ISRTP has collaborated with the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) annually since 2010. to contribute toward the ISRTP/RSESS student and post-doc awards. These are awards for the best student and post-doc posters addressing an area of interest to ISRTP and is presented at the RSESS meeting at the annual SOT meeting.
ISRTP Recognizes Excellence in Regulatory Science at the 2026 SOT Annual Meeting
The International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (ISRTP) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 ISRTP Award for Excellence, presented at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Annual Meeting. This year’s awards were given in two specialty section sessions — the Risk Assessment Specialty Section (RASS) and the Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) — recognizing researchers whose work exemplifies the scientific rigor and regulatory relevance that ISRTP champions.
Dr. Chander Kant Negi — Risk Assessment Specialty Section (RASS)
[PHOTO: Dr. Chander Kant Negi receiving the ISRTP 2026 Award for Excellence from ISRTP President Dr. Michael Dourson at the SOT Annual Meeting RASS session.]
Dr. Chander Kant Negi received the ISRTP 2026 Award for Excellence in recognition of his paper, “Comparative Analysis of Species-Specific Hepatocyte Function and Drug Effects in Static Monolayers, Spheroids, and a Perfused Microphysiological System.”
This research addresses a central challenge in regulatory toxicology: how to improve the predictive accuracy of laboratory models used to assess drug-induced liver toxicity across different species. By rigorously comparing traditional static cell cultures, three-dimensional spheroid models, and a state-of-the-art perfused microphysiological system — often called an organ-on-a-chip — Dr. Negi’s work offers practical guidance for both laboratory scientists and the regulatory professionals who evaluate pharmaceutical safety submissions. The cross-species methodology and use of advanced in vitro platforms reflect the kind of innovation that directly supports more scientifically defensible regulatory decision-making.
ISRTP congratulates Dr. Negi on this well-deserved recognition and looks forward to his continued contributions to the field.
Hannah Roe — Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS)
[PHOTO: Hannah Roe receiving the ISRTP 2026 Award for Excellence from ISRTP President Dr. Michael Dourson at the SOT Annual Meeting RSESS session.]
Hannah Roe received the ISRTP 2026 Award for Excellence in recognition of her paper, “ECHA Writes Back: The Reasons for Rejection of Read-Across in Compliance Check Decisions by the European Chemicals Agency.”
This study provides a systematic, evidence-based analysis of how the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) evaluates read-across submissions under the REACH regulation, and — critically — what specific scientific and data-quality factors most frequently lead to rejection. As regulatory agencies and industry scientists worldwide increasingly rely on read-across and other alternative approaches to animal testing for chemical hazard assessment, understanding the basis for agency decisions is essential. Roe’s research fills a meaningful gap, offering actionable insight for practitioners preparing and defending read-across cases before regulatory authorities in Europe and beyond.
ISRTP congratulates Hannah Roe on this outstanding achievement and welcomes her to the ISRTP community.
About the ISRTP Award for Excellence
The ISRTP Award for Excellence is presented annually at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting to recognize exceptional research in regulatory toxicology and pharmacology. Award recipients receive membership in ISRTP and an invitation to submit a paper to the Journal of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (JTRP) with a full waiver of the Article Processing Charge (APC) for submissions during the award year.
For information about ISRTP membership, the JTRP, or the Award for Excellence program, visit [www.isrtp.org].
Awards Recipients to date:
2010 Ji Zhiying, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley
Numerical chromosome aberrations in the peripheral lymphocytes of workers exposed to low levels of benzene
2011 Corie Ellison, Pharmacology and Toxicology Dept., State University of New York at Buffalo
Construction and validation of a human PBPK/PD model for chlorpyrifos exposure using human biomarker data
2012 Dingsheng Li, Environmental Healh Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Physiologically-based pharmakokinetic modeling of polyethylene glycol-coated polyacrilamide nanoparticles in rats
2013 Rebecca Alyea, Post-doc in Toxicology and Environmental Research and Consulting at Dow Chemical Company
Is the current product safety assessment paradigm protective for transgenerational epigenetic effects?
