Personal profile
Biography
Dr. Rhonda E. Colombo is an infectious diseases physician with a wealth of experience as a
clinician, educator, and researcher. She earned her medical degree from Eastern Virginia
Medical School in Norfolk, VA. She completed an Internal Medicine residency and served as
Chief of Medical Residents at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) in Augusta, GA, followed by
a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
She also earned a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research degree from Duke University
School of Medicine. Dr. Colombo returned to MCG as faculty in 2010, attending on the
Infectious Diseases consult service and Internal Medicine wards, and caring for a panel of
patients living with HIV. During her time in Augusta, she received several teaching awards and
served as the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program Director for five years. In 2018, she moved
to Tacoma, WA and joined the Henry M. Jackson Foundation as a Clinical Research Physician
working at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in support of the Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Program (IDCRP).
Dr. Colombo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and
Biostatistics at USUHS, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine. Her
varied research interests include host susceptibility to infection, complications associated with
HIV infection, and acute respiratory infections. Dr. Colombo is currently serving as the Deputy
Director of the IDCRP’s Acute Respiratory Infections Research Area, in addition to being the
IDCRP site research physician at MAMC. She is a proponent of evidence-based medicine and is
excited by the opportunity to help USUHS medical students and MAMC Internal Medicine
residents learn EBM concepts, as well as work with them in the clinical and research realms.
Research interests
- Host susceptibility to infection
- Complications associated with HIV infection
- Acute respiratory infections
Keywords
- R Medicine (General)
- Host susceptibility to infection
- Complications associated with HIV infection
- Acute respiratory infections
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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The Pragmatic Assessment of Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in the Department of Defense (DoD) (PAIVED)
Williams, A., Burgess, T., Colombo, R. & Pollett, S.
6/11/18 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
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Healthcare Workers Have More Frequent and Less Severe Influenza-Like Illness Than Non-healthcare Workers: Findings From the PAIVED Study
Liberg, R., Schmidt, K., Schofield, C., Ganesan, A., Campbell, W., Hrncir, D., Lalani, T., Warkentien, T., Mende, K., Markelz, A. E., Berjohn, C. M., Housel, L., Modi, J. R., Saperstein, A., Williams, A., McClenathan, B., Spooner, C., Seshadri, S., Maves, R. C., Powers, J. H., & 7 others, Jan 2026, In: Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 13, 1, p. ofaf728Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Healthcare Workers Have More Frequent and Less Severe Influenza-Like Illness Than Non-healthcare Workers: Findings From the PAIVED Study
Liberg, R., Schmidt, K., Schofield, C., Ganesan, A., Campbell, W., Hrncir, D., Lalani, T., Warkentien, T., Mende, K., Markelz, A. E., Berjohn, C. M., Housel, L., Modi, J. R., Saperstein, A., Williams, A., McClenathan, B., Spooner, C., Seshadri, S., Maves, R. C., Powers, J. H., & 7 others, 1 Jan 2026, In: Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 13, 1, ofaf728.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Long COVID and the Military: A Current Research Landscape, Knowledge Gaps, and Future Directions
Pollett, S., Agan, B. K., Letizia, A. G., Richard, S. A., Porter, C., Epsi, N. J., Haigney, M., Saunders, D., Colombo, R., Burgess, T. H., Morris, M., Tribble, D. R., La Croix, C., Jones, M. & O'Connell, R. J., 1 Jan 2026, In: Military Medicine.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Long COVID and the Military: A Current Research Landscape, Knowledge Gaps, and Future Directions: A Current Research Landscape, Knowledge Gaps, and Future Directions
Pollett, S., Agan, B. K., Letizia, A. G., Richard, S. A., Porter, C., Epsi, N. J., Haigney, M., Saunders, D., Colombo, R., Burgess, T. H., Morris, M., Tribble, D. R., La Croix, C., Jones, M. & O’Connell, R. J., 1 Jan 2026, In: Military Medicine. 191, 1-2, p. e102-e110Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
1 Scopus citations -
P-1437. The Effect of Pre-Vaccination Analgesics on Influenza Vaccine Immunogenicity
Skellington, C. N., Schmidt, K., Schofield, C., Ganesan, A., Campbell, W. R., Lalani, T., Mende, K., Markelz, A. E., Saperstein, A., Tilley, D., Williams, A., Larson, D. T., Housel, L., McClenathan, B., Seshadri, S., Pollett, S., Burgess, T., Richard, S. A. & Colombo, R. E., Nov 2026, In: Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 13, Supplement_1Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Press/Media
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Study Results from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Update Understanding of Military Medicine (SARS-CoV-2 infection and sleep health in Military Health System beneficiaries)
Timothy Burgess, Stephanie Richard, Brian Agan, Simon Pollett, David Lindholm, Katrin Mende, Rachel Lee, Anuradha Ganesan, David Tribble, Rhonda Colombo & Milissa Jones
25/02/26
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Findings from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in the Area of Military Medicine Described (Randomized Pragmatic Trial of the Comparative Effectiveness of Chicken Egg-Based Inactivated, Mammalian Cell Culture-Based ...)
Stephanie Richard, Catherine Berjohn, Katrin Mende, Anuradha Ganesan, Tahaniyat Lalani, Christina Schofield & Rhonda Colombo
21/01/26
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Researchers at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Report Findings in Military Medicine (Randomized Pragmatic Trial of the Comparative Effectiveness of Chicken Egg-Based Inactivated, Mammalian Cell Culture-Based Inactivated, ...)
Stephanie Richard, Catherine Berjohn, Katrin Mende, Anuradha Ganesan, Tahaniyat Lalani, Christina Schofield & Rhonda Colombo
14/01/26
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Researchers at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Report New Data on Military Medicine (Randomized Pragmatic Trial of the Comparative Effectiveness of Chicken Egg-Based Inactivated, Mammalian Cell Culture-Based Inactivated, ...)
Stephanie Richard, Catherine Berjohn, Katrin Mende, Anuradha Ganesan, Tahaniyat Lalani, Christina Schofield & Rhonda Colombo
6/01/26
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media
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Recent Reports from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Highlight Findings in COVID-19 (Patterns of restricted TCR usage following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and severe disease)
Timothy Burgess, Stephanie Richard, Catherine Berjohn, Katrin Mende & Rhonda Colombo
30/10/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media