From Toxicology to Systems Biology: Connecting Environmental Exposures, Cellular Communication, and Cancer Adaptation

Toxicology has traditionally focused on the direct interactions between hazardous exposures and biological systems. However, advances in systems biology increasingly demonstrate that disease develops through interconnected networks involving microbial communities, intercellular communication, immune regulation, epigenetic remodelling, and dynamic changes in cellular identity. In this seminar, I aim to explore how integrating concepts from toxicology, microbiology, cancer biology, and molecular medicine can provide a broader framework for understanding carcinogenesis and therapeutic resistance. Drawing on three interdisciplinary review projects, I will discuss how environmental toxicants influence the microbiome, how secondary signaling mechanisms amplify biological responses beyond directly exposed cells, and how these processes may contribute to tumor plasticity through germline-like reprogramming. Rather than considering these topics independently, the seminar proposes that they represent interconnected components of adaptive biological systems and shows how systems-level thinking can generate new hypotheses and strengthen interdisciplinary research in toxicology.