The Carolinas SETAC Regional Chapter 35th Annual Meeting was held on April 13th & 14th in Raleigh, North Carolina. More than 130 people were in attendance, making this the largest CSETAC meeting in recent years! The meeting welcomed researchers, industry leaders, and students local to North Carolina as well as colleagues from South Carolina, Florida, and Virginia.

The meeting began on Monday morning at the Yates Mill Aquatic Conservation Center (YMACC) at NC State University. Greg Cope, YMACC Director, began the short course with an introduction to the center’s history and conservation work. Christopher Eads, Assistant Director and Facility Manager, discussed the biology and propagation of freshwater mussels, including the three federally listed species housed at the YMACC. We then split into groups to tour the laboratory facility, consisting of approximately 4400 ft² of both indoor and outdoor research and production space. The morning wrapped up with Howling Cow Ice Cream, courtesy of local NC State dairy cows, and a break to explore the Historic Yates Mill County Park. 

Monday afternoon’s Poster Social was held in the Plant Sciences Building at NC State’s Centennial Campus. During two full sessions of poster presentations, students and professionals connected over shared research interests. Between poster sessions, we introduced our first ever Microscopic Talks- an oral presentation format similar to the well-known category of “lightning talks.” This formatting allowed us to accommodate a record number of abstract submissions in a packed meeting schedule.

On Monday evening, CSETAC members met for drinks and a catered dinner at Incendiary Brewing Co. This eventing provided opportunity to network with new connections, catch up with colleagues, and play some of the provided board games. 

Tuesday morning started off with a warm welcome from Elizabeth Medlock Kakaley (CSETAC Past President), who recognized our sponsors who helped make this meeting possible. Michele Harmon (SNA Treasurer & CSETAC Treasurer) gave an update from SETAC North America (SNA) and the different ways to get involved in the society, including submitting an abstract for the SNA 47th Annual Meeting in Montreal before June 3rd. Katie Irhin (NASAC Chair, Virginia Tech) discussed how to get involved with the North America Student Advisory Council (NASAC) as a CSETAC Student Representative or general member. 

Joe Bisesi (University of Florida) and Eric Van Genderen (International Zinc Association) gave an inspirational Plenary Talk titled "Colleague, Mentor, and Friend: Celebrating Steve Klaine” where they outlined lessons learned from Steve, shared how his mentorship guided them in their own careers, and described his impressive legacy. Steve Klaine was a professor in the Clemson University Department of Biological Sciences and an internationally recognized environmental toxicologist until his passing in 2016. A decade later, his impact is still evident throughout SETAC and beyond. 

This opening was followed by a full day of platform presentations by students and professionals- with fantastic talks all around! Sessions included talks on contaminants of emerging concern, risk evaluations, public health, and environmental case studies.

Congratulations to our 2026 Award Winners:

Undergraduate Student Poster Presentations

• 1st Place: Collin Moriarty et al. (group project, Clemson University)

• 2nd Place: Grif Tschopp et al. (group project, Appalachian State University)

Graduate Student Poster Presentations

• 1st: Bridget Reheard (Duke University)

• 2nd: Noelle Muzzy (ORISE)

Microscopic Talks

• 1st: Noelle Muzzy (ORISE)

• 2nd (tie): Morgan Jacobellis (Clemson University) / Zachary Padgett (Clemson University)

Graduate Student Platform Presentations

• 1st: Beija Gore (Virginia Tech)

• 2nd (tie): Alexandra Larson (College of Charleston) / Kara Joseph (UNC Chapel Hill)

President Lisa Manglass surprised Bonnie Ertel (University of South Carolina, RPI/NOAA) with a CSETAC President's Award for Service, acknowledging her commitment to service as a board member of our Regional Chapter, on the leadership of NASAC, and as a chair for the upcoming international SETAC YES Meeting.

We would like to thank our Past-President, Elizabeth Medlock Kakaley and Current President Lisa Manglass for putting together this annual meeting. CSETAC would also like to thank Maria Rodgers, Kylie Rock, Bonnie Ertel, Alex Larson, Aleisha Whipple, Greg Cope, Christopher Eades, Loretta Lutackas, Bob Swarthout, Dana Dawkins, and Lola Renauer for assisting with meeting logistics, and all meeting participants for attending! 

Thank you also to all who bought t-shirts and donated to our fundraiser. We were able to raise $489 to go towards the Dr. Pat McClellan Green Student Travel Award fund.

As of the conclusion of this meeting, Kylie Rock (Clemson University) is now CSETAC President, and Lisa Manglass (Francis Marion University) is now CSETAC Past-President. CSETAC Board Members that have served their three years and are now rolling off include Stephanie Kennedy (Tox Strategies), Jessica Reiner (NIST), William Baldwin (Clemson University), and Shea Tuberty (Appalachian State University)- thank you for your service! 

We are now seeking nominations for CSETAC Board Members, Student Representatives (SC and NC), and CSETAC Vice President. Please fill out this brief form by the end of the day on June 19th to submit your nomination.

Our 2027 CSETAC Annual Meeting will be held next spring at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. We look forward to seeing everyone again then, if not at the SNA Annual Meeting in Montreal this November!