6 July 1992 U.K. Support for Lincoln Toxicology Initiatives

British support for Lincoln University's toxicology initiatives is "encouraging", says Dr Ravi Gooneratne, just back from a British Council-sponsored visit to the United Kingdom.

In Britain Dr Gooneratne reciprocated a visit to the Department of Toxicology in the University of London's School of Pharmacy. The head of the department, Dr John Timbrell, visited Lincoln earlier this year to help with curriculum planning. The University of London is the only tertiary institution in Britain to offer a B.Sc. in toxicology.

While there, Dr Gooneratne presented a seminar on the "Pathogenesis of Copper Toxicity Syndromes in Man and Animals" based on his research in this field.

Dr Gooneratne had discussions with toxicologists affiliated to a variety of other institutions such as the University of Surrey, the University of London's King's College, the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, and the Department of Toxicology at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, London, concerning their postgraduate courses in toxicology.

At the Medical Research Council's Toxicology Unit, Carshalton, Surrey, he had briefings on toxicology research into a new breast cancer drug, Tomaxifen. At other research centres in Surrey, Leeds and Nottingham he discussed the evaluation of toxicity studies and the licensing of veterinary products, and the screening of pesticides.

"At all the institutions I visited in Britain there was a real enthusiasm for what we are starting to do at Lincoln and I have come home with many genuine pledges of support. Our scientific colleagues working in toxicology in the United Kingdom are all keen to help wherever possible," he says.

"One concrete example relates to Lincoln's molecular toxicology research approach to developing a new strategy for the control of possums, work which is being done in collaboration with Dr Charlie Eason, a toxicologist at Land Care NZ Ltd.

"The U.K. Health Department's toxicology research group at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, London, may be able to provide us with rat genetic probes for certain enzymes involved in drug/toxin breakdown which we can compare with genetic material isolated from possum livers here in New Zealand.

"This will help us determine how closely or distantly related these two species are in their ability to handle drugs/poisons. Such studies will give us useful information in our effort to find a toxin specific to the possum."

The strategic importance of this work for New Zealand and the urgency of the research has resulted in Dr Gooneratne being awarded a grant to fund a toxicologist from Canada, Dr Andrzej Olkowski, to join the work on the possum problem.

The teaching of toxicology at Lincoln University was initiated by Dr Gooneratne in 1990 and began with a special topic for final year students from a number of degree programmes. Last year a new paper, Introductory Toxicology, was added, and this year another, Environmental Toxicology, was introduced.

"There has been immense interest in toxicology among students, and a large increase in numbers doing the subjects over the past two years," says Dr Gooneratne, who is a Senior Lecturer with Lincoln's Animal and Veterinary Sciences Group.

To complement the teaching of toxicology Dr Gooneratne has also initiated toxicological research at Lincoln. Over the past two years he has obtained substantial funding from granting agencies for studies on 1080 poison, facial eczema and, very recently, for possum control.

On the teaching side future plans are for programmes at the masterate, doctorate and postgraduate diploma levels, in order to produce specialists in particular fields of toxicology.

In New Zealand there is a demand for toxicologists from many quarters but surprisingly there have been no formal programmes to train them.

"Toxicology is usually defined as the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms and the assessment of the likelihood that such adverse effects will occur," says Dr Gooneratne.

"As such it is an area which should be of primary importance to New Zealand given the high percentage of overseas earnings derived from export agriculture and the associated importance of our 'clean-green' image."

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand