Rodney E. Rohde
You would expect me to react poorly to seeing my life’s work flying out the window – let alone flying out of a plane. But before academia, I spent a decade with the Texas DSHS Bureau of Laboratories and Zoonosis Control Division as a public health microbiologist and molecular epidemiologist. One of my public health roles was in the inaugural Oral Rabies Vaccination Program, which eliminated canine rabies from Texas via the use of a recombinant rabies vaccine. The liquid vaccine was inside a sachet, which itself was inside a bait matrix (think: a cube of dog food). We distributed them aerially with Canadian Twin Otter aircraft along the state border, as well as central and southern Texas.
I was in a hybrid position working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create a molecular-based test to track all rabies virus variants in the wild. This role led to me helping establish the laboratory as a regional rabies reference typing center for the US, Mexico, and other countries – something it still does to this day, along with other rabies virus variants. As noted, I also participated in the aerial distribution of the vaccine baits and the surveillance portion to show vaccine efficacy in wildlife – coyotes, foxes, and other canids – via tetracycline biomarking of teeth and serology of wildlife antibodies. This effort was international in scope, and it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime event that set the groundwork for my future efforts in public health, clinical microbiology, and the medical laboratory healthcare environment. This experience has created a passion in how I teach, interact with colleagues, and mentor. I am passionate about advocating for everyone to seek out amazing opportunities – everything from internships to TEDx talks. It continues to be my source of fuel for advocacy and my efforts globally.
