Dr. Kendall holding two awards

Professor, Environmental Toxicology & SETAC Fellow

  • Ph.D. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 1980
  • M.S. Clemson University 1976
  • B.S. University of South Carolina 1974
  • Professor of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Environmental Toxicology and The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University / Texas Tech University Health Science Center

Dr. Ronald J. Kendall & the Wildlife Toxicology Lab

Dr. Ronald J. Kendall is a world-renowned environmental and wildlife toxicologist whose extensive career has helped shape the field of ecological risk assessment and environmental health.

In 1997, Kendall founded The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech University, which he directed until 2012, when he founded the Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory at Texas Tech University.

The formation of the Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory was spurred by the decline of the bobwhite quail population in the Rolling Plains region of Texas and the research following it. As a lead toxicology researcher for Operation Idiopathic Decline, Kendall helped to uncover the cause of this population decline: parasitic eyeworm (Oxyspirura petrowi) and caecal worm (Aulonocephalus pennula) infections.

Today, Kendall continues to lead research efforts that investigate the ecological and toxicological interactions contributing to wildlife disease, advancing both scientific understanding and practical conservation across Texas and beyond.

Programs & Sites Founded

  • Founded the Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory, Texas Tech University, 2012-present
  • Founding Director, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, 1997-2012
  • Founding Chair and Professor, Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech
  • Founding Director, The Institute of Wildlife and Environmental Toxicology (TIWET), Clemson University, 1989-1997
  • Founding Department Head, 1989-1995, and Professor, 1989-1997, Department of Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University
  • Founding Director, Institute of Wildlife Toxicology, and Professor of Environmental Toxicology, Huxley College of Environmental Studies, Western Washington University, 1980-1989

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Appointments

  • Charter Member
  • Current Terrestrial Toxicology Editor of the journal, Environmental Toxicology, and Chemistry
  • Former President
  • Former Board of Directors Member
  • Former Executive Committee Member
  • Former Vice-President, on the SETAC Foundation for Environmental Education Board of Directors

International Consultant for:

  • Russia
  • Costa Rica
  • Canada
  • The Netherlands
  • France
  • United Kingdom
  • Portugal
  • Switzerland
  • Addressed the United Nations Committee on Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York, 1996

National Board/Committee Appointments

  • US EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee appointment (September 13, 2019 – September 30, 2022)
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency’s, Science Advisory Panel (Member 1995-December 2002. Chair January 1999 – December 2002
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency’s, Joint SAB/SAP Review on “Data from Testing of Human Subjects” served as Chairman, 1998-2000
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency’s, Science Advisory Board, Mercury Review Subcommittee, 1997
  • The National Academy of Sciences’, Ecological Risk Assessment Subcommittee, Committee on Risk Assessment Methodologies, 1990-1991
  • Certificate of Appreciation from the National Academies, Board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology for service on the Committee on Superfund Site Assessment and Remediation in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin, 2003-2005
  • The Endocrine Disruptors Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC) of the USEPA, 1996-1998
  • Board of Research Directors of the Canadian Network of Toxicology Centers for the Canadian Government, 1993-1999
  • Former environmental advisor to the United States Justice Department, Environmental Enforcement Section

Academic Achievements

  • 62 past and current Ph.D. and M.S. graduate students
  • Authored 11 courses in environmental and wildlife toxicology
  • Authored more than 447 total publications, including textbooks, book chapters, peer-reviewed scientific publications, technical papers, and technical research reports
  • Given the Stephen J. Klaine Environmental Education Award by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
  • Elected a Fellow in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
  • Founding Chairman, Department of Environmental Toxicology, and Founding Director, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TEHH), Texas Tech University
  • Fulbright Fellow

Personal Education

  • Graduated with honors from the University of South Carolina,
  • M.S. degree from Clemson University and
  • Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency postdoctoral traineeship in toxicology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Read Dr. Kendall’s Scholarly Works:

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

Dr. Kendall and dog Rebel

Dr. Kendall and his Llewellin Setter, Rebel, in the field. Photo credit: John Hafner Photography

Awards

  • Winner of the Texas Environmental Excellence Award, Individual category, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Governor Greg Abbott, 2025. This is considered the highest environmental award in the State of Texas.
  • Founders Award, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), 2021, the highest global award given by SETAC
  • Integrated Scholar, Texas Tech University, Inaugural Class, 2009
  • As Principal Investigator have received over 155 research grants totaling more than $53 million dollars
  • SETAC Fellow, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2017
  • Stephen J. Klaine Environmental Education Award, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2017
  • Finalist for the Texas Environmental Excellence Award, Individual category, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Governor Rick Perry, 2013
  • Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Arts & Sciences, Texas Tech University, 2013, 2010, 2003
  • Gerald H. Cross Alumni Leadership Award, Virginia Tech University, 2010
  • President’s Book Award, “Advances in Biological and Chemical Terrorism Countermeasures”, Texas Tech University, 2010
  • Texas Environmental Excellence Award, Education category, as Director of The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Governor Rick Perry, 2009
  • “Award of Appreciation” from United States Environmental Protection Agency for service related to Chairmanship of the EPA Scientific Advisory Panel for implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, January 2004. Served as Chairman, January 1999 to December 2002
  • Alumni Research Award for outstanding faculty research at Clemson University, 1996
  • Fulbright Fellowship, 1991
  • Paul J. and Ruth Olscamp Research Award for outstanding research at Western Washington State University, 1987
  • Certified Wildlife Biologist 1989