Prof. Rodney Dietert

Prof. Rodney R Dietert obtained his B.S. from Duke University in 1974, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977. He is currently a Professor Emeritus of Immunotoxicology in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Prof. Dietert was a Senior Fellow at Cornell’s Center for the Environment who directed the Graduate Field of Immunology, the Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology, and the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors. His extensive publications (>300 publications in 70 different scientific journals) concern the developing immune system, the microbiome, communicable and non-communicable diseases, safety testing, and public health. He introduced the microbiome to Cornell’s basic science DVM curriculum and was designated a “Microbiome Hero” by the inaugural World Microbiome Day Committee. Prof. Dietert is a member of the Society of Toxicology (Past-President of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section) and the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention 2014 Best Paper of the Year award for his microbiome paper. He is also a leader in the Microbiome First Initiative for Sustainable Healthcare: Microbiome First Summit—Pathway To Sustainable Healthcare.