By Matthew Campen, SOT Secretary, and Roger McClellan, SOT Past President
The Society has learned that longtime member Rogene Henderson, PhD, DABT, passed away recently. Rogene spent most of her career at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (originally the Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute) and conducted groundbreaking research that furthered the understanding of how chemicals affect biological systems. Rogene was a close colleague to each of us at different times of our careers, and we nominated her for recognition with the SOT Merit Award, which she received in 2021.
Rogene received a PhD in chemistry in 1960, and her early research focused on how chemicals could impact biological systems. Initially, the focus was on nutrients, but she very quickly shifted to the biochemistry of pulmonary surfactant and its role in physiology and inflammatory responses. She was among the first scientists hired at the newly established Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI, eventually the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she remained for her entire career. Early on, she led an NIEHS-funded project on the toxicokinetics of xenobiotics, developed novel biomarkers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and, honestly, helped to create the field of inhalation toxicology. During this time, she published extensively, culminating in over 250 scientific communications, including peer-reviewed primary research as well as review articles, chapters, and books.
Rogene additionally had an important contribution in the careers of numerous scientists who collaborated with her or trained under her. The list of names of individuals with which she has co-authored papers is extensive and impressive: Jack Harkema, Jon Hotchkiss, Michelle Medinsky, Janet Benson, Ron Wolff, Jim Swenberg, Joe Mauderly, Per Gerde, Charles Hobbs, James Bond, Pat Sabourin, Kris Nikula, and Linda Birnbaum—major scientists and leaders in toxicology and environmental health. Her expertise spanned numerous toxicants, including diesel exhaust, 1,3-butadiene, benzene, ozone, asbestos, tobacco, and particulate matter, as well as health effects such as cancer, Gulf War Syndrome, and respiratory disease.
Rogene’s career is best noted for her passionate defense of the environment and human health. Her leadership of regulatory and advisory panels began in the early 1980s and continued for three decades. During this time, she chaired the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and pushed hard for lowered standards on ozone at a time when the US EPA Administrator was pushing to relax standards. Rogene was candid and forceful in her public defense of improved air quality standards based on clear scientific evidence—and fought fiercely against backsliding. Rogene was further instrumental in revising and improving the overall process for assessing public health consequences of Criteria Air Pollutants by demanding a more streamlined and transparent approach. Rogene additionally participated as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the US EPA, contributed to the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air quality, and had been on numerous international, national, and local advisory boards.
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