What is Regulatory Science?
Regulatory science is the science of developing new tools, standards and approaches to evaluate the efficacy, safety, quality and performance of products in order to assess benefit-risk and facilitate sound and transparent regulatory decision-making. The need to strengthen and foster development of regulatory systems through collaborative training and research activities
is widely recognized by the academic community and industry, as well as the regulatory bodies themselves (Miller et al. 2013).
Toxicology assessments form the basis for safety determinations for regulatory and other purposes. Training the future generation of toxicologists in novel scientific discoveries should ensure that trainees develop a broad set of complementary competencies that span multiple disciplines, from basic biology to exposure science, biostatistics, and epidemiology. In addition, trainees must understand how these data and knowledge are translated into decisions and policies.
About Our Program
Texas A&M’s Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology (IFT) includes a dedicated NIH-funded (T32) program titled “Regulatory Science in Environmental Health and Toxicology.” It supports four pre-doctoral (Ph.D. candidates) and two post-doctoral trainees per year who are US citizens or legal permanent residents (green card holders).
This program is designed to prepare trainees to function as independent researchers and/or practitioners in a multidisciplinary setting, by providing training in mechanistic research and risk assessment with a focus on scientifically sound, risk-based regulatory evaluations of the effects of chemicals on human health and the environment.
To achieve this goal we have assembled a team of outstanding investigators who specialize in:
- Toxicology
- Public Health
- Risk Assessment
- Exposure Science
- Geochemistry
- Cancer Biology
- Epidemiology
- Statistics
Recruitment for this program is conducted through traditional external advertisement, as well as from the externally-funded Texas A&M research experience for undergraduates, and public health and toxicology masters-level traineeship programs.
About Our Curriculum
Trainees undertake two laboratory rotations in their first year in the program and follow a structured core academic curriculum that includes basic and advanced toxicology, pathology, biochemistry, statistics, and research ethics, combined with courses in risk assessment and exposure assessment.
In the second year, additional specialized training in either a “Mechanistic Research” or a “Health Assessment” track is offered through elective courses that will further prepare trainees for careers in research and/or public health practice.
A distinctive feature of the program is a strongly encouraged hands-on summer externship through a broad and diverse network of state and federal government regulatory agencies, as well as industry and non-governmental organizations.
Following the first two years, trainee support for both pre- and post-doctoral fellows shifts to their mentor’s or independent funding.
The mentors have strong records of competitive support from federal, state, and other sources and this group is exceptionally well balanced with respect to expertise, gender, and academic career level.
About Our Graduates
Graduates from the program will be highly successful in academia, industry, governmental agencies, and other professional settings and will improve public health protection through innovative and rigorous mechanistic research and risk assessment practices in support of science-based regulatory decision-making.
How To Apply
If you are interested in regulatory science, apply to our program
and indicate your interest in your personal statement.
This program is funded through a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Institutional Training Grants mechanism: T32 ES026568 (Ivan Rusyn – Principal Investigator) “Regulatory Science in Environmental Health and Toxicology.”