Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A William L. Giles Distinguished Professor in Mississippi State's College of Veterinary Medicine is the first woman to receive the international Society of Toxicology's Education Award since its inception in 1975.
Janice E. "Jan" Chambers, who directs the college's Center for Environmental Health Sciences, accepted the prestigious honor at the Washington, D.C.-based organization's recent annual conference.
Founded in 1961, the society is the leading organization for professionals, scholars and scientists practicing toxicology in the U.S. and abroad. Among several major recognitions, its Education Award honors individuals "distinguished by the teaching and training of toxicologists and who have made significant contributions to education in the broad field of toxicology."
Toxicology is the study of adverse effects of chemical, physical or biological agents on living organisms and the ecosystem, including their prevention and amelioration.
In addition to developing several specialized courses and programs during her 18-year College of Veterinary Medicine career, Chambers is currently the principal investigator of a $10 million Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant from the National Institutes of Health. The funding is being used to support career mentoring and research development in pesticide toxicology for 14 junior faculty members.
An MSU doctoral graduate, Chambers credits her alma mater for providing the "academic freedom" to pursue this particular area of interest. In return, she has worked to pass on her knowledge and enthusiasm to new faculty colleagues and students.
"It's important for me to nurture and work with those who are still young and enthusiastic to help them finish their degrees or establish successful careers," she explained.
"I hope I have been of some value and that I'm helping make a difference in their lives," she said of a career that also has involved academic counseling, grant-writing instruction and related career-development efforts.
Before moving to the veterinary college, Chambers taught physiology-related courses in MSU's department of biological sciences.
As an MSU Giles Distinguished Professor, she is among a select group holding the highest academic faculty distinction at the 131-year-old, land-grant university.
At the veterinary college, she developed several toxicology courses that led, over time, to State College Board approval in 2000 of a doctoral program in environmental toxicology.
"The College of Veterinary Medicine, as a whole, and the deans, in particular, with whom I have worked have been very supportive of both the environmental toxicology program and development of new faculty in the field," she said.
She said many of the program's doctoral graduates now are making careers in the toxicology field in academia, government and health-related industries.
Chambers was recognized in 2005 as the first and only woman to receive the American Chemical Society/Agrochemical Division's International Award for Research and also was honored with the Burroughs Wellcome Toxicology Scholar Award. She has authored more than 80 publications and 230 scientific abstracts, most reflecting research efforts of her students, and has led more than $30 million in competitive research grants.
Within the Society of Toxicology, she has held the office of secretary and served on a number of organizational committees.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Chambers at 662-325-1255 or chambers@cvm.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.