored more than 300 manuscripts and book chapters across numerous disciplines. She serves on numerous federal and commercial advisory boards and as an editor for several scientific journals. She uses phenotypic anchoring coupled with the inherent molecular and genetic advantages of zebrafish to define the mechanisms by which chemicals, drugs and nanoparticles interact with and adversely affect vertebrate development and function. These tools are also now routinely used to assist in the development of inherently safer chemicals and nanoparticles.

Dr Javier Terriente is a biochemist with a PhD in developmental genetics. He has more than 20 years of experience in academia and pharma industry. In 2013, he co-founded ZeClinics (www.zeclinics.com), a vibrant biotech that exploits zebrafish as a research model for performing drug discovery, chemical assessment and understanding human disease. ZeClinics provides research services to third companies and academic groups, while it develops internal drug discovery programs. Recently, Javier co-founded ZeCardio Therapeutics (www.zecardiotherapeutics.com). This spinout from ZeClinics focuses on the discovery of therapies to treat cardiovascular diseases. From 2013 to 2020 he was Chief Scientific Officer in ZeClinics. He now plays the same role in ZeCardioTx, while acting as Chief of Drug Discovery in ZeClinics. Per his role in both companies, Javier manages a growing scientific team, has directed several PhD theses and published multiple research articles, including several articles on the use of zebrafish for addressing chemical and drug toxicity.

Julian White AM is a medical practitioner specialised in clinical toxinology, particularly envenoming and with an interest in poisonous mushrooms. Julian trained at the University of Adelaide and since 1990 has been Head of the Toxinology Department, Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Adelaide. He is also current President of the International Society on Toxinology and Chair of the Board of Clinical Toxinology and on the WHO Expert Panel on snakebite. In 1997 he co-founded the Clinical Toxinology Short Course, held about every 2 years since, as the only international level training course in this field attracting doctors from around the world. He founded the toxinology.com website in 2002 which is the premier source of information on clinical toxinology. He is the author of hundreds of papers, textbook chapters, monographs and books on toxinology and in 2016 was made a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his work.

Associate Professor Paul Wright is the toxicologist at RMIT University’s School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, at Bundoora in Melbourne, Australia. Over the last three decades, Paul has been actively researching, teaching and advising government, industry and public groups in Australia and internationally about toxicology and safety issues associated with the development and use of chemicals (both natural and synthetic) and, since 2006, about nanomaterials. Paul is a Fellow and the President of the Australasian College of Toxicology and Risk Assessment (ACTRA), and a Fellow of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). He is also a Councillor of the International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX) and a former director of the IUTOX Executive Committee. Paul is the Co-chair of the Asia Nano Forum (ANF) Working Group on Nanosafety and Risk Management and is the nanosafety expert for the EU Horizon 2020 project “GoNano”  via RMIT Europe.