About Rodney Dietert

Rodney Dietert, Ph.D. is an internationally-known author, lecturer, scientist, media personality and educator.  He has turned his wide-ranging expertise toward reducing the environmental health risks of children and protecting against chronic diseases by focusing on the microbiome and the immune system. As a full professor at Cornell University in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and a faculty member in the Cornell Institute for Comparative and Environment Toxicology, Dr. Dietert has published peer-reviewed papers in more than 70 different scientific journals ranging from environmental health and pediatric medicine publications to nutrition, metabolism, immune, neurological and reproductive journals. He has been President of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology and previously led Cornell's programs in immunology, toxicology and risk reduction of breast cancer.  In 2012 Dr. Dietert introduced a new course at Cornell applying contemplative tools for creative problem solving.  This has blossomed into a variety of new educational programs and workshops.

As a speaker in a wide range of different forums, Dr. Dietert has lectured in more than 100 different cities across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. His audiences have included scientific societies, governmental organizations, colleges and universities, private companies, health advocacy groups and alternative forums. His forthcoming book is The Human Superorganism.  Previous, he co-authored the general audience book, Strategies for Protecting Your Child's Immune System and Science Sifting (World Scientific Publishing), and edited two state-of-the-art technical books in environmental health: Immunotoxicity Testing (Humana Press, 2010) and Immunotoxicity, Immune Dysfunction, and Chronic Disease (Springer/Humana Press, 2012).

Dr. Dietert received his education from Duke University (BS degree) and the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D.) prior to joining the Cornell faculty in 1977. One of the pivotal experiences that propelled him to a career in science was a summer high school research experience at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Ironically, Dr. Dietert was trained primarily in genetics but has devoted his career to environmental research aimed at better protecting children and providing them with the best opportunity for a lifetime of good health.

Dr. Dietert has given U. S. Congressional briefings on environmental topics and has served on panels for the NIH, the U.S. EPA, the World Health Organization, and the National Academy of Sciences (Institute of Medicine). Recently, Dr. Dietert was invited to lecture at the NIH, the FDA and the Institute of Medicine. His media experience ranges from print (New York Times) and radio show contributions (Syracuse and Rochester, NY, Hartford, CT and Dublin, Ireland stations) to web (AOL Health) and national television interviews (ABC's World News Tonight).  He also appeared in the 2014 award-winning documentary movie Microbirth, and was designated Microbiome Hero by the inaugural World Microbiome Day Committee.