Toxicology in Chemistry Curriculum: Effective Interdisciplinary Examples

Symposium Organizers: Teresa McGrath, Chief Research Officer, Healthy Building Network and Lauren Heine, Director of Science & Data Integrity, ChemFORWARD

Training in toxicology and alternatives assessment should be incorporated into chemistry and engineering programs to equip students with the tools and knowledge to positively influence future product design or chemical development. This panel will share how chemical hazards-informed design can be integrated into classroom settings to train the future workforce. This panel discussion will bring together academic leaders to highlight how curricula can be used to increase student awareness of chemical hazards data and toxicology. Speakers will also share case studies featuring tradeoffs and decisions that must be made in the process of product design.

Participants will:

• Learn how to screen chemicals for known hazards
• Learn from professors who have successfully integrated an interdisciplinary curriculum that considers function, hazard, performance, and life cycle impacts to generate real world solutions to contemporary product design problems
• Test their knowledge by choosing safer alternatives for a real world chemical synthesis problem and compare their answers to students’ conclusions
• Walk away with curriculum examples they can incorporate into their classrooms