2014 April D. Lake, Curriculum of Toxicology,: University of North Carolina/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Mode of action profiles for pesticide compounds with rodent liver tumor outcomes
2015 Mira Pavkovic, Post-doc in Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School.
Early detection of kidney toxicity in humans using urinary microRNA-21,-200c and -423.
2016 Brittany Weldon, graduate student In Environmental Health and Occupational Sciences at the University of Washington.
“A framework for the derivation of a health-based occupational exposure limit for silver”.
2017 Dr. Rui Xiong, post-doctorial researcher at the U.S. FDA’s National Center for Toxicologial Research.
“Evaluating mode of action of acrolein toxicity in an in vitro human airway tissue model.”
2018 Dr. Wei-Chun Chou, a Graduate student at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington.
“Bayesian Evaluation of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) Modeling for Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) to Characterize the Interspecies Uncertainty between Mice, Rats, Monkeys, and Humans”
2020 Dr. Katelyn Lavrich, Ph.D. Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Biomolecular Screening Branch of the Division of the National Toxicology Program (DNTP) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, has received the Post-Doctoral Fellow Excellence Award – “Taking Toxicology to the Next Dimension – Evaluating the Toxicological Screening Utility of 3D Spheroid Primary Human Hepatocyte Cultures.”
2020 Luma Melo, PhD Candidate at Klaunig Lab, Indiana University, has been awarded the Graduate Student Excellence Award for “Gene Expression Signature of Dieldrin-Exposed Livers in Mice”.
2021 Dr. Dahea You, Postdoctoral fellow, Division of National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, has been awarded the Post-Doctoral Fellow Excellence Award for her research “Development of a High Content Imaging Assay for Population Variability in Developmental Neurotoxicity,” that looks at the synopsis and significance of your research to regulatory toxicology or safety evaluation of chemicals, drugs, foods, medical devices, et al.
2021 Ms. Mariana T. Farcas, Graduate Student in the Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences at West Virginia University, has been awarded the Graduate Student Award for her research, “Inhalation exposure of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene filament 3-D printer emissions induces pulmonary and systemic toxicity in rats.” This is the first published in vivo study to evaluate the pulmonary responses from inhalation exposure to 3-D printer emissions.
2022 Ms. Eva Vitucci, Graduate Student, Toxicology & Environmental Medicine at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, for the top abstract submitted to SOTs Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Graduate Student Excellence Award program. Ms. Vitucci’s research: “A Novel in Vitro Model of the Alveolar Capillary Region Bridging the Gap Between Inhalation Toxicology and Cardiovascular Disease.”
2022 Dr. Dinesh Babu, Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of Alberta, for the top abstract submitted to SOTs Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Postdoc Excellence Award program for 2022. Dr. Babu’s research: “Edaravone (Radicava®) as an antioxidant adjutant to attenuate clozapine (Clozaril®) toxicity in vitro.“
2024 E. Chung, Graduate Student, for the top abstract submitted to SOTs Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Graduate Student Excellence Award program for 2024. Dr. Chung’s research: “Hierarchical concentration-response modeling for mechanistic understanding of complex toxicity endpoints using public data resources.”
2024 Erin A Huber, Postdoctoral Fellow, for the top abstract submitted to SOTs Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Postdoc Excellence Award program for 2024. Ms. Huber’s research: “Common Liquid Application Dosing Conditions Alter Toxicity Testing Endpoints in Air-Liquid Interface Primary Human Bronchial Epithelial Cultures”
2025 Li Xia, Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. FDA, for the top abstract submitted to SOTs Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Postdoc Excellence Award program for 2025. Dr. Xia’s research: “Mechanistic exploration of mutagenicity of N-nitrosodiethylamine via the cII transgenic mutation assay, Duplex Sequencing and gene expression analysis of the liver and bone marrow samples in Big Blue rats.”
2025 Ms. Gabrielle Griffin, Graduate Student, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology for the top abstract submitted to SOTs Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) Graduate Student Excellence Award program. Ms. Griffin’s research: “Unraveling the Sex-Dependent Mechanisms of Hexavalent Chromium-Altered, Diet-Induce Metabolic-dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.”