Edited by SOT Past President David L. Eaton, PhD, DABT, FATS, based on Dr. Halpert’s obituary
James Halpert, PhD, a renowned pharmacologist who was a member of SOT for 25 years (1985–2010) passed away on June 3, 2024. He earned a BS in Scandinavian languages from the University of California Los Angeles in 1971, a PhD in biochemistry from Uppsala University in Sweden in 1977, and then an MS in toxicology from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden in 1978. Dr. Halpert continued his studies as a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University for two years, followed by a second postdoctoral fellowship at Karolinska Institute.
In 1983, Dr. Halpert joined the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arizona, beginning his independent research on the structural basis of cytochrome P450 selectivity. His research was supported continuously by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 33 years, including a MERIT Award. Following 15 years at the University of Arizona, Dr. Halpert joined the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1998 as Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. There, he served as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Center and the Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine. In 2008, he assumed a role as Associate Dean for Scientific Affairs at the University of California San Diego School of Pharmacy. In 2014, he was recruited to be the new Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2019.
Over his career Dr. Halpert was the author of 209 peer-reviewed publications and 19 book chapters, with an H-index of 68 and over 16,000 citations. Highlights of his professional service include chairman of the NIH Pharmacology Study Section; editor of Drug Metabolism and Disposition; Secretary-Treasurer and President of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), and Treasurer of the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX).
Throughout his career, Dr. Halpert was the recipient of numerous awards in pharmacology and toxicology, including the Bernard B. Brodie Award in Drug Metabolism from ASPET in 2010. He was recognized with an Award in Excellence from the PhRMA Foundation in 2016 and named a Fellow of ASPET in 2019.
Following his retirement in 2020, he spent his time in Arizona teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona, consulting for colleagues, funding research excellence awards, and participating in professional society work. He leaves behind his beloved wife, Li Wang.
#InMemoriam