EHS Lab Members Receive Society of Toxicology Awards

Four researchers working in the labs of environmental health sciences (EHS), faculty members Alexander Suvorov and Alicia Timme-Laragy, received Society of Toxicology awards at the organization’s annual meeting held this spring in San Diego, California.

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Olatunbosun Arowolo, a Ph.D. student in the Suvorov lab, received a travel award from the Northeast Chapter of the Society of Toxicology (NESOT) to support attendance at the society’s national meeting.

Marjorie Marin, a Ph.D. student working in the Timme-Laragy lab, earned the second place Graduate Student Award in the Molecular & Systems Biology Specialty Section for her poster presentation titled “Embryonic Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) Exposure Increases β-Cell Sensitivity to Nitroreductase-Mediated Ablation in Zebrafish (Danio rerio).” Additionally, she received a first place NESOT Travel Award, which includes a $1000 stipend to support attendance at the meeting.

Madeline Tompach, a Ph.D. student also working in the Timme-Laragy lab, earned a third place Graduate Student Award in the Reproductive & Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section for her poster presentation “Examining PFOS-Induced Dyslipidemia and Use of Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) as a Potential Mitigation Strategy in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)” as well as an Honorable Mention in the Molecular & Systems Biology Specialty Section.

Emily Marques, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Timme-Laragy lab, won the NESOT Paper of the Year Award. The award, announced at the NESOT reception during the society’s national meeting, is given annually in recognition of an exceptional recent publication in toxicology by a trainee (graduate student or postdoctoral fellow) who is also a NESOT member. Marques received the award for her paper "The role of maternal high fat diet on mouse pup metabolic endpoints following perinatal PFAS and PFAS mixture exposure" published in Toxicology.

The paper, which was the result of her doctoral work at the University of Rhode Island, examines perinatal exposure to three different forever chemicals and a mixture in a combination with a maternal high fat diet in mice. The results highlight distinct effects with the mixture when compared to single compound treatment, particularly when evaluating chemical transfer from dam to pup.

In addition, Marques received the Sheldon D. Murphy Student Travel Award from the Mechanisms Specialty Section to support her attendance at the meeting.

Also presenting at the meeting were recent graduate and UMass Rising Researcher Emily Leonard ’22, master’s student Emily Formato, and research technician Sarah Conlin, all of the Timme-Laragy lab.

Founded in 1961, the Society of Toxicology is a professional and scholarly organization of scientists from academic institutions, government, and industry representing the great variety of scientists who practice toxicology in the US and abroad. The Society’s mission is to create a safer and healthier world by advancing the science and increasing the impact of toxicology.