IU School of Public Health Student Receives Pre-Doctoral Travel Award

The Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists (HOT), a special interest group operating within the Society of Toxicology, recently named Luma Melo the recipient of the 2021 HOT Pre-Doctoral Travel Award. Melo is a current PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, a department within Indiana University's School of Public Health – Bloomington. She also serves as acting laboratory manager in the Klaunig Lab at IU.

"Luma Melo is an exceptional PhD student," notes Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Professor James E. Klaunig. "Her work on exercise and chronic disease—particularly in cancer and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease—has already resulted in several publications and presentations."

Melo formally will receive the HOT Pre-Doctoral Travel Award during the Society of Toxicology's annual meeting to be held virtually in March.

The Hispanic Organization of Toxicologists was founded in 2004. Some of its objectives include advancing the professional development of Hispanic toxicologists and seeking "relevant toxicological information on issues related to the Hispanic community inside and outside the U.S."

"The HOT Pre-Doctoral Travel Award is only awarded after a competitive review," says Dean of the School of Public Health-Bloomington, David B. Allison. "That it went to Melo is a testament to her outstanding work."

Melo also has been honored with the Dr. Anita Aldrich Research Fellowship Award from the School of Public Health-Bloomington (2020); the Graduate Student Excellence Award from the Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section (RSESS) of the Society of Toxicology (2020); and the Graduate Student Travel Support Award from the Society of Toxicology (2020).

She expects to graduate in May 2021 and will pursue postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.