Toxys CEO Giel Hendriks was announced as the new Vice President of the European Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society (EEMGS) during the recent annual meeting of the society in Bratislava. Giel will fulfill this role for the next 2 years. As Toxys team, we are proud to see our CEO entrusted with the Vice President role and happy to strengthen our connection with the genetic toxicology research community in this way.

Giel shared a message to the community as part of his candidacy:

“EEMGS has always been a unique community, bringing scientists from academia, governmental and regulatory agencies, and the industry together. In my experience, genetic toxicology is really an example to other areas of toxicology.  Basic understandings of DNA damage induction as well as DNA repair and mutagenesis are used daily by the industry to develop safer products and personalized treatment, and by regulators to ensure their safe use for humans.

During the last 20 years, the field of genetic toxicology changed significantly. The major DNA repair systems have been elucidated, and we have a pretty good understanding of how DNA damage leads to mutations and disease. An absolute highlight was the Nobel prize for the discovery of various DNA repair mechanisms. Also, the development of new technologies like CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing and RNA/DNA sequencing technologies opened a whole new field of research. Quantitative dose-response modeling of genotoxicity data using the BMD approach opened a whole new spectrum of opportunities for in vitro to in vivo extrapolation and improving human risk assessment.

Genetic toxicology has become an applied science. My personal ambition is to bring scientists from academia, industry, and regulatory agencies together to move the field forward. In particular, the implementation of in vitro technologies as alternative to animal testing…”

About Giel