Rhonda E. Colombo

Rhonda E. Colombo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), with a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine. She serves as the Deputy Director of the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Program's (IDCRP) Acute Respiratory Infections Research Area and as the IDCRP site research physician at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in Tacoma, WA.

Dr. Colombo earned her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School, completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) where she served as Chief of Medical Residents, and completed her Infectious Diseases fellowship at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She also holds a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research from Duke University School of Medicine. Prior to joining USUHS in 2018, she was faculty at MCG from 2010-2018, where she served as the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program Director for five years and received multiple teaching awards.

Her research focuses on three primary areas:

• Host susceptibility to infection
• Complications associated with HIV infection
• Acute respiratory infections

Dr. Colombo's publications demonstrate a strong military-relevant research focus, particularly on respiratory infections, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2 impacts in military populations. Her work addresses practical challenges in military healthcare settings including force health protection, surveillance systems, and operational readiness considerations.

She has been a key contributor to the Pragmatic Assessment of Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in the Department of Defense (DoD) (PAIVED) project (2018-2025) and numerous other military health initiatives.

As an educator, Dr. Colombo is deeply committed to evidence-based medicine principles and actively mentors USUHS medical students and MAMC Internal Medicine residents in both clinical and research settings, helping develop the next generation of military physicians.