In this compelling ToxChats podcast episode, hosts Kristin DeSouza and Michael Dorato speak with renowned drug development scientist Richard DiMarchi as he shares his deep understanding into the art and science of mentorship within the biomedical research community. Drawing from decades of experience, Dr. DiMarchi explores the evolving nature of mentorship and its critical role in shaping the next generation of innovators. 
 
Richard DiMarchi shares powerful insights on setting clear expectations in mentor-mentee relationships, delivering constructive criticism with both empathy and precision, and speaking truth to power with integrity and professionalism. The conversation explores how mentorship is a two-way street—where learning flows in both directions and adapting mentorship styles to meet the diverse needs of mentees, as well as building confidence and resilience in emerging scientists, preparing them to lead with both competence and compassion. 

Laid off—or worried you might be—and wondering what's next? In this episode, hosts Sunjay Sethi and Sarah Benjamin partner with the Early Career Professionals to demystify the post-layoff job search for early- to mid-career toxicologists. Kristin DeSouza and Terry Leyden are interviewed to talk about the hard stuff: quiet firing, the market that favors 10+ years’ experience or entry-level candidates, and then get practical about moving forward.

This podcast episode is designed to offer listeners a discussion about the FDA’s evolving stance on animal testing and exploring thoughts on its potential phase-out for monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies. Hosted by Zac Lloyd and featuring expert insights from Dr. Whitney Helms, Executive Director of Nonclinical Development, Large Molecule Discovery at Eli Lilly and Company, and Dr. Diann Blanset, consultant at Akkeri, Inc., this roundtable-style discussion unpacks the scientific, ethical, and regulatory implications of this paradigm shift. Whether you're deep in the biologics pipeline or navigating the changing CRO landscape, this episode offers valuable perspectives on what the future may hold—and how to prepare for it.

In this episode, host Zac Lloyd engages with expert in the field Colleen Johnson to discuss critical considerations in designing in vivo nonclinical programs for dermal and topical products. Through this conversation we aim to enhance understanding of key aspects in this specialized area of toxicology.  This podcast is designed to offer listeners an introduction to dermal product drug development.

In this episode, we speak with Jean-Philippe Therrien, a senior director of R&D, to discuss critical considerations in designing nonclinical programs for dermal and topical products. Through this conversation, we aim to enhance understanding of key aspects in this specialized area of toxicology. This podcast offers listeners an introduction to dermal product drug development.

In this episode, Dr. Katie Sokolowski and Dr. Tanya McDonnell sit down with Dr. Jessica Graham, a leader in the fields of occupational toxicology and product quality. During our time together, we discuss the current science of safety assessment, focusing on worker safety (occupational toxicology) and patient safety as it relates to pharmaceutical product quality. Dr. Graham explains key concepts in occupational toxicology as well as emerging tools and challenges. She also explores current strategies in managing impurities in therapeutics as well as the evolving regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical drug products. Dr. Graham conveys leading trends in alternative methods for hazard identification and risk assessment, shedding light on how these innovations are transforming human health hazard assessments in the areas of worker safety and impurity assessment. Whether you're a safety professional or just curious about the field, this episode offers essential insights into protecting workers, patients, and maintaining high industry standards.

In this podcast, Dr. Derek Leishman discusses the development of regulatory guidance (ICH and GLP) for safety pharmacology studies. He follows this discussion with a conversation about nonclinical data predicting clinical outcomes, as well as potential changes to future regulatory updates to ICH guidance.

This podcast is part of a series on the different career paths in the field of toxicology. In this episode, we interview Dr. Alex Eapen on his career path to his current position as the Director of R&D Scientific & Regulatory Affairs – North America at Cargill. Dr. Eapen shares his experiences as a toxicologist in the food industry and the exciting opportunities this job brings to positively impact people's lives. In this episode, we also explore an overview of the responsibilities and the education requirements needed to pursue a career in toxicology in the food industry.

Not every drug that has reached human clinical trials has needed preliminary nonclinical studies to demonstrate safety. This podcast episode is a case study for replacing the use of animals during the safety testing that occurs prior to human clinical trials, in which our guest speaker reviews conversations with regulatory authorities regarding a modern nonanimal testing strategy utilized to bring a nonequine-derived antitoxin as a therapeutic product to a patient.

This ToxChats© episode is part of a series on the different career paths in the field of toxicology. In this episode, we interview Dr. Marcus Delatte on his career path to his current position as the Vice President of Regulatory Strategy at the consulting company, Allucent. Dr. Delatte also shares his experiences as a pharmaceutical consultant in toxicology.

In this podcast, recent findings from toxicological studies on the emissions produced during fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing are discussed. The use of low-cost FFF 3D printers is on the rise in households, businesses, and educational settings, enabling the creation of 3D objects from digital models. However, this process releases volatile organic compounds, ultrafine particles, and metal oxides, which could potentially pose health risks to users. Of significant concern is the potential harm to children, who may be disproportionately affected due to uncontrolled exposure to ultrafine particles in confined spaces, such as classrooms and libraries. Dr. Kyle Mandler comprehensively addresses the characteristics and human health effects of these FFF 3D printer emissions and propose effective recommendations for mitigating exposure to these emissions.

