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For pioneering and sustained contributions that have transformed human health risk assessment through the development of physiological parameters database across life stages for application in physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models, database for ontogeny of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, and children’s environmental health framework, as well as for leadership in applying these scientific advances to national and international regulatory decisions, Babasaheb Sonawane, PhD, is the 2026 recipient of the SOT Arnold J. Lehman Award. 

Over a career span of more than five decades, Dr. Sonawane has played a significant role in shaping risk assessment practice. At the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), where he served for over 30 years in positions including Group Chief in the National Center for Environmental Assessment, Branch Chief for Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology, and Acting Director of the NCEA–Washington Division, he provided leadership and contributed to reviews for human health risk assessments of a wide range of high-priority contaminants. These assessments included Libby Amphibole asbestos, benzene, phthalates, formaldehyde, methyl mercury, diesel exhaust, lead, cadmium, PFOA/PFAS, pesticides, and numerous industrial chemicals, supporting Integrated Risk Assessment System (IRIS) and Provisional Peer-Reviewed Toxicity Value (PPRTV) evaluations used across US EPA air, water, toxics, pesticides, waste, Superfund, and regional regulatory programs, as well as by states and international partners. 

Dr. Sonawane’s scientific leadership has been especially influential in advancing PBPK modeling and life stage–specific risk assessment. He led and contributed to key US EPA technical reports and guidance, including Approaches for Application of PBPK Models and Supporting Data in Risk Assessment, dermal exposure assessment principles, and aging- and life stage–focused risk assessment frameworks. His work along with his professional colleagues in federal agencies, academia, public, and private organizations helped to establish methods for evaluating age-related toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics, and developmental and neurodevelopmental susceptibility, providing practical tools for incorporating mode of action, population variability, and vulnerable subgroups into quantitative risk assessment. He also contributed to the development of the US EPA Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity Risk Assessment Guidelines and contributed to Neurotoxicology Risk Assessment Guidelines, which continue to serve as cornerstones for regulatory practice. 

Beyond the US EPA, Dr. Sonawane has been a leader in national and international collaborations that connect innovative science with public health protection. He contributed to the World Health Organization’s International Programme on Chemical Safety Environmental Health Criteria and Concise International Chemical Assessment documents, participated in International Agency for Research on Cancer monograph evaluations, and also helped develop some of the first toxicological profiles for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. He has conducted and advised on risk assessments for environmental chemicals and elemental impurities in pharmaceuticals. He served on science advisory panels for high-profile chemicals and organized or participated in more than 60 national and international workshops and conferences across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, promoting best practices in environmental health and risk assessment of xenobiotics. 

Dr. Sonawane’s scientific contributions and professional service are equally distinguished. He is an author or co-author of more than 140 publications, over 25 book chapters, and more than 150 presentations at scientific meetings, including work that has advanced the understanding of children’s environmental health, genetic and epigenetic susceptibility, PBPK modeling databases, and integration of chemical and nonchemical stressors in risk assessment. He has received numerous recognitions, including US EPA Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals; US EPA Science and Technology Achievement Awards; the US EPA Joseph Seifter Memorial Award in Regulatory Science; and multiple honors for international leadership and environmental health research. Recently, Dr. Sonawane received the International Forensic Medical Sciences and Toxicology Excellence Award at the Global Forensic Excellence Summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

A dedicated mentor and educator, Dr. Sonawane has served as an Independent Consultant and as Adjunct Professor in the Environmental Metrology and Policy Program at Georgetown University, where he taught environmental risk assessment and management. Across his academic, federal, and consulting roles, he has mentored more than 50 pre- and postdoctoral fellows, faculty, public health trainees, and interns, many of whom now hold leadership positions in government, academia, and industry. As a long-standing SOT member, he has been active in the Risk Assessment Specialty Section; American Association of Scientists of Indian Origin; Toxicologists of African Origin Special Interest Groups; and National Capital Area Regional Chapter and has organized or chaired numerous SOT Symposia and sessions on topics such as children’s environmental health, electronic waste, disparities in environmental exposures, and risk assessment in vulnerable populations. 

Through his innovative science, regulatory leadership, international capacity building, and deep commitment to mentoring the next generation, Dr. Sonawane exemplifies the legacy of Arnold J. Lehman and the highest standards of the field of risk assessment.