Volume 32
Issue 2, 2013
ISSX President’s Message: Fulfilling the ISSX International Mission Today and in the Future By Bill J. Smith, ISSX President One aspect that sets ISSX apart from other similar organizations appears pronouncedly in our mission statement: “ISSX is an international association of scientists that promotes the understanding of the interactions of medicines and chemicals with living systems.” As an international association, we strive to meet the needs of many regions and countries interested in advancing the broad sciences under the umbrella of ISSX. North America and Europe have historically been core to ISSX and even today make up the majority of our membership base. However, to continue to serve the needs of our members, we need to sustain and grow membership and especially increases attendance at our meetings. One strategy to achieve this is to expand into regions of the world where the science is growing so that we may attract new members and meeting attendees in order to advance our mission. Two
examples that describe activities that support this strategy follow. India is a nation where the science of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics is growing within universities, pharma/biotech, instrument vendors, and contract research organizations. ISSX has a few members in India but to date has not organized a meeting or workshop in this country. I attended meetings in Hyderabad and Chandigarh in March in part to gain knowledge regarding how ISSX could help. I was truly struck by the energy and enthusiasm of the students, faculty, and industry scientists. In return, they were excited by the interest shown by ISSX. I attended a conference organized by Applied Pharmaceutical Analysis which has organized conferences in India for about five years. This group has strengths that are complementary to ISSX and represents a potential future collaborator. The ISSX Council
is currently considering what we learned and is discussing how we may increase our activity in India. My next example comes from Kaifeng, Henan, China where ISSX speakers supported a student workshop organized jointly by the Chinese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (CSSX) and ISSX. This was the fifth CSSX/ISSX collaboration in China. Approximately 80 students gave oral presentations in English with about 250 attendees. ISSX bestowed Professors Honghao Zhou (Central South University, Changsha, Henan, China) and Changxiao Liu (Tianjin Institute for Pharmaceutical Research, Tianjin, China), with awards to recognize and celebrate their commitment to the educational development Continued on page 10
IN THIS ISSUE 1
ISSX President’s Message
2 Upcoming Meetings
4 New Members
2
Book Review: Flavonoids and Related Compounds
3
10th International ISSX 5 Special Meeting Announcement
ISSX/NEDMDG Workshop on The Role of Drug Metabolism in Immune-Mediated Drug Toxicity