Register now to attend the June 4-6 toxinology symposium, hosted by the North American Society of Toxinology at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium.
Physicians, researchers and other clinical toxicology professionals will not want to miss the 20th anniversary of Venom Week 2025 in this Year of the Snake. Staff and students from all Nebraska universities can receive special rates to attend this year’s event.
The symposium was founded by UNMC. This year, UNMC is among the sponsors of the event, which is known as the most prestigious venom science conference in North America.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 5.4 million people worldwide are bitten by snakes each year, which combined results in hundreds of thousands of deaths and permanent, debilitating injuries.
“Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease,” said Venom Week course director Matthew Lewin, MD, PhD, who noted that 75% of deaths from snakebite occur prior to the patient getting to the hospital. “Snake venom management is one of the most complex pharmacological problems on the planet, but modernization of treatment is now imminent.”
Dr. Lewin, an expedition physician for the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, said the conference is designed for individuals in wilderness and expedition medicine, toxicologists, emergency physicians, field workers, military servicemen, campers and travelers. CMEs and CEs can be earned by physicians, PAs, nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians and zoo managers.
“We are fairly lucky in the United States to have fewer than 10,000 venomous snakebites each year,” he said. “During one month of the monsoon in India, there will be 10,000 fatalities from snakebites.”
Even in Nebraska, four out of 30 species of snakes are venomous, resulting in severe bites to humans and animals each year.
Venom Week was launched in Omaha in 2005 by UNMC’s James Armitage, MD, the Joe Shapiro Professor of Medicine in the oncology/hematology section and a co-director of the 2025 symposium, and the late Steve Seifert, MD, professor of medical toxicology at UNMC and the inaugural medical director of the Nebraska Regional Poison Center.
Drs. Armitage and Seifert later co-founded the North American Society of Toxinology and were nationally honored for their roles in 2018. This year, Venom Week returns to Omaha in honor of its 20th anniversary.
As a former toxicology grad student I see this as a fantastic opportunity for clinicians and biologists to learn, network, and collaborate ! Great agenda, speakers & venue, certainly topnotch.
Kudos to all involved !