IIT Seminar Series: Robyn Tanguay
Tue, January 12, 2027 11:00 AM - Tue, January 12, 2027 1:00 PM at 162 Food Safety & Toxicology Building
*The Institute for Integrative Toxicology presents Dr. Robyn Tanguay, Oregon State University, to speak on, “Zebrafish for Predicting Chemical Bioactivity: Linking Molecules, Phenotypes, and Mechanisms,” on Tuesday, January 12, 2027, at 11:00 a.m. in 162 Food Safety and Toxicology Building.
*Fulfills seminar requirements for the Environmental and Integrative Toxicological Sciences Graduate Programs. Seminars that fulfill this requirement are archived at: https://iit.msu.edu/training/eits/recent-seminar-list.html.
Talk Abstract:
Toxicology must meet the dual challenge of assessing newly introduced chemicals while reevaluating those already in use. The zebrafish model offers a powerful, high-throughput model for linking chemical structure and molecular interactions to whole-organism biological responses, enabled by transparent embryos, conserved gene functions, and automated phenotyping. This presentation will highlight how integrated zebrafish assays, computational biology, and bioinformatics generate multidimensional phenotypic and transcriptomic data across large chemical libraries. By connecting molecular signatures with organismal outcomes, these approaches improve predictions of chemical bioactivity, revealing mechanisms underlying toxicity. These efforts move toxicology beyond descriptive observation toward more predictive, mechanism-informed chemical design and safety assessment.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Robyn Leigh Tanguay is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University (OSU). She directs both the (OSU) Superfund Research Center and the Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory, has made significant contributions to the field of toxicology. After earning her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UC Riverside and completing postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she began her academic career at the University of Colorado in 1999. Dr. Tanguay joined Oregon State University in 2003, where she has since pioneered the use of zebrafish as a toxicology model and developed innovative high-throughput screening methods. With over 350 peer-reviewed publications, she has established herself as a leading authority in her field, influencing policies on chemical safety and environmental protection. She is the current vice-President for the Society of Toxicology (SOT), the President for the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI), and in 2023 was appointed as a Fellow at the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University. Throughout her career, she has remained dedicated to mentoring the next generation of scientists.