Dillon McBride graduated from EEOB in 2019 with a BS in zoology. After this, he began working on a PhD at Ohio State in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, which he completed in August 2023. For his PhD work, he studied the zoonotic transmission of emerging viruses including influenza transmitting from pigs to people, as well as humans transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to animals such as white-tailed deer, with a specific interest in how viral evolution can act as mechanism for novel emergence. Since completing his PhD, he serves as a biological scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Bio and Agro-defense Facility with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
When asked what effect the EEOB department had on him and his career path, Dillon said “The most profound way that the EEOB department [faculty and staff] impacted me is through the diversity of their scientific expertise. While evolution, ecology and organismal biology may all sound like a very intuitive grouping of topics, the reality is that the tools scientists use to study those things are WILDLY broad-reaching in scope. From molecular techniques, both microscopic and gross anatomy, all the way out to the field station, let alone the wide range of methods used to analyze and interpret all of those different types of data. EEOB does an excellent job ensuring we learn and have an appreciation for the number of ways scientists can attack their hypotheses and questions. I never really had an inordinate fondness for staring at stained tissue slides (or beetles for that matter), but in our microscopic anatomy lab, Dr. Lindstedt looked up from a microscope with a giant grin on her face and said, ‘Aren’t these just so beautiful?’ How am I supposed to NOT be excited about histology after that? In my opinion, there is nothing more exhilarating than finding passion in unexpected places, and the way each and every EEOB instructor evokes their passion in such unique ways is not only inspiring, but infectious. I am indebted to EEOB for teaching me how to view my science from many perspectives, finding new and creative solutions to old problems.”
