UCR Well Represented at the ICEM in Edinburgh Scotland

UCR's ETOX Program was well represented at the International Conference on Environmental Mutagens in Edinburgh, Scotland that took place from Sept. 6-10, 2026.  ETOX alumna Krista Dobo and ETOX Director Linlin Zhao gave presentations, and ETOX alumna Connie Mitchell chaired a session.  Krista Dobo and Dave Eastmond also served on working groups that met as part of the International Working Group on Genotoxicity Testing satellite meeting.  Below are some photos from the event.  I might also mention that Dr. Roland Frötschl of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices won the 2026 Frits Sobels Award at the meeting.  During his presentation, he acknowledged the contributions and interactions with six UCR-affiliated individuals - four alumni (Krista Dobo, Henghong Li, Connie Mitchell, Jennifer Sasaki), a former postdoc (Maik Schuler) and a faculty member (David Eastmond).  It is nice to see the broad and international impact that we are having. 

Linlin Zhao, David Eastmond and Connie Mitchell

Krista Dobo

Krista Dobo presenting on nitrosamine impurities in pharmaceuticals

Linlin Zhao presenting on DNA damage and transcription in mitochondrial DNA

Connie Mitchell's Work with HESI Botanic Group is Recognized

A paper authored by Errol Zeiger, Connie Mitchell (an ETOX alumna) and selected members of the Botanic Safety Consortium and the Genetic Toxicology Technical Committee of the Health and Environmental Effects Institute (HESI) has recently been recognized as one of the most highly viewed articles in the Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis journal.  Our congratulations to Connie and her co-authors on this nice recognition.  

Daniel Petras Receives a 2026 ASMS Research Award

Daniel Petras, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and an ETOX faculty member, has recently been awarded a 2026 ASMS Research Award by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). The ASMS Research award is a highly competitive early-career honors in the field of mass spectrometry and recognizes innovative academic research of tenure-track or research faculty working at a North American university. More information can be found in a recent Inside UCR article.  Our congratulations to Dr. Petras for this nice recognition.  [The photo above is from the Inside UCR article.]

Lauren Walker Selected to Serve in the Women in Toxicology Speciality Section

Dr. Lauren Walker, an ETOX alumna, was recently chosen to serve as a Senior Councilor in the Women in Toxicology (WIT) Speciality Section of the Society of Toxicology.  The 1000-member WIT Specialty section helps promote the recruitment and retention of women into the toxicological sciences, provides leadership for career development opportunities for them, and helps promote and recognize the accomplishments of women toxicologists. More information about Lauren and the other WIT leaders can be found here. Our congratulations to Lauren on this nice recognition. 

New Cranor Book Identifies Ways to Reduce The Burden of Chronic Diseases

Carl Cranor, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy Department and long-time ETOX faculty member, has published a new book describing the burden caused by chronic illnesses in the US population, and makes recommendations to help reduce these illnesses and their costs. The book is entitled, “Vital Lives: Social Responsibility and the Battle Against Chronic Disease”, and was recently released by Oxford University Press, 2026. UCR News recently published an interview with Dr. Cranor in which he discusses the book and its findings.  Our congratulations to Carl for this recognition of his most recent work. 

Elevated Concentrations of Aldehydes in Older eCigarette Fluids

Recent research by ETOX alumna Dr. Ester Omaiye and Professor Prue Talbot has shown that in many cases the fluid remaining in a heavily used e-cigarette device has a very different and a measurably more toxic chemical profile than fresh e-liquid.  They found that the concentrations of aldehydes such as methylglyoxal (MGO), glyoxal (GO), and formaldehyde were generally higher in the older e-liquids and exhibited increased cytotoxicity.  Their research has recently been featured on the UCR News website.  Our congratulations to Ester and Prue for this recognition of their research.  [The Figure above is from their ACS Omega article.]

The 2026 Annual ETOX Symposium

On Wednesday May 27, the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program held its annual Student Symposium which consisted of student oral and poster presentations, several meals, a career panel discussion with three alumni, a host of awards, and some social activities.  The symposium was very successful with many excellent student presentations.  The award winners are shown on the first two photographs.  In the third photo, ETOX Director gave a new initiatives to the ETOX mini-GSA representatives to recognize their activities over the past year. Other photos from the symposium are shown below.  

The award winners flanked by ETOX Director Linlin Zhao (on left) and Prof. Wei-Chun Chou, faculty lead of the Symposium committee (on right). 

ETOX mini-GSA representatives being recognized for their service by Director Linlin Zhao (on right)

ETOX alumni, Nicole Sparks (left), Lauren Walker (center) and Tom "Lok Ming" Tam (on screen) being recognized for participating in the Panel Discussion on Careers.  William Troxell (on right) moderated the discussion.