Ronald Saldarini

Ronald John Saldarini, Ph.D., a distinguished scientist, biotechnology executive, and fierce champion for vaccination, passed away peacefully on January 20, 2026, at the age of 86 following a brief hospitalization. 

Dr. Saldarini was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Suzanne; three children, Charles, Shelley, and John; and seven grandchildren.

Born in Patterson, NJ on November 6, 1939, to Oswald and Angela Saldarini (Scolari), Dr. Saldarini was the older brother and best friend to Charles Arthur Saldarini, a curious student and an avid baseball player. 

He would ultimately devote his career to biomedical science—consulting with the World Health Organization, advancing vaccine technologies, and informing the regulatory and commercialization frameworks that strengthened immunization against a variety of infectious diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib, influenza, and pneumococcal in the United States and around the world.

Along the way, Dr. Saldarini earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry and zoology from Drew University—where he met his wife. He completed his Ph.D. in physiology and biochemistry at the University of Kansas and accepted an award from the National Institutes of Health to complete his postdoctoral fellowship at the UCLA Brain Research Institute. There, Dr. Saldarini researched advanced physiology, neuroscience, and biochemistry.

But all roads led back to New Jersey and, for Dr. Saldarini, his family. In July 1969, he joined Lederle Laboratories, a division of American Cyanamid (acquired by American Home Products, Wyeth and, finally, Pfizer). After 30 years in vaccine development, he retired in 1999 as the president of the Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines & Pediatrics.  Over the course of his career and during retirement, Dr. Saldarini also served on the boards of many organizations dedicated to arresting the spread of infectious disease through effective immunization. He contributed to vaccine availability, safety, and public trust as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases, the Infectious Disease

Institute of New Jersey, the Immunization Advisory Council of the New York State Department of Health, the Corporate Council for the Children's Health Fund, the policy board of the Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Studies of Immunology and Aging, and the Institute of Medicine’s committee to help protect U.S. armed forces against anthrax, smallpox, influenza and adenovirus. In addition, he continued to consult several biopharmaceutical firms helping advance research into therapeutic cancer vaccines, recombinant and vector-based vaccine platforms and next- generation immunotherapy approaches. 

Above all, Dr. Saldarini was a steady presence for his family and community. He supported the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative to help provide primary care to uninsured adults working in Bergen County and was the longest serving Chairman of the Board for EZ Universe, a data analytics platform. Dr. Saldarini cheered on his grandchildren at softball, football, and soccer games, wrestling matches, and chorus concerts, among countless other extracurricular pursuits; traveled around the world with his wife; and planned epic annual summer vacations to the Carolinas with his brother and their families. 

The family will receive friends on February 10th, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, 257 Godwin Ave, Wyckoff, NJ.
Repast to follow. 

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to Drew University’s Alumni Achievement Awards, Mahwah Emergency Medical Services, the Mahwah Police Department or the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative.

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