In Memoriam

Ronald P. Jensh, Ph.D.

Mildred Stoehr Christian, Ph.D.

Ronald P. Jensh, Ph.D.
1938–2010

The Jefferson community is saddened by the loss of one of its perennial faculty members. Dr. Jensh was awarded his Doctorate Degree by Jefferson Medical College in 1966 subsequent to earning his B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) and M.A. degrees from Bucknell University. In 1966 he was appointed Instructor in Anatomy and Research Associate in Radiology at Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Jensh was promoted in 1982 to the rank of Professor in Anatomy. In 1991 he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Pediatrics. He served as the vice chairman of the Anatomy department for ten years until 1994 when the merger occurred between the departments of Anatomy and Pathology. Dr. Jensh served as director of the microscopic anatomy course for first year medical students for many years beginning in 1988. He also co-authored two textbooks on histology. During his tenure at Jefferson he devoted considerable time to service on various standing committees, e.g., Committee on Admissions, Committee on Student Affairs, Committee on Research and Committee on Student Promotions. In 1987 he was appointed chair of the Committee on Curriculum and served in that capacity until 1993. Additional roles in which Dr. Jensh was involved include faculty advisor for the Jefferson Ethical Society, faculty representative to the Executive Council, member of the Medical Scholars Program in conjunction with the University of Delaware and task force member of the Committee on Professionalism. Although he officially retired from Jefferson on January 1, 2004, as Professor Emeritus, he served on the Committee on Admissions until relatively recently.

During his career at Jefferson, Dr. Jensh was a very productive research scientist whose investigations were focused in the field of teratology. This research effort resulted in more than 58 peer reviewed publications and many national and international lecture presentations. He also served for a number of years on the NIH Human Embryology and Development study section. In addition to serving as a manuscript reviewer for several research journals, Dr. Jensh was extremely active in a number of national societies. He was elected President of the Neurobehavioral Society in 1985.

Dr. Jensh was very active in the College of Graduate Studies at Jefferson where he served as thesis director for several doctoral students as well as participating in various graduate training programs and courses. Considerable amounts of his time were also devoted to teaching in the College of Health Professions. Dr. Jensh developed several computer assisted instructional programs which provide ancillary learning tools for our students. Over his career he received several awards for his research and academic achievements. In 1985 Dr Jensh was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Graduate Studies. He was also the recipient of the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1973. Dr. Jensh was honored once again in 1994 with the presentation of his portrait to Jefferson Medical College by the Class of 1994.

In 2004 Dr. Jensh lost his wife, Ruth Ellie, to illness after forty-two years of marriage. Dr. Jensh is survived by his two daughters, Vicki and Libby, their respective spouses and three grandchildren.

Mildred Stoehr Christian
1942–2009

Mildred Stoehr Christian, Ph.D., fellow, ATS, peacefully passed from this life on Thursday, March 26, 2009, after battling disseminated breast cancer for over a year. She was only 66 years of age but left us a wonderful legacy of honesty, loyalty, hard work, a compassionate heart and a radiant personality.

She was born and raised in Philadelphia, graduated from Kensington High School for Girls, Penn State University with B.Sc. and MS degrees and from Thomas Jefferson University with a Ph.D. in developmental anatomy. After 14 years with McNeil Laboratories, where she was the first female manager in the research and development division, she founded and became president of Argus Research Laboratories in 1979, Argus International in 1980, the Center for Photobiology at Argus in 1989 and Argus Health Products, LLC in 2003. During these years, Dr. Christian developed courses in multiple areas of toxicology, regulatory affairs and quality assurance, and prepared position papers for chemical and pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. FDA, the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment and the OECD. She also served as an Expert Scientist on the EPA Endocrine Disruptor Methods Validation Sub-committee.

Mildred was an active member of 20 professional organizations, having served on or chaired multiple committees. She is a Past-President of the Teratology Toxicological Sciences; as well as a founding member of the SOT Specialty Section on Reproductive Toxicology. She was the Founding Editor of the International Journal of Toxicology and was its Editor-in-Chief for 10 years. She has edited and/or contributed to several major textbooks and is author of over 110 manuscripts and abstracts published in American and international journals. In academia, Dr. Christian was an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Numerous honors and awards were bestowed on Dr. Christian during her career, including the “Life Services Award” of the American College of Toxicology in 2004; the Alumni of the Year award by Thomas Jefferson University for her contributions to development of the International Conference for Harmonization Guidelines for Toxicity in Reproduction and was awarded an Honorary Membership in the Society for Quality Assurance for her efforts in coordinating the fields of toxicology and quality assurance. Recently she also received a Society of Toxicology award for founding the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section, and the coveted International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology’s 2008 International Achievement Award.

Mildred’s activities were not limited to science. She was also a fine musician, and her singing, piano and organ playing were greatly appreciated at the Kensington Old Brick Methodist Church in Philadelphia and the First Methodist Church of Franklin, Louisiana. She chaired the Historic Preservation Society of “Old Brick”, was President of its Board of Trustees since 1990 and also functioned as Lay Leader and Choir director. In addition, she and her father founded a Patriotic Sons of America chapter in Franklin, which was instrumental in replacing the historic street lights on Main Street of that town and promoting theater arts.

Mildred was an extraordinary person, who will be sorely missed but long remembered.

Robert M. Diener, D.V.M., fellow, ATS
Alan M. Hoberman, Ph.D, DABT