Rodney Smith Markin (born 1956), is an American pathologist and authority in the field of
laboratory automation
Laboratory automation is a multi-disciplinary strategy to research, develop, optimize and capitalize on technologies in the laboratory that enable new and improved processes. Laboratory automation professionals are academic, commercial and gover ...
. In 1993, he designed and created one of the world's first automated clinical laboratory specimen, device and analyzer management systems. In the mid-1990s, he chaired a standards group called the Clinical Testing Automation Standards Steering Committee (CTASSC) of the
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
AACC (formerly known as the American Association for Clinical Chemistry) is a global scientific society dedicated to clinical laboratory science and its application to healthcare. AACC's current president is Carmen Wiley, PhD, and the associati ...
, which later evolved into an area committee of the
Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute
The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) is a volunteer-driven, membership-supported, not-for-profit, standards development organization. CLSI promotes the development and use of voluntary laboratory consensus standards and guideline ...
.
Markin serves as the Vice President for Business Development and practices pathology at Nebraska Medicine, is associate vice chancellor for business development for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and executive director of the UNeTech Institute of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Omaha. He serves as both the David T. Purtilo Professor in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology in UNMC's College of Medicine as well as the Executive Director of the UNeTech Institute. . Prior to his current position, he was the chief operating officier of the University of Nebraska system, the chief technology officer at UNMC, interim dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, board chairman and president and CEO of the
Nebraska Medicine clinical practice plan (fka UNMC Physicians), an academic medical practice which includes more than 750 physicians, and has held several other administrative and academic positions at the
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. R ...
.
Early life
Markin was born and raised in
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
. He received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in 1977 from
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...
, where he majored in
chemistry with
minors in
mathematics and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. He received a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
chemistry from the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...
in 1980; he earned his
medical degree
A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
from the
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. R ...
(UNMC) in 1983; he completed his
residency
Residency may refer to:
* Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place
** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship
* Residency (medicine), a stage of postgra ...
in pathology and laboratory medicine at UNMC in 1986. He has been on the UNMC faculty since 1986. His professional and academic research interests have focused on clinical laboratory automation including robotics, information systems, medical utilization management, business efficiency modeling, adult and pediatric pathology, liver/gastrointestinal pathology, telehealth, telemedicine, technology development and mobile health.
Career
Laboratory automation development
Markin's interest in laboratory automation, blending clinical processes with information technology, began during his graduate studies, which focused on
graph theory
In mathematics, graph theory is the study of ''graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of '' vertices'' (also called ''nodes'' or ''points'') which are conn ...
. By 1989, he developed a prototype system that would later allow "plug-and-play" integration of automation systems and clinical analyzers for managing and testing of patient specimens. His approach was to build an automated transport system which would allow various testing processes using commercial, off-the-shelf testing and collection systems. He didn't design the instruments, but sought an automated system to manage the testing processes, leading to increased efficiency, improved reporting and lower laboratory costs.
He founded LAB-InterLink in 1993, and commercialized a system to manage clinical specimens using an automated transportation system and specimen processing devices (i.e. decapping devices, recapping devices, instrument or analyzer interfaces, etc.) for laboratory testing and processing. For example, the specimen would be separated using a
centrifuge
A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or ...
; the specimen container would be uncapped; the specimen would be tested as ordered by the physician; the container would be recapped; and the specimen would be stored in the event further testing is needed. Test results were provided to the physician or provider as part of the software management system.
LAB-InterLink sold automation systems in North America and internationally, and offices were set up in the United States, Canada and Israel. In 2004, the U.S. company was sold to Cardinal Health and the Canadian company was sold to an investor group. Today the technology of the U.S. company is controlled by
Abbott Laboratories (2007) and the Canadian company was acquired by
Cerner Corp. (2013)
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Markin was awarded the Ida Ittner Postdoctoral Fellowship studying lead toxicity in children from 1980 to 1982, working in the laboratory of
Dr. Carol R. Angle. In 2005, Markin was named the David T. Purtilo Professor of Pathology and Microbiology.
Markin helped develop Children's Specialty Physicians, the pediatric practice plan for the UNMC College of Medicine at
Children's Hospital & Medical Center
Children's Hospital & Medical Center is a non-profit regional pediatric specialty health care center located in Omaha, Nebraska. The 225-bed hospital is the only free-standing children's hospital in Nebraska and serves patients from throughout it ...
.
Markin also holds appointments in the Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry.
Markin was inducted into the
National Academy of Inventors
The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia, following the model of the National Academies of the United States. It was founded at the University of South Florida in 2010. ...
Fellows Class of 2015. He has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from
UNeMed Corporation, UNMC's technology transfer office, for his innovations that have transformed the clinical laboratory.
Markin leads the telehealth initiative of UNMC and Nebraska Medicine. Since 2011, he has served as associate vice chancellor for business development and as chief technology officer.
In October 2005, the U.S. Defense Department provided a grant to Markin and his team to design a new method for
microbiology automation. Known as the Microbiology Automation Research Project, or "MARP," the project is designed to develop a broad platform that can be used in the clinical laboratory, including applications for
bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...
,
mycology
Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogen ...
and
virology
Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, th ...
. Additionally, the project has potential uses for other applications, including bioterrorism testing, and holds significant promise for the civilian sector.
Markin holds several patents, and has written numerous industry articles on laboratory automation. In 2000, he co-authored an article which provided a history of laboratory automation. He is a member of the editorial boards of several industry publications, including the Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation (JALA).
Personal and family
Markin lives in
Omaha; with his wife, Betsy.
He has two children, Nick and Chris, who live in Omaha and Chicago respectively. He also lives with his step-daughter Gracie and step-son Danny. On 9/11, Markin was on a plane in Canada when orders came out to ground all aircraft. The ensuing ordeal was captured in a theatrical production in Omaha.
''UNMC doctor to relive 9/11 aftermath at Omaha debut of "Come From Away"'', by Betsie Freeman, Omaha.com, March 27, 2019, retrieved January 12, 2021
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References
External links
Nebraska Medicine practice plan
UNMC website
Nebraska Medicine
Children's Hospital & Medical Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markin, Rod
Living people
University of Nebraska Medical Center alumni
American pathologists
University of Nebraska Medical Center faculty
Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni
University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni
1956 births
American chief technology officers