ISU Retirees Events

From Avian Influenza to Innovation: Updates from the ISU VDL

Speaker: Rodger Main
Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026
3 – 4:30 p.m. CT
Joint program with OLLI at Iowa State, program begins at 3 p.m.
Online with Zoom

The Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (ISU VDL) plays an active role on the frontlines of U.S. animal agriculture processing approximately 130,000 diagnostic case submissions and conducting more than 1.7 million diagnostic assays annually. This program will provide insight into the current goings on at the ISU VDL, the VDL’s role in supporting responses to diseases such as High-Path Avian Influenza, and an update on the new VDL Building currently under construction.

Rodger Main, DVM, PhD serves as a Professor and Director of the ISU VDL. A team of 30 faculty and 155 technical staff at the ISU VDL are broadly recognized for their collective work in service as being among the preeminent food animal centered veterinary diagnostic labs in North America.

A Bucket List Adventure: Touring the Brazilian Amazon

Speaker: Max Rothschild, Iowa State University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Animal Science
Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026
3 – 4:30 p.m. CT (social time starting at 3 p.m., program begins at 3:30 p.m.)
Online with Zoom

Enjoy a travel adventure in the Amazon traveling by riverboat and exploring the edges of the Rio Negro and Amazon Rivers. The talk will highlight the birds, animals, plants, and inhabitants along the rivers in one of the most ecologically diverse regions of the world. Tips on planning your next adventure will also be offered.

Max Rothschild is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University and has traveled to 70 countries worldwide. Rothschild is an active outdoors person and with his wife they enjoy travel and wildlife adventures. He has spoken to a number of groups on organizing that special travel vacation to see exotic places and wild animals in their natural habitats.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science at UC Davis in 1974, a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin in animal science in 1975, and a doctorate in animal breeding at Cornell University in 1978. An animal science faculty member at Iowa State for most of his professional career, Rothschild has done pioneering work on the application of quantitative and molecular genetics that focuses on genetic improvement of livestock.