Using test tubes instead of animals to determine the toxicity of consumer products will be the topic of a Feb. 5 public program at Mississippi State University.
"The Petri or Not the Petri, That is the Question" will be the title of remarks by Michael P. Holsapple, the university's Colgate-Palmolive Visiting Professor.
Holsapple's discussion of the uses and limitations of test-tube research begins at 3:30 p.m. in the Simrall Hall auditorium.
Mississippi State is one of only five U.S. universities selected this year to host the visiting professor program sponsored by the Colgate-Palmolive Co., a leading manufacturer of soaps, household products and pet foods.
The annual process for selecting campuses to receive a visiting scholar is "very competitive," said Steve Pruett, the biological sciences faculty member who is coordinating the program.
Holsapple, an immunotoxicology researcher with Midland, Mich.-based Dow Chemical Co., developed many of the techniques used today by companies seeking to substitute cell cultures in test tubes--in vitro--for traditional experimentation with dogs and other animals.
An Indiana native and doctoral graduate in pharmacology and toxicology from Purdue University, he also has written numerous articles on the effects of chemicals or drugs on the human immune system.
For more information on the program, telephone Pruett at (601) 325-8123.