Researchers from the MRC Toxicology Unit attended last week’s British Toxicology Society (BTS) Congress in Solihull, a key annual event that brings together experts from across toxicology and safety science, spanning academia, industry, and regulatory sectors.

The meeting provided an excellent platform for early career researchers from the Unit to present their latest findings. Three Early Career Scientists shared their work with the wider toxicology community:

• Niall Buckley of the MacFarlane lab presented his research titled “Multi-omics analysis reveals CDK9 inhibition drives hepatic dysregulation through transcriptional suppression of hepatobiliary transporters.”
• Xiaoteng Jiang of the Patil lab spoke on “Human antidepressants duloxetine interferes with conserved gut bacterial RNA-binding proteins to induce toxicity.”
• Marguerite Colin of the Willis lab presented “Unravelling the mechanisms of toxicity of nucleic-acid therapeutics in healthy and diseased in vitro cardiac models.”

Their presentations highlighted the breadth of research underway at the Unit, from molecular mechanisms of liver dysfunction to microbiome-drug interactions and cardiac safety of emerging therapeutics.

The Congress also brought recognition for outstanding student research. Gruffydd Behnan, a third-year PhD student in the MacFarlane lab, was awarded the BTS Student Poster Prize for his work on drug-induced liver injury. His research explores how genetic variation in mitochondrial components can influence an individual’s susceptibility to adverse drug reactions, offering important insights for safer medicine development.

In addition to these presentations, Group Leader Dr Ritwick Sawarkar delivered a talk titled “Mechanisms underpinning antisense oligonucleotide toxicity” as part of a session on the safety of advanced therapeutic modalities. The session was chaired by colleagues from the Unit and collaborators, including Prof Marion MacFarlane and Dr Kirsti Hornigold, and highlighted shared safety considerations across emerging therapeutic approaches.

The Unit’s strong presence at this year’s BTS Congress reflects its continued commitment to advancing understanding in toxicology and supporting the development of early career scientists within the field.