Toxicology pioneer Marion Ehrich wins career-defining award
Marion F. Ehrich, professor emerita at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, has received the 2025 Society of Toxicology Founders Award for Outstanding Leadership, which celebrates her groundbreaking contributions to safety science and public health protection.
"It's for people who have made significant contributions over a long time to really change science," says Ehrich, whose innovative diagnostic test has kept a certain type of potentially dangerous insecticide from reaching the market.
Her scientific breakthrough came while working at Virginia Tech with colleague and neuropathologist Bernie Joiner when they discovered that traditional laboratory animals weren't effective for evaluating specific toxic effects that affected people. Their insight? Chickens, not rats or mice, provide the best model for predicting how certain neurotoxic organophosphates harm humans.
"Mice and rats just don't get the lesions," Ehrich explains. "Chickens are bipeds like humans, so they get it." This discovery was followed by the development of a cell culture-based testing method that reduced animal testing as well as identified these harmful organophosphates before they advanced to the market.
Beyond her research, Ehrich's legacy includes opening doors for students from smaller, underserved schools who might otherwise never have entered the field of toxicology.
"It's just opening the door," Ehrich says. "These young students hadn't heard of toxicology. They hadn't even heard of graduate school."
Her grant program administered by the Society of Toxicology proved immediately impactful. At its first gathering, scientists from across the profession supported participating students, creating an unexpectedly packed room where it was standing room only.
Jessica Rayner, photographed with Ehrich at the award ceremony, exemplifies the program's success. Once a student beneficiary from a small school, Rayner holds a Ph.D. and currently serves as an officer of the Society of Toxicology.
"That really warms my heart to see people coming through," Ehrich says. "She's got a Ph.D., and she came from a small school."
A member of the Society of Toxicology since 1980 and previous recipient of its Merit Award in 2010, Ehrich has helped shape the 8,000-member society through her leadership in both scientific advancement and professional development.
Ehrich's influence extends through her more than 150 scientific publications, cited nearly 3,000 times. When regulatory agencies needed scientific leadership, she delivered — chairing California's pesticide assessment committee and serving on panels for Great Lakes pollution and Gulf War health concerns. These weren't just academic exercises — her committees produced comprehensive scientific foundations that continue protecting public health today.
Within the Society of Toxicology, her leadership spans multiple specialty sections — from comparative toxicology to neurotoxicology — and includes work with the Capital Area chapter and Women in Toxicology group. These contributions culminated naturally in her service as SOT President from 2003-2004.
Though officially retired, Ehrich remains actively engaged in research, currently collaborating on a nicotine vaccine with colleague Mike Zang, professor of biological systems engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering, whose research focuses on vaccine development against drug addiction and some infectious diseases.
"He's putting in a grant for nicotine vaccine. He wants me on it," Ehrich said, her enthusiasm for scientific discovery undiminished as the product, on which they’ve worked together for a number of years, moves toward regulatory approval.
Her passion for teaching burns just as bright. "I just gave two lectures on toxicology this morning. We talked about salt, we talked about mushrooms, we talked about mycotoxins," she said.
Ehrich's face lights up when she talks about what she enjoys most about teaching. "I like to see the young faces and their energy,” Ehrich said. “One student asked a question after almost every section, showing an obvious interest in toxicology.
"Faculty like to feel like they’ve made a difference. I am fortunate to feel that through work at the College of Veterinary Medicine and with the Society of Toxicology.”
