Applying simulation modeling to problems in toxicology and risk assessment--a short perspective.

The goals of this perspective have been to examine areas where quantitative simulation models may be useful in toxicology and related risk assessment fields and to offer suggestions for preparing manuscripts that describe these models. If developments in other disciplines serve as a bell-wether, the use of mathematical models in toxicology will continue to increase, partly, at least, because the new generations of scientists are being trained in an electronic environment where computation of all kinds is learned at an early age. Undoubtedly, however, the utility of these models will be directly tied to the skills of investigators in accurately describing models in their research papers. These publications should convey descriptions of both the insights obtained and the opportunities provided by these models to integrate existing data bases and suggest new and useful experiments. We hope these comments serve to facilitate the expansion of good modeling practices as applied to toxicological problems.