E-waste recycling, dietary supplements, cosmetics, bee health, and oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico—these are all objects of inquiry for toxicology, the multidisciplinary study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biological agents on people, animals, and the environment.
Michigan State University professor Norbert E. Kaminski has been elected vice-president elect of the Society of Toxicology (SOT). The SOT is a professional and scholarly organization of scientists who practice toxicology in the United States and abroad. The society is the discipline’s flagship organization and has approximately 7,500 members. Kaminski holds a joint appointment with MSU’s Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Human Medicine and is the director of MSU’s Center for Integrative Toxicology (CIT), and a professor of pharmacology and toxicology. His election to this office at the SOT will lead automatically to his serving as vice president and then as president of the society.
“The SOT is a dynamic and continuously evolving global scientific society with membership from all sectors of toxicology, including industry, academia, and government,” said Kaminski. “My goal is to enhance the perception of toxicology as a scientific discipline to those in other areas of science and to the general public.” The society is committed to creating a safer and healthier world through advancing the science of toxicology.
As director of MSU’s CIT, Kaminski encourages the productive interplay between multidisciplinary research and clinical practice. Toxicology integrates the principles and methods of fields that include chemistry, biology, pharmacology, physiology, and medicine. The CIT facilitates and coordinates collaboration among multiple programs across MSU that study adverse effects of toxic substances, as well as ways to prevent and remedy these effects.
Research being conducted in Kaminski’s laboratory is in the general areas of immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology. His toxicology-related research is focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which the environmental contaminants dioxins and dioxin-like compounds alter immune function. His studies in immunopharmacology are directed toward determining the mechanisms by which cannabinoids, the class of biologically active compounds in marijuana, modulate the immune system. Kaminski's research is supported primarily by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Kaminski holds leadership positions in numerous professional organizations in addition to the SOT, including the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology and the International Life Sciences Institute-Health and Environmental Sciences Institute. He served on scientific advisory committees for the National Academy of Sciences Committee, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and NSF International. He serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals and is the author of numerous publications.
Kaminski is an active researcher and writer, an effective administrator, and committed educator. During his time as the SOT vice-president elect, Kaminski plans to establish a long-term strategy for recruiting and training the brightest students to serve as the next generation of toxicologists.