The Story of Michael G. Rinaldi
While I am an electrical engineer by trade, I still have a distinct interest in many fields. I collect information that I view to be useful, and nothing is more useful than medicine.
The book “Cowan & Steel’s Manual for the Identification of Medical Bacteria” by Cowan came into my possesion in the same way many of my books do, from the Downtown Huntsville Friends of the Library. Upon cataloging this book, I found the personal library stamp of one Michael G. Rinaldi.
Photo of Cowan & Steel’s Manual for the Identification of Medical Bacteria and Michael Rinaldi’s personal library stamp
The following is a compilation of my research into the life, career and work of Michael Rinaldi:
Michael G. Rinaldi was born in Ogden, Utah, in 1946. He later moved with his family to Sacramento, California, where he attended and graduated from Luther Burbank High School in 1965. Michael went on to attend the University of the Pacific, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1969. Michael then attended UC Davis and obtained a master’s degree in microbiology in 1971.
Photos of Ogden, Utah and the University of the Pacific
Michael then served in the US Army for 2 years, during which he worked in the Mycology section of the Letterman Army Institute of Research investigating dermatopyte infections, which was a pressing issue due to widespread occurance in US service personnel in Vietnam. After his serivce he returned to UC Davis to complete his PhD in microbiology in 1980, with a focus on standardizing in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing.
Photos of the Letterman Army Medical Center, where Michael worked, and UC Davis.
After Michael finished his PhD and post-doc, he moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he began working at the Audie L. Murphy Veteran’s Hospital and University of Texas Health Science Center. Michael spent the rest of his career working here, where he was known for his passionate lectures on fungi that he would give to graduate students and medical professionals. He also founded the internationally acclaimed Fungus Testing Laboratory in San Antonio, which has been instrumental for advances in diagnostics and training in the field of medical mycology.
Photos of San Antonio, Texas, and The University of Texas Health Science Center
Michall died at the age of 75, in 2022. He will be rememberd as a scientist and a healer, who dedicated his life not only to the field he loved, but to using his passion to help and heal others. I looked through his list of publications, book contributions, etc, and his work speaks for itself.
-Ethan