This podcast is part of a series on different career paths in the field of toxicology. In this episode, Dr. Chuck Schwartz, PhD, DABT, shares the career path that led to his current position as the principal consulting toxicologist and managing member of a consulting practice that specializes in the fields of occupational and quality toxicology. Dr. Schwartz's experiences as a corporate director and then consultant in the field of toxicology will be discussed.

Drug-induced seizures are a major concern for central nervous system active pharmaceuticals during development. Currently, there are no guidelines for interrogating and mitigating seizure liability associated with new pharmaceuticals. Because of the risks to patient safety during clinical trials, the understanding of nonclinical characterization that informs the translation of risks to humans is an area of intense interest among drug developers and regulators. A Continuing Education course was held at the 2022 ACT Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, where Dr. Delatte presented on identifying seizure liability in nonclinical studies. In this interview with Dr. Delatte, we discuss nonclinical findings that are indicative of seizure liability and appropriate approaches to characterize risks. Many drug classes carry seizure liability which may trigger preliminary studies, such as kindling studies, to understand risks prior to conducting a repeat-dose toxicology study. A description of premonitory signs of seizure in dose-range findings and repeat-dose toxicology studies is also discussed. Finally, this talk briefly discusses when nonclinical EEG studies are warranted and how to leverage the data from general toxicology studies to design an informative EEG study. Learning objectives of this talk are: (1) set up a drug development program for drugs in a class with seizure liability; (2) identify seizure liability in nonclinical studies; and (3) examine the elements from general toxicology studies that inform the pivotal EEG study.

In this ToxChats© podcast, we spoke with Dr. René Meisner, Head of Safety Assessment at Denali Therapeutics, on using both transgenic and disease mouse models in a drug development program. Topics include considerations for program design, regulatory interactions, and the role of these mice moving forward. s for program design, regulatory interactions, and the role of these mice moving forward. 

Mentors meet with you, listen to you, and provide advice. Sponsors have influence, connections, and can speak to your talents, abilities, and potential in new opportunities. Learning how to distinguish between the two and identify a sponsor that can help support your key growth and access to future opportunities is a critical skill needed to support one's professional and personal development.

In this ToxChats© episode, we interview Dr. Lorrene Buckley, Vice President at Eli Lilly & Company. Dr. Buckley is a board-certified toxicologist with over 30 years of experience in the practice of toxicology. In her current position, she is responsible for the design and execution of a nonclinical safety program and global regulatory submissions and interactions of drugs in the development and commercialization phases. Her mentorship of early and late-stage professionals is an important contribution to the success and growth of toxicologists in our field. For this professional development podcast, Dr. Buckley discusses the importance of identifying an appropriate sponsor to support your growth and success in the workplace.

In this podcast, Dr. Tetyana Cheairs gives a detailed overview of the fertilized egg model and how it is currently being used in safety assessment studies. She then describes important ways in which toxicologists and drug development programs could benefit from utilizing the fertilized egg model. This podcast is incredibly informative and is tailored to be understood and enjoyed by a broad scientific audience. Dr. Cheairs is an Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at New York Medical College, where she leads an innovative research program focused on using nonanimal models to study the hazardous effects of chemicals. As a result of her active involvement in teaching activities, she was appointed as Assistant Dean for PhD Programs at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2019.

In this ToxChats© podcast, Dr. Elise Lewis provides a thorough background on the use of rabbits in DART and the future direction of their use as alternative species for other types of nonclinical safety studies. Topics include advantages and challenges, sourcing, behavior, physiology, and the practicality of rabbits, and the translatability of rabbit data to other nonclinical species and humans. Dr. Elise Lewis is currently the Principal Director of Toxicology at Charles River Laboratories and has significant experience in reproductive, developmental, and juvenile toxicology.

In this ToxChats© episode, we interview Dr. Chris Christou, Director of Preclinical Imaging and Research Laboratories at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute. Dr. Christou discusses the history of sheep as a preclinical species for medical device testing, novel groundbreaking neurological disease models, and the use of sheep as an alternative model in general toxicology studies. Critical regulatory standards and international guidelines are discussed to ensure successful submissions with the US Food and Drug Administration, the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration, and the Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Agency.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a reduction in the availability of nonhuman primates available for conducting nonclinical toxicity assessments, and as a result, the FDA released a guidance in 2022. This sparked interest in evaluating the feasibility of performing safety studies with alternative nonrodent species or other models. This podcast is the first in a series of several podcasts sponsored by ACT, in which experts in the industry are interviewed about their experiences working with these nontraditional models.

In this ACT ToxChats© episode, Dr. Shayne Gad and Samantha Gad of Gad Consulting Services host a question and answer follow-up discussion to the ACT Signature Webinar, The Role of Chemical Characterization in Biological Risk Evaluation of Medical Devices. During the first part of the podcast, they discuss diverse medical device categories for safety evaluation, explore novel aspects of biocompatibility evaluations accepted by the FDA, and address differences in safety assessments for regulatory bodies in the US and other countries. During the second part of the podcast, they provide career advice for ACT colleagues interested in transitioning from the pharmaceutical industry or academia to medical devices in toxicology.