From Patient to Pathologist

Dr. Victor Roggli wasn’t expected to live past age 12. Today, he is a sought-after expert on occupational lung disease.

On left Roggli at a chalkboard. On right he is looking into a microscope.
On left, Victor Roggli teaching in 1983; today, Roggli continues to work and teach while writing an autobiography and a new volume on mesothelioma, a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos.

Below is a summary of a story originally appearing in SOM Magnify. 

Duke pulmonary pathologist Dr. Victor Roggli wasn’t supposed to live past age 12. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 7, he defied doctors’ predictions and then went on to build a career that changed how we understand occupational lung disease.

For 40 years, Roggli has been a sought-after expert on asbestos, the microscopic fibers that once filled shipyards and construction sites and still lurk in older buildings. His research has shaped safety standards, informed landmark lawsuits, and given thousands of workers answers about what happened to their lungs on the job.

His path wasn’t linear. Growing up on a Tennessee farm, Roggli dreamed of NASA. When aerospace jobs vanished, he pivoted to medicine. An autopsy of a liver cancer patient during residency set his course: He found a rare cancer of the abdominal cavity’s lining — primarily caused by asbestos exposure. Roggli then mastered electron microscopy, a tool making tiny asbestos particles visible. In 1986, he published a landmark study measuring asbestos content in diseased lung tissue.

Since then, he’s testified in courtrooms nationwide, trained future pathologists at Duke, and authored the standard reference on asbestos-related disease. Today, he’s writing his autobiography (“So Far, So Good”) and editing a new medical volume.

And through it all? He says a strong diaphragm is key, Plus, he enjoys an online community with other adults with cystic fibrosis, as well as karaoke nights (he won one contest with Aerosmith’s “Dream On”). His mantra: Carpe diem. “Live every day to its fullest,” he says. 

For the full story about Dr. Roggli, go to SOM Magnify.