Kabrena Rodda

Kabrena Rodda is an American chemist who is the Analytical Chemistry and Instrumentation Group Leader at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She leads the PNNL strategy to tackle emerging chemical threats. She was elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2024.

Early life and education Rodda chose to join the military during her high school studies. She entered the United States Air Force Academy, where she loved the hands-on aspect of an academy education -- particularly her experiences learning science through chemistry labs. One of her first military assignments was serving as a chemical weapons inspector, performing analytical lab studies to support the United Nations. Retiring as a colonel, she also had the honor of serving as a commander at the Detachment, Squadron, and Group level. Rodda worked on consequence management as part of the build up to the Sydney Olympics.

At National War College, Rodda studied national security strategy and wrote a policy paper on synthetic street drugs (then commonly referred to as "legal highs") in which she promoted influenza-like surveillance to get ahead of the public health threat they present, described the rising unexpected toxicities and deaths involving such drugs as the "new pandemic".

Rodda eventually joined Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where she continued to work on chemical security, and the development of an ethical framework for chemistry research. She currently manages the Analytical Chemistry and Instrumentation program within PNNL's Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Technologies Division and serves as PNNL’s Air Force and Space Force subsector manager, bridging the gap between fundamental scientific research and development and military operational needs.

Awards and honors OPCW Director General's Medal Secretary of the United States Air Force R&D Award 2022 Joined National Academies’ Committee on Chemical Threats 2024 Elected Fellow of the American Chemical Society

Selected publications