This Special Issue of Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A provides recent and innovative knowledge in the field of environmental and occupational health, a multidisciplinary area comprising a large spectrum of topics from epidemiology and toxicology to exposure science.
Data contained in the manuscripts enclosed were originally presented at the 4th International Congress on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (ICOETox2018) hosted by the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP) in Matosinhos, Porto (Portugal), from October 24 to 26, 2018.
The Congress included a number of excellent keynote lectures by renowned scientists, as well as oral and poster presentations reflecting a truly innovative, forward-looking scientific program addressing several of the existing research gaps. With the attendance of about 150 participants representing 21 countries, the ICOETox2018 constituted a unique opportunity for the exchange of research, ideas, and insights between internationally senior scientists and young researchers, that reached a highlight in a round table put together to discuss the current and future changes and challenges in environmental health. To pay tribute to a scientist with an exemplary lifelong career of excellence, in this ICOETox edition, the Scientific Committee has attributed for the first time the ICOETox Career Award, dedicated to Spreading Wings in Toxicology.
Original works from areas such as nanotoxicology, in vivo & in vitro, ecotoxicology, occupational health, susceptible populations, and air quality were selected for publication and subjected to a rigorous peer review process. The multidisciplinarity of the manuscripts makes this volume an indispensable resource of information to international research experts, professionals, stakeholder groups, and policymakers.
A special word is due to Professor Sam Kacew to whom we would like to express our sincere gratitude for his continuous cooperation and efforts to the promotion and strengthening of toxicology and environmental health research dissemination across the world. Lastly, we are thankful for the support of INSA, ISPUP, and European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX) to the Congress.
What will the future bring? In the occupational and environmental health field, as in life, the only constant is change. Whatever great changes exist in the world in the present and in the future, making it more interconnected and globally competitive, and as research and innovative know-how expands, new opportunities often arise as challenges. We believe ICOETox2018 and this Special Issue are good examples of this, by encompassing citizen- and society-driven science, inspiring further work in Portugal and beyond, always with the maxim “it always seems impossible until it’s done” [Nelson Mandela (1918–2013)].