EOHSI/CEED Member Debra Laskin, Ph.D. Part of Forbes 50 on 50: Innovative Women List
Debra Laskin
72 | Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers University
Debra Laskin has spent decades studying how the immune system responds to toxic chemicals, helping explain why the body’s own defenses can sometimes worsen tissue damage. Her research on inflammatory mechanisms of lung and liver injury has advanced efforts to develop medical countermeasures against chemical threats, including mustard agents. In 2011, Laskin and her brother, toxicologist Jeffrey Laskin, were part of a Rutgers-led team awarded a $23.2 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop treatments for chemical warfare agents, contributing to a research program that secured more than $42 million in federal funding.