Professional Development
Communities
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Short Courses
Short Courses |
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Full-Day |
Half-Day |
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By 4 Oct |
After 4 Oct |
By 4 Oct |
After 4 Oct |
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| Member | $ 230 |
$ 355 |
$ 120 |
$ 185 |
| Member (Student) |
$ 75 |
$ 115 |
$ 45 |
$ 65 |
| Nonmember | $ 260 |
$ 385 |
$ 150 |
$ 225 |
| Nonmember (Student) | $ 85 |
$ 125 |
$ 55 |
$ 75 |
(Prices subject to change)
SHORT COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Half-day Courses - Sunday, 8:00am - Noon
- SC01 :: Ecological and Economic concepts and methods for scaling restoration
- SC03 :: Sediment Toxicity Testing: Methods to Achieve Strong Data Sets and Interpret Results
- SC08 :: Nanotechnology and the Environment
- SC13 :: Practical Application of Proteomics in Environmental Toxicology
Half-day Courses - Sunday, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
- SC02 :: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Tier I and Tier II Testing Protocols for small fish and Amphibians
- SC04 :: Environmental Fate and Effects of Emerging Contaminants
- SC06 :: Toxicity Identification and Reduction Evaluations
- EC01 :: Job Skills Workshop: Employment in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Full-day Courses - Sunday, 8:00am - 5:00pm
- SC05 :: Modeling Fate and Effects of Pollutants with AQUATOX Release 3
- SC07 :: Understanding Freshwater Mussels and their Significance in Toxicity Research and Water Quality Management
- SC09 :: Conversations that Stick
- SC10 :: Applications of population biology to ecological risk assessments
- SC11 :: Advanced mass spectrometric analysis for endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals in the environment
- SC12 :: Environmental Chemistry for Non-chemists
Title: Ecological and Economic concepts and methods for scaling restoration
Instructors: Dr. Charles H. Peterson, Eric English, Christine M. Voss
This course will use lectures, handouts, and web-based materials to present a synthesis of concepts and methods used to select the most appropriate quantitative restoration projects to compensate for natural resource injuries and human service injuries from oil spills, chemical releases, and other perturbations. Resource managers throughout the USA, and increasingly throughout the world, draw on a variety of techniques from the fields of ecology and economics to address restoration scaling problems to compensate for natural resource damages and for mitigation for planned projects that affect valuable habitats and resources. The course will describe the results of a comprehensive synthesis of restoration scaling methods from the literature, government documents, and research reports, and will discuss ecological metrics that quantify resource services, models that establish equivalence between injured and restored services, and the use of economic valuation to determine trade-offs between alternative ecosystem services. Examples will be taken from a wide variety of aquatic habitats, including salt marsh, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, intertidal flats, subtidal sediments, riverine habitats, and mangroves.
Title: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Tier I and Tier II Testing Protocols for small fish and Amphibians
Instructors: Les Touart, Gerald Ankley, Joseph Tietge, Rodney Johnson, Allen Olmstead
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a screening and testing program for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The protocols arose from concerns of the potential effects of EDCs on human health and wildlife species, and gaps in current test methods as they relate to this specific mode of action. Under the 1996 Food Quality Protection and Safe Drinking Water Acts, EPA was mandated to develop a screening and testing program for EDCs. The instructors of this short course have been involved in the development of these test protocols, especially as they related to detecting alterations of hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) function, estrogen (ER), androgen (AR) and thyroid hormone synthesis and AR and ER receptor-mediated effects in small fish and amphibians. This short course will provide a background on issues related to EDCs, and overviews of the various protocols developed for Tier I and Tier II testing of small fish and amphibians.
Title: Sediment Toxicity Testing: Methods to Achieve Strong Data Sets and Interpret Results
Instructors: Cynthia M. Erickson, John M. Besser, William R. Gala, Kevin S. Henry
Sediments and their associated benthic organisms are critically important in maintaining the overall health and productivity of aquatic ecosystems. However, as the main repository for particulate matter, and as a medium which often has a high affinity for sorption of contaminants, sediments are often the primary 'sink' for contaminants in aquatic systems. As a result, sediments can be the most sensitive and ecologically important component of potentially-contaminated aquatic systems, and assessment of sediment toxicity has become increasingly important in evaluating the impacts of contaminants on these ecosystems. Sediment toxicity testing is currently being used in a wide variety of applications, including dredging, ecological and human health risk assessment, biological assessment, TMDLs, and site remediation. However, while straight-forward, the appropriate design and interpretation of these tests can sometimes become complicated due to the number of factors that can affect the tests and test results. This short course is designed to provide an overview of sediment toxicity test sample collection, toxicity test and test species selection, and interpretation of (sometimes confusing) test results. The objective of this course is to provide the informational tools necessary for environmental scientists and managers to plan, carry out, and interpret sediment toxicity tests as part of the evaluation of contaminant impacts on aquatic systems. Students will apply lessons learned to two case studies at the end of the course.
