The toxicology expert: what is required?
In contrast to many traditional professions, toxicologists form a group with very different backgrounds, i.e. they may have been educated to become medical doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, chemists, biochemists or biologists. Professional competence can be gained in different ways by candidate toxicologists, and according to the European system, their training can be divided into two parts. (i) Theoretical training on several topics such as analytical methods, organ toxicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity can be obtained by attending courses organised by the national societies of toxicology. (ii) Spending several years on active experimental work in the fields of modern toxicology (e.g. analytical methods, toxic and genotoxic mechanisms, reproductive toxicity) is necessary to develop the capability to design and carry out experimental studies and to evaluate one's own and other people's research results. Candidate toxicologists should learn to evaluate data with a strictly scientific 'plausibility above numbers' approach.
Bass
R
R
European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA), Canary Wharf, 7 Westferry Circus, London, UK.
Vamvakas
S
S
D004651:Employment; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D014116:Toxicology / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards