The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) annually presents the Director’s Excellence Award to individuals who embody the agency’s mission. Each year, TVMDL employees nominate peers they believe exemplify excellence through testing services, quality assurance, technological advances, and overall dedication to TVMDL.
TVMDL is pleased to announce Carlos Rodriguez as a 2020 recipient of the Director’s Excellence Award in the professional category.
Rodriguez joined TVMDL in 2012 as a technician in the serology section. He quickly began advancing his career at the agency and in 2018 he was promoted to his current role of assistant section head for the serology section.
Prior to assuming his current role, Rodriguez frequently trained visiting international scientists and diagnosticians on serological testing techniques. Furthermore, he was the first employee TVMDL sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) to receive training on the ELISA method of testing for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Due to this experience, Rodriguez has been instrumental in establishing collaborative surveillance efforts with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to test for CWD.
As assistant section head, Rodriguez oversees nine employees who perform, on average, 2,000 tests each week. In addition to these duties, he also serves as a “super user” for TVMDL’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) development and implementation. Although Rodriguez has no formal training in information technology, his knowledge of data bases, interfaces, and laboratory section processes allows him to intercede with LIMS developers to keep sections functioning and efficient.
“Carlos’s service and accomplishments make him the ideal candidate for the Director’s Excellence Award,” Microbiology Veterinary Diagnostician Melanie Landis, DVM, said. “Through all his various roles and responsibilities, Carlos epitomizes TVMDL’s vision and mission statements by always working to ensure TVMDL is the global leader in providing innovative and state-of-the-art veterinary diagnostic services.”
Please join TVMDL in congratulating this year’s Director’s Excellence Award recipients.