In this lecture, students will first revisit the definition and the scope of toxicologic epidemiology, a field in which a great deal of toxicologic data and epidemiologic studies are used extensively under the framework of health risk assessment (RA). It is hoped that the various aspects of toxicologic epidemiology that were discussed in previous lectures of this series could now be integrated to offer a cohesive and hence more appreciable focus.

The second lesson is for the students to learn about the dialectic elaboration on the close linkage between toxicology and epidemiology in RA, as given by other (more knowledgeable) scientists in either epidemiology, toxicology, or both disciplines. This and the materials learned above should give students a better orientation of the field of toxicologic epidemiology.

In the second half of this lecture, students will learn about some of the educational and career opportunities now existing in the field of toxicologic epidemiology in the United States. Some recruitment issues will also be discussed in this second half.

Finally, students will be given a more objective perspective of the future of toxicologic epidemiology, as predicted by this series of lectures. The information learned here and above would enable students to decide more intelligently whether or not toxicologic epidemiology is indeed the right profession for them to commit a career in.