Association of Government Health & Environmental Scientists

The Association of Government Toxicologists (AGT) was founded in 1983 to promote and facilitate the acquisition and utilization of knowledge in toxicology, and to provide opportunities for government toxicologists to meet and exchange ideas. The first AGT president, Dr. James Beall, described AGT in more detail in the introduction to Vol. 4(3) of Toxicology and Industrial Health in 1988. He noted that government toxicologists engage in a wide range of activities, including conducting research at the forefront of science, managing extensive national and international research and regulatory programs, and contributing significantly to solving toxicologically related problems involving chemical and physical agents. In the broadest sense, Dr. Beall noted, government toxicologists have input into most, if not all, government activities involving health and the environment. Our advice and opinions are used by regulatory agencies in the development and enforcement of regulations, by research agencies in setting di-rections and priorities for biomedical research, by the courts in the adjudication of cases involving toxic sub-stances, and by Congress in its oversight and legislative activities. Thus, he concluded, for several years prior to 1983 there was recognition of the need for an organization that could facilitate communication among gov-ernment toxicologists, government officials, and the private sector. AGT was formed to fulfill those and other needs. Over time, the definition of toxicology evolved, and the complexities and interactions with other fields increased. Thus in 2017, AGT initiated an exciting change to who we are, voting to incorporate a significant expansion in our focus areas of expertise beyond traditional definitions of toxicology, essentially embracing the One Health par-adigm. We expect this change will significantly increase the breadth and number of scientific professionals who will now be eligible to join our membership ranks and actively serve in leadership roles in our organization. AGT currently is working on the next phase of its exciting “reinvention” by examining possible changes to our name (we sometimes informally refer to ourselves as “AGT+”), venues, and programs.

AGT Past Presidents

James R. Beall (1983-1988)

Harry Salem (1988-1989)

Sidney Green (1989-1990)

Joseph P. Hanig (1990-1991)

Ann B. Brown (1991-1992)

Arthur A. Wykes (1992-1993)

Thomas J. Sobotka (1993-1994)

R. Daniel Benz (1994-1995)

Jane Robens (1995-1996)

Marvin J. Bleiberg (1996-1997)

Michael R. Landauer (1997-1998)

Barbara C. Levin (1998-1999)

Steven I. Baskin (1999-2000)

D. G. Patel (2000-2001)

Thomas F. X. Collins (2001-2002)

Thomas J. Flynn (2002-2003)

James MacGregor (2003-2004)

Naresh Chand (2004-2005)

Kerry L. Dearfield (2005-2006)

Paul L. Roney (2006-2007)

Nancy B. Beck (2007-2008)

Gunda Reddy (2008-2009)

Kevin Geiss (2009-2010)

Sabine Francke-Carroll (2010-2011)

Abdel Kadry (2011-2012)

Michael Babich (2012-2013)

Margaret Kraeling (2013-2014)

Jeffrey Yourick (2014-2015)

D. Charles Thompson (2015-2018)