Lessons From the Past and Opportunities for the Future: Emerging Trends in Viral Diagnostics

Dr. Schmitz serves as both a clinical microbiologist and investigator of microbial pathogenesis, and efforts within my research laboratory focus on the integration of diagnostic laboratory and basic science paradigms. Supported by a variety of federal and industry sponsors, his research team leverages the vast quantity of patient-derived specimens, microbial isolates, and electronic health data that arise from routine patient care. Applying experimental and big-data strategies to these 'personalized resources, he seeks to define host-microbe interactions and develop novel diagnostic tools in a way that not only accounts for - but takes advantage of - the profound diversity of microbial pathogens from strain-to-strain and patient-to-patient. In parallel, Dr. Schmitz provides service at VUMC as an Attending on the Clinical Microbiology Service, and he previously served for six years as the Medical Director of the Molecular Infectious Diseases Laboratory. In that role, he oversaw the development of diverse microbiologic testing for our Health System, including implementation of all testing for SARS-CoV-2, for which we were one of the earliest and most sustained diagnostic care providers in the region. Dr. Schmitz received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Princeton University, after which he received a Master's degree in Biochemistry from Cambridge University as a Churchill Scholar. He then went on to attend the Tri- Institutional MD-PhD program in New York City, where he received my MD from Cornell University and my PhD from The Rockefeller University. Finally, he conducted post-graduate medical training in Clinical Microbiology at Vanderbilt, where he has stayed on as faculty after completion.