Title: Environmental Fate and Effects of Emerging Contaminants
Instructors: Doris Vidal-Dorsch, Dana Kolpin, James Gray
The presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment is an area of growing concern for the scientific community and the general public. ECs include a broad ranges of chemicals including personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds, pesticides, and hormones. A large body of evidence indicates that ECs are widespread in aquatic and terrestrial systems and have the potential to affect the health of organisms. ECs can affect development, metabolism, growth, osmoregulation, reproduction, responses to stress, and immune functions. Despite their potential ecosystem impact, their environmental fate and effects are still poorly understood in many regards. To better study and understand these potential impacts chemistry and toxicology sciences need to be linked. This short-course will emphasize what is currently known about the environmental fate and effects of ECs and the potential implications for populations and ecosystems. Select chemical and biological tools developed and improved for this research will be discussed as well as highlighting the challenges linking environmental exposure to ECs to effects.
Title: Modeling Fate and Effects of Pollutants with AQUATOX Release 3
Instructors: Dr. Richard A. Park, Jonathan S. Clough, Marjorie Coombs Wellman
AQUATOX is a PC-based model for aquatic ecosystems and simulates eutrophication, chemical fate, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicology. It predicts the fate of nutrients, suspended solids, and organic chemicals, and their effects on the ecosystem, including fish, invertebrates, and aquatic plants. AQUATOX is a tool for ecologists, biologists, water quality modelers, and anyone involved in modeling or performing ecological risk assessments of aquatic ecosystems; it is also used in college courses. Release 3 is being issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Science and Technology and is also used by the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics and the Office of Pesticide Programs. The course is a distillation of a three-day comprehensive course offered by the US EPA. The code, example files, and lecture material for the course will be provided on CD. The course will include comparisons with other dynamic ecosystem models used for risk assessment. Examples of applications will cover the impacts of nutrients, sediments, and toxic organics on a variety of ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and an estuary.
Title: Toxicity Identification and Reduction Evaluations
Instructors: Wayne McCulloch, John Baummer, Dennis McIntyre, Greg Smith
Concepts of toxicity identification evaluation/toxicity reduction evaluation (TIE/TRE)for wastewaters and ambient waters are presented. This course will benefit regulators and permittees who require a basic understanding of TIEs/TREs and how theey are performed. For environmental services professionals who wish to perform TIEs/TREs, this course will serve to introduce them to the topic and allow them to begin to effectively participate in TIE/TRE programs. Topics covered include related permitting issues; TIE/TRE procedures including characterization, identification and confirmation approaches; toxicity treatment evaluations; TDS studies, helpful suggestions for performing TIEs/TREs; and case examples of a number of different types of TREs. Ample time is provided for questions/discussions and interactions with course attendees. The target audience in industrial and municipal professionals who are responsible for NPDES compliance, and who have a need to understand the general framework for TREs. Environmental services and regulatory professionals who are relatively new to the field of effluent toxicology and permitting will also benefit.
Title: Understanding Freshwater Mussels and their Significance in Toxicity Research and Water Quality Management
Instructors: Ferrella March, Chris Ingersoll, Ning Wang, Tom Augspurger
Freshwater mussels have a unique life history that provides important ecosystem services. Historical evidence suggests freshwater mussels belong to one of the most diverse groups of animals. While important indicators of water quality health, mussels receive little attention relative to their value. The decline of freshwater mussels over the past century, combined with a greater understanding of their role in the ecosystem, has propelled mussel research to a new level of importance. Extant research focuses upon the toxic effects of contaminants on more sensitive life stages and the role of propagation in conservation and restoration. This short course first explores the life history of freshwater mussels, their significance in the ecosystem, and the role of propagation in recovery efforts of imperiled species. The student then gains laboratory experience using methods that attempt to establish sensitivity of freshwater mussels to acute and chronic effects of contaminants in laboratory or field studies. Finally, an overview of the sensitivity of mussels to contaminants in water, sediment, and diet will be presented.
