Dr. Dodd is an internationally recognized expert in laboratory diagnostics and outbreak response for emerging infectious diseases. While director of the USDA APHIS reference laboratory for foreign animal diseases, she expanded U.S. preparedness to rapidly detect high consequence animal diseases and developed a nationwide graduate training program to train new laboratory diagnosticians. Dodd also has worked extensively in Africa to strengthen laboratory and surveillance capacity for zoonotic disease threats. She is a champion for the critical role veterinary diagnostic laboratories play in protecting public and animal health locally, nationally, and globally and is passionate about supporting the development of the next generation of veterinarians and laboratorians.