Toxicology - Taming the toxins

Potential toxicologists, pay heed. There is a shortage of qualified toxicologists in India. The opportunity exists. It’s time to grab it.

The importance and scope of a toxicologist’s work – of checking and determining safety limits of various toxic compounds present in food, water, air, drugs and other material – is growing with rising awareness and health concerns in the country. With that, institutions and labs involved in this work are going to expand, as well.

“Toxicologists in India are in great demand,” says Dr PK Gupta, patron and founder, Society of Toxicology (India), or STOX, and president, Academy of Sciences for Animal Welfare. “In the industry, the scope is much wider and toxicologists are in great demand. At present, institutions are unable to meet the demand because most toxicologists are attracted by other countries.” Indeed. “Most of our male students go abroad for their PhD,” says Sarwat Sultana, head, department of toxicology, Jamia Hamdard, Delhi, one of the few universities in India to offer a master’s in general toxicology.

Those who do not head overseas for their doctorate, join pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural, cosmetic and other consumer product sectors; food companies; academic institutions, including those for pharmacy, medicine, and veterinary science; government agencies (environment ministry and forensics departments); toxicology labs; or become freelance consultants or medical writers.

“An MSc in toxicology can get (you) into any field, be it biotechnology, biochemistry or pharmacology, because no such field is complete without toxicology,” says Sultana.

The drug development sphere is especially promising for toxicologists. YK Gupta, president, STOX and professor and head, department of pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, elaborates. “The demand for toxicologists in the drug discovery and development process has increased tremendously due to the discovery of some major, harmful effects of drugs, like the teratogenic effect of thalidomide in infants; and stringent requirement of toxicity testing of any new drug before it is approved for use in humans... …With the exponential growth of the pharmaceutical sector, the scope for a toxicologist is also tremendous,” he says. Teratogenic effect means a substance’s ability to disturb the growth and development of an embryo or foetus.

YK Gupta adds that avenues are widening in academia, as well. “Due to the increasing demand for toxicologists, the number of courses for toxicology is also on the rise,” he says.

Pharmacovigilance (monitoring and preventing harmful effects of medicines), which is gaining prominence in India, is expected to absorb more toxicologists. Started this year, the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) by India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, has 10 centres in medical colleges across various states. “These adverse-event monitoring centres (AMCs) monitor the harmful effects of drugs and report to the National Coordinating Centre (NCC) at the department of pharmacology at AIIMS. By the end of 2010, the number of centres will increase to 40. The aim is to cover the entire healthcare system of the country by 2013. In India, toxicologists may watch for job opportunities that the programme will generate,” says YK Gupta.

Meanwhile, the current demand-supply gap gives such specialists another advantage. “In general, toxicologists get paid well due to a shortage of qualified and experienced people,” says YK Gupta. Besides, in the government sector, Sixth Pay Commission salary scales have made it a more attractive proposition than before. “It was considered that the private sector pays handsome salaries compared to the public or regulatory sectors. However, the difference probably is not as stark after the Sixth Pay Commission report,” says YK Gupta.

How do I get there?

Study science in Class 11 and Class 12. In college, you may go for a degree in medicine, veterinary science, pharmacy, biochemistry, botany, chemistry, zoology, biochemistry, biotechnology, microbiology, environmental biology or some other life sciencebased discipline. Thereafter, a postgraduate training – MSc, MD, PhD – in toxicology or a related field is fast becoming a prerequisite.