Carlos Rodriguez, Jr., DVM, PhD
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Oncology
Dr. Carlos O. Rodriguez, Jr. was raised in a suburb of Chicago. He attended the University of Illinois (Go ILLINI) for both undergraduate (Microbiology, ‘86) and veterinary studies. He graduated in 1990. He packed up his belongings and went east to Virginia Tech (Go HOAKIES) for his rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery. After an enlightening year in Appalachia, he again packed up his belongings, this time headed west, to Davis (Go AGGIES), where he completed a residency in medical oncology in 1994. He moved to Houston, Texas and lived in the shadow of the Astrodome (Go OILERS, Go ASTROS) and (the now defunct) Astroworld while pursuing his PhD in biochemistry at The University of Texas-Houston MD Anderson Cancer Center. His research there focused on an old anti-viral drug (synthesized in 1964) that had been rediscovered for its use in T-cell leukemia (1996). His work helped to fast track the drug, nelarabine, for FDA approval in the treatment of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and adults.
He moved back to California (2001) after his wife was admitted to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (Class 2004) and worked in private specialty practice in San Francisco, San Rafael, Berkeley and Sacramento. Between 2003 and 2015, he served as a lecturer in medical oncology at UC Davis where he helped train 15 medical oncologists, two oncology interns and more than 1500 students.
His academic endeavors included drug development and pharmacology of anti-neoplastic drugs, aerosol chemotherapy for osteosarcoma, and pegylated arginine deiminase for melanoma. He has authored chapters in oncology textbooks and over 50 scientific articles. He has served as chair on both the ACVIM Oncology Exam Committee, and on the grant review committee for Morris Animal Foundation. He served on the scientific advisory board of Aratana Therapeutics during the development of the first caninzed antibody for B and T cell lymphoma.
He is currently working again in private practice where he covers maternity leave, vacations, and faculty vacancies for Medical Oncologists across the United States.
In his copious free time, he plays contrabassoon in numerous community orchestras and chamber music groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. He shares his life with his wife, a veterinary criticalist; a tiny Siamese cat,Violet (3); and five barely house broken, rescued wiener dogs Bruno (15), Bertie (13), Sausage (12), Penny (11) and Piper (4). He does not follow sports.