By Tina Bahadori
From weather forecasts, air quality advisories, and portable GPS navigation devices, to waterfowl migration, and the mapping of the human genome, the use of government and government-supported science and data have vastly improved our lives. They have also sparked countless new private businesses and industries leading to economic growth and opportunity for innovators and entrepreneurs in every region of the country.
Recognizing the power and potential of such Open Science, on June 20, 2013 the White House invited four EPA scientists—Drs. Richard Judson, Keith Houck, Matt Martin, and Ann Richard—to present research posters describing their efforts to provide public access to massive amounts of data from chemical safety studies. The scientists presented their posters after the White House’s “Champions of Change” award ceremony. The award ceremony recognized 13 Champions of Change for their efforts to provide the public access to innovative science.
In addition to the 13 Champions of Change, the White House selected 12 scientists (including the EPA researchers) to present posters describing their vision and commitment to Open Science.
The select group of 25 was chosen from hundreds of nominations submitted to the White House’s request for innovative Open Science leaders. The White House event highlighted outstanding individuals, organizations, and research projects promoting and using open scientific data and publications to accelerate progress.
To exemplify Open Science work, the four EPA scientists presented how they are using advances in computational toxicology to provide open and accessible chemical safety data to help better protect human health and the environment. Each of the EPA scientists are working to harness the power of computer science and innovative new chemical safety assessment methods and tools to provide open, transparent public access to chemical information. For example:
- Dr. Matt Martin leads a team of Agency scientists and partners who developed the Toxicity Reference database (ToxRefDB). ToxRefDB contains 30 years and $2 billion worth of pesticide registration studies. The database allows scientists and others to search and download thousands of toxicity testing results on hundreds of chemicals that were previously only available on paper or microfiche.
- Dr. Ann Richard is the leader behind another open, accessible database, the Distributed Structure-Searchable Toxicity Database (DSSTox). DSSTox provides open-access to information on the physical and structural properties of chemicals and links this information to toxicity potential. This is key information for assessing the potential risk of chemicals to human health and the environment.
- Dr. Richard Judson leads a team of scientists who developed the Aggregated Computational Toxicology online Resource (ACToR). ACToR is EPA’s online warehouse of all publicly available chemical data aggregated from more than 1,000 public sources on more than half a million chemicals. ACToR can be used to query a specific chemical and find available public hazard, exposure, and risk assessment data as well as previously unpublished studies related to cancer, reproductive, and developmental toxicity.
- Dr. Keith Houck is the driving force behind EPA’s Toxicity Forecaster (ToxCast), a research program advancing the use of automated, rapid chemical tests (called “high-throughput screening assays”) to screen thousands of chemicals in more than 650 assays for toxicity potential. This includes the development of the ToxCast Database (ToxCastDB) which provides publicly accessible, searchable, and downloadable access to all the screening data generated by ToxCast.
These four scientists have led the effort to democratize access to knowledge and information and level the playing field for all those involved and interested in protecting public health and the environment. By doing so, they exemplify the spirit of Open Science celebrated by President Obama’s Champions of Change program.
About the Author: Tina Bahadori, Sc.D. is the National Program Director for EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability research program. Learn more about her on EPA’s Science Matters: Meet our Scientists web page.