Faculty Rodney R. Dietert   Professor of Immunotoxicology Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine C5135 Veterinary Medical Center E-mail: rrd1@cornell.edu Phone: 607-253-4015 PhD (University of Texas - Austin)   Dr. Dietert is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology having been associated with the department since 1991. He received the BS degree in Zoology from Duke University in 1974 and his PhD from University of Texas at Austin in 1977. Dr. Dietert has been Director of Graduate Studies for the Graduate Field of Immunology, Senior Fellow in the Center for the Environment, Director of the Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and Director of the Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in the College’s Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research. His research on immunotoxicology has been supported by the NSF, the USDA, the NIH and industry.  Research Interests / Graduate Fields / Lab Members / Related Links / Selected References Research Interests My research area is developmental immunotoxicology with an emphasis on children’s health protection. Studies are focused on the capacity of drugs, environmental chemicals, and dietary factors to produce persistent immunotoxicologic responses in juvenile and adult offspring following early life exposure. Developmental and age-related rodent models are used to examine the differential risk associated with age of exposure and the identification of critical windows of increased immune susceptibility to toxicants. The development, validation and use of immune biomarkers for health prediction are also a research concern. While this research is focused on human health protection, a portion of the effort contributes to enhanced health of agricultural species. For the latter, we employ avian models of relevance to the poultry industry. Improved immune assessment and environmental management of agricultural animals is facilitated via this research. Graduate Fields Dr. Dietert is a member of the following Graduate Fields: Comparative Biomedical Sciences Environmental Toxicology Immunology Lab Members Related Links Selected References Luebke R., D. Chen, R. Dietert, M. King, Y. Yang and M. Luster. (2006). The comparative immunotoxicity of five selected compounds following developmental or adult exposure. J Toxicol. Environ. Health Part B 9(1): 1-26. Selgrade, M-J.K., R.F. Lemanske, D.N. Weissman, M. Ian Gilmour, L.M. Neas, C. Pteroski, M.D.W. Ward, P.K. Henneberger, J.A. Hoppin, R.R. Dietert, P.D. Sly, A.M. Geller, P. L. Enright, S.R. Kleeberger, G. Backus, P. A. Bromberg, D. Germolec, and K.B. Yeatts. (2006). .Induction of asthma and the environment: what we know and need to know. Environ. Health Perspect. 14:615-619. Dietert, R.R. and M.S. Piepenbrink. (2006). Lead and immune function. Crit. Rev. Toxicol. 36:359-385. Dietert, R.R. and M.S. Piepenbrink. (2006). Perinatal immunotoxicity: Why adult exposure- assessment fails to predict risk. Environ. Health Perspect. 114(4): 477-483. Dietert, R.R. (2006). Developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) testing and protecting children’s health. PloS Medicine 3 (8): e296. August issue. Dietert, R.R. and M. P. Holsapple. ( 2007). Methodologies for developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) testing. Methods 41:123-131. Top of the page MicroImm Home Research | Graduate Education | Courses: Graduate, Vet, AQUAVET | Faculty | Staff Seminar: Fall, Spring | Extension Program: Aquatic Animal Health Program Questions or Comments? Last Revised on January 25, 2007 © Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine