This award recognizes an SOT member who has displayed a commitment to mentoring and whose advice and counsel have substantially enhanced the career development of toxicologists.
A. Jay Gandolfi, PhD, is recognized with the 2026 SOT Toxicologist Mentoring Award for more than four decades of dedicated mentorship that has shaped the careers of students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and collaborators across toxicology.
Dr. Gandolfi received his doctoral training in biochemistry and biophysics from Oregon State University (with a minor in toxicology) and completed post-graduate training at the Mayo Clinic and Pacific Northwest Laboratories before joining the University of Arizona with appointments in the Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy. He became an Emeritus Professor in 2013 in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology and continued contributing as a part-time lecturer and through ongoing college service until retiring in 2025.
Throughout his career, Dr. Gandolfi’s mentorship has been extensive and enduring, including direct mentoring of 24 PhD students, 27 MS students, and 14 post-graduate trainees, along with service on 60 doctoral and 25 master’s committees. His mentoring impact also extends to colleagues and collaborative teams, helping others connect strong science to meaningful toxicological endpoints and building networks of “mentors who were good teachers, advisors, and researchers.”
As a mentor, Dr. Gandolfi is known for a hands-on, highly engaged approach, listening carefully, asking clarifying questions, and tracking progress with the “legendary” yellow legal pad and red pen that became a hallmark of his meetings and grant-planning efforts. This consistent presence helped trainees develop confidence and refine ideas and skills that carried into their leadership and mentoring.
Dr. Gandolfi also served the broader toxicology community through major academic leadership roles, including administering graduate programs for many years, serving as Interim Chair of Pharmacology & Toxicology for three years, and serving as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Pharmacy for 14 years—while also directing an NIEHS-sponsored Superfund Program for 12 years. Within SOT, he is a Past President of the Mechanisms Specialty Section and a recipient of the SOT Education Award and Metals Career Award and was elected to SOT Council as Secretary. In 2019, he received the Distinguished Scientist Award in Toxicology from the American Society of Toxicology.
Through his decades-long dedication to mentoring, steady leadership, and unwavering commitment to the professional growth of others, Dr. Gandolfi has left a lasting imprint on the field of toxicology. His influence is reflected not only in the accomplishments of his many trainees, but also in the mentoring cultures they have gone on to build. Dr. Gandolfi’s career exemplifies the values of guidance, generosity, and service celebrated by the SOT Toxicologist Mentoring Award.
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