Title: Nanotechnology and the Environment
Instructors: Kathleen Sellers, Maria C. Powell
In early 2007 the United Nations reported that nanotechnology, which then accounted for approximately 0.1% of the global manufacturing economy, could grow to 14% of the market by 2014. This market share would correspond to $2.6 trillion in U.S. dollars. Nanotechnology is revolutionizing the manufacture of many products, including clothing, paints and coatings, medicines and diagnostic systems, cosmetics, electronics, and even food. Some have described doomsday scenarios of the environmental consequences, and public surveys have shown that the public distrusts the ability of the government or corporations to manage nanotechnology wisely. Yet new nanotechnology-based products enter the market frequently, with some 600 consumer products now on the market. This course will discuss the "nanotechnology revolution" and its environmental implications, including the following topics: · Terminology, basic principles, and manufacturing processes · Applications: hype versus hope, and prospects for growth · Myth versus reality: risks to workers and the environment o Critical properties o Fate and transport in the environment o Potential exposures o Consequences of exposure · Public perceptions · Regulatory protections Should we be worried about the consequences of this nanotechnology revolution? Come to the course and find out for yourself!
Title: Conversations that stick!
Instructor: Merrill Ronning
The way you talk sets you apart. To be identified as someone worth listening to is essential in this noisy and over-communicated world. The three most important ingredients for developing Conversations That Stick are; First, learn how to stop and get your bearings as to what is required in the conversation! Don't just talk, communicate! Secondly, it is critical that an organizational method be used so that you and your audience have a road map to follow as you speak and they listen. Thirdly, to learn how to grab their attention and be assured that the listener will recall (STICK) your conversation by using stories, examples, illustrations and demonstrations. As this skill is developed your ability to improve your effectiveness will increase because your audience will SEE, UNDERSTAND and USE what you've talked about! I look forward to guiding you toward "Conversations That Stick!"
Title: Applications of population biology to ecological risk assessments
Instructors: Carolyn Meyer, Larry Barnthouse
Population biology focuses on processes influencing population size and structure such as reproduction, survival, migration, and regulation of population growth. Population biology has a strong foundation in natural resources management and has been used to establish sustainable harvest levels, recover populations, and evaluate project impacts. In these applications, the individual is rarely managed unless important to sustainability of the population, true mainly for endangered species. This principle of focusing on sustainability of the population also applies when assessing ecological risk to contaminants. The risk to populations can be evaluated directly with field studies or population models. In guidance documents for conducting an ecological risk assessment (ERA), the EPA states risk should be evaluated at the population level, except where law and policy mandate protection of individuals. However, in most assessments the focus has been on growth, reproduction and/or mortality data from laboratory studies, and then qualitative, rather than quantitative inferences are made to relate individual-level and population-level effects. In contrast, population biology provides tools to quantitatively link effects on growth, reproduction and mortality to sustainability of populations. In this course, we introduce population concepts and provide examples of how to conduct ERAs at the population scale.
