Genomics in Toxicology

Toxicology leverages several scientific disciplines to understand how chemical and physical agents impact living organisms. The advent of genomic technologies has advanced toxicology in several areas including the discovery of genes that modify susceptibility to environmental exposures, helping to better explain why two people with similar exposures can have dramatically different health outcomes. Other areas include improving the efficiency of prioritizing chemicals for toxicity testing for regulatory standard setting and providing novel insights into mechanisms of toxicity. This article will discuss key components of genomics and expand on its applications in toxicology.