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Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs)
- How long is the course and what is the cost?
The
course will be a five-day course with a whole day session for each day.
The course will start in the morning of Oct. 22 and end in the late afternoon
of Oct. 26, 2007.
The registration fee is
$1500/participant.
- Who should attend this course?
Risk assessors and toxicologists who conduct and write chemical
assessments
Risk assessors and toxicologists who review chemical assessments
Risk managers or policymakers who use the results of chemical
assessments and want to fully understand the processes involved in risk
value development
- Are there any knowledge prerequisites for the
course?
Although this course will cover the basic principles in noncancer and
cancer risk assessment, the main focus of the training will be on latest
dose response analysis methodology. Therefore, basic training and
understanding of toxicology would be ideal for taking the full advantage
of this course.
4.
Will an advanced scientist gain any new insights from the
training or will it just be a refresher course for them?
Since this course is designed to provide training on latest methods used
in risk assessment, an advanced scientist will not only refresh his/her
knowledge in traditional methods, but also will systematically learn the
up-to-date methods and guidelines for hazard identification and dose
response analysis. In addition, several of the examples and class
questions address issues that senior risk assessors encounter and
wrestle with.
- How do I register for the course?
You
can register the course by several ways: email, fax or regular mail.
Since the class size is limited to 30 participants, the registration is
on a first come, first served basis.
- Could I register for the course but pay the
registration fee later?
To
reserve a place in the class, you can either pay the full amount of
registration fee or pre-registration deposit of $100. If you pay the
pre-registration deposit, the rest of registration fee should be paid to
TERA by Aug. 20, 2007.
- What forms of payment do you accept? Does
online payment use a secure server?
We
accept payment as either credit card (Mastercards or Visa) or check. All payments should be made in U.S. Dollars.
- What if I need to cancel after I’ve already
registered? Will I get a full refund?
If
the cancellation is made before Aug. 20, 2007, you will receive a refund
of $1400, as $100 is retained as a deposit.
If
the cancellation is made between Aug. 20 and Sept. 20, you will receive
a refund of $750. No refund will be made after Sept. 20, 2007. For
anyone who cancels after Aug. 20, a complete course handout package will
be sent with the refund as stated above.
- Could my colleague attend the boot camp for
me?
If
you have registered the class, but for some reason, you could not attend
the boot camp, you can send your colleague instead. There will be no
extra cost for the switching.
- Will a textbook or course materials be
provided?
All
participants will receive a comprehensive course handout package
including presentation material, sample cases, and relevant software.
No textbook will be provided.
- Will the course come to a city near me or will
I have to travel?
The
boot camp 2007 will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio. We are currently
contemplating the locations for future boot camps. If you have any
suggestions, please feel free to contact Ms. Patricia Nance at
nance@tera.org or 513-542-7475 x25.
- What kind of accommodations will be available
if I have to travel?
TERA will arrange the class room, presentation facility and refreshment
breaks. In addition, TERA will make arrangements with a hotel for a
special rate for all of the participants. We will provide all the
logistic information to registered participants by Aug. 20, 2007. All
participants are responsible for making their own arrangements for
airfare, transportation, lodging, and food.
- Who are the instructors and what are their
affiliations?
All
the instructors are scientists. The scientists from TERA are: Dr. Mike
Dourson, Dr. Andy Maier, Dr. Lynne Haber and Ms. Patricia Nance;
and the scientist from the U.S. EPA is Dr. Jay Zhao. More information about
these instructors can be found on TERA’s website: www.tera.org.
- What do I need to bring with me for the
course?
Because there will be a lot of hands-on practice in calculation and
dose-response modeling, it is recommended to bring a scientific
calculator and a laptop computer.
- Will computers be used for the course? Do I
need a laptop to take the course?
Yes,
computers will be used for conducting dose-response modeling and
computers or calculators will be used for dosimetric adjustment
calculations. In order to take full advantage of the hands-on practice,
a laptop computer is highly recommended. TERA will not provide laptop
computers to participants for practice purpose during the training
course.
- Is there any software needed or required to
take the course?
Yes,
we are going to use several software packages for the training. These
software packages will be provided to all the participants.
17.
Do I have to pre-install these software on my laptop before
coming to the boot camp?
Due
to some restrictions on government or industry computers, we sometimes
can not install software on those restricted computers. Therefore, it
is recommended to have all the necessary software preinstalled and
tested by your IT personal on those computers before coming to the
training. All software will be available upon request.
18.
Will the course be all theoretical or will there be hands on case
study opportunities?
Most
of the training cases are based on real assessment, and all the classes
are designed with extensive hands-on exercise. A complex chemical case
study will be provided to each participant as a comprehensive unifying
exercise that participants will work on as part of daily homework. If
you have a chemical of interest, you can use that as your homework
assignment. Nevertheless, you need to bring all the key relevant
references with you so that we can provide a comprehensive evaluation of
the assessment at the final peer review.
19.
What are the objectives of the course and what can I expect to
have learned after I complete the course?
The
objective of the course is to provide risk assessment scientists an
opportunity to learn the latest dose response assessment methods used in
chemical risk assessment. Participants will learn all the procedures
involved in dose response assessment such as: principles of hazard
identification, weight of evidence evaluation, evaluation of human
relevance, dosimetric adjustment, dose response modeling, and derivation
of uncertainty factors and chemical specific adjustment factors. The
course will conclude with a hands-on practice on a comprehensive case
study with a peer review evaluation. Upon completing the course, the
participants will be able to derive risk values and evaluate procedures
in noncancer and cancer risk assessments.
20.
Can I attend a portion of the training or should the whole
training be attended consecutively?
The
choice of taking a portion of the training is not available at this
time. It is highly recommended to take this course as a whole.
For more information, please contact Ms. Patricia Nance at
513-542-7475 x25 or nance@tera.org
or for specific course content contact Dr. Lynne Haber at
513-542-7475 x 17 or haber@tera.org.
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