Title: Advanced mass spectrometric analysis for endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals in the environment
Instructor: Damia Barceló
In this course you will learn about the various mass spectrometric methods used for the determination of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals in environmental samples. Among the EDCs we have selected five groups of compounds that are of priority within European Union and US research activities: alkylphenols, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, phthalates and steroid sex hormones. Target pharmaceuticals included in this short course will be antibiotics, ß-blockers, anti-inflammatory drugs, lipid regulators and psychiatric drugs and illicit drugs as well.. In the past , GC-MS has been the technique most commonly employed for the environmental analysis of EDCs and selected pharmaceuticals like anti-inflammatory drugs , lipid regulators and others . However, due to the poor volatility and/or polarity of some compounds, derivatisations step aimed to produce more volatile products is required to improve the sensitivity of subsequent GC analysis. Thus, the advantages of better sensitivity are sometimes largely offset by loss of sample during the additional manipulation. Furthermore, each derivatisation step is generally focused on one group of target analytes, producing volatile derivatives of the expected compounds, and thus discriminating related compounds and metabolites, which are simultaneously present but differ in structure. This is the reason why, for some groups of EDCs and pharmaceuticals, GC-MS and GC-MS-MS methodology has been recently substituted with LC-MS-MS. LC-MS-MS has gained in popularity, due to the sensitivity, ruggedness and ease of use given by API interfaces, such as electrospray (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), respectively Combined with a new generation of MS equipment (QqQ, linear on-trap Q TRAP and time of flight Q TOF). LC-MS-MS have become often routine methods for several classes of EDCs, and pharmaceuticals such as alkylphenolic compounds, synthetic and natural steroids ,bisphenolic compounds , brominated flame retardants like HBCD , antibiotics, ß-blockers, anti-inflammatory drugs, lipid regulators and psychiatric drugs and as well illicit drugs. The latest developments on the use and comparison of hybrid instruments like LC-Q-TOF-MS and Q Trap LC-tandem MS for multi-residue analysis of pharmaceuticals will also be reported
Title: Environmental Chemistry for Non-chemists
Instructor: James G. Straka
Environmental scientists come from a broad range of disciplines, ranging from physics to engineering to biology to ecology. Each area of expertise suits the individual to evaluate environmental impacts from different unique perspectives. From a broad point of view, however, understanding environmental fate and effects of chemicals and formulations of chemicals is closely associated with the chemistry of the material(s) of interest. This suggests that environmental scientists should have at least a minimal understanding of chemical structures and reactivities, and how these factors may affect important environmental parameters such as mass transport, biotic and abiotic degradation, bioaccumulation or bioconcentration, and toxicity. This short course will address a few of the more important topics of chemical interest that will provide the environmental scientist with the tools to better evaluate chemicals and the impacts they will have in the environment. Topics will include: 1. Physical chemistry a. free energy and “fugacity” b. pH and its effect on transport phenomena 2. Organic chemistry a. structures and functional groups b. affects of structure on solubility and mass transport c. reactivity 3. Inorganic chemistry a. oxidation – reduction b. reactivities and solubilities in aqueous environments c. bioaccumulation.
Title: Practical Application of Proteomics in Environmental Toxicology
Instructors: Nancy Denslow, David Barber, Stan Stevens, Li Liu
Proteomics approaches allow investigators to examine the response of an organism to environmental perturbations at the level of proteins. Because proteins are the effector molecules of a cell, this allows a unique look at how organisms respond to stressors. Advances in proteomics have made it possible to identify and quantify hundreds or thousands of proteins in a single experiment. However, use of proteomics for non-model species presents challenges that have limited its application for ecotoxicology. This course will introduce participants to proteomics, discuss protein identification and quantitation by mass spectrometry, discuss strategies for conducting proteomics experiments, and address the challenges of conducting proteomics experiments in non-model organisms.
Title: Job Skills Workshop: Employment in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Instructors: Teresa Norberg-King, Tom LaPoint, Barry Gillespie, Christy Bishop, Joanne Parrot, Phil Dorn
This workshop is a practical short course that is designed to aid students with the process of career job hunting in today's job market and will be team taught by academic, consulting, industry and government SETAC members. Applying, interviewing, and approaching a job is challenging and one of most important in career planning. The application, interview and selection processes for all jobs are not the same. In this workshop, various types of positions in different organizations of academic, business sector (consulting and industry), and government positions will be covered. This workshop is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. A team of instructors from in academia, consulting, industry, and government will present the viewpoint of a potential employee and the personnel responsible for hiring recommendations. Participants will learn about the hiring processes from application to final selection with emphasis placed on the personal interview and panel interviews. The workshop will include overviews of the hiring process, applications and supporting materials, typical interview formats, and the selection and decision procedures for each type of organization. Example resumes will be presented and an opportunity to consult on resumes for each sector will be provided. Mock interviews information on preparing for the interview, from a potential employee's perspective may be arranged. Workshop participants who pre-register may provide resumes and sign up for mock interviews. Please send your resume and interest in mock interviewer at least two weeks prior to workshop by emailing Teresa Norberg-King (Norberg-king.teresa@epa.gov). Be sure to include your name, contact information, attach your resume, and indicate your sector of choice for the mock interview. Participants will learn about the hiring processes for academic, business, and government positions from application to final selection with emphasis placed on the interview. Students should plan to bring résumés. We will cover résumé writing, interview preparation, and conduct mock interviews.
