Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Rho Appoints Peter Schmidt, Ph.D., as SVP, Government Partnerships,  

Executive Committee Member 

Former Vice Dean at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine brings scientific and strategic expertise to lead the federally funded clinical research enterprise of this international CRO. 

Research Triangle Park, NC – April 19, 2022 – Rho, a global full-service contract research organization (CRO) with a proven track record of drug development success, has appointed Peter Schmidt, Ph.D., as Senior Vice President, Government Partnerships of Rho’s Federal Systems Division. For over 30 years, Rho has worked closely with NIH/NIAID and other federal departments on groundbreaking clinical trial and epidemiologic studies, including the LEAP peanut allergy study. 

“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Schmidt to Rho," said Dr. Laura Helms Reece, CEO, Rho. “He is a preeminent neuroscientist and recognized leader across federal, commercial and academic arenas. His expertise in clinical research is remarkable, and his command of central nervous system, infectious disease, and other indications is a great fit with Rho’s focus in those areas. I am eager to work with Dr. Schmidt as he brings exciting strategic and scientific leadership to our federal business. His experience and judgment will be great additions to our Executive Committee.”  

“I am honored to work with this incredibly accomplished team and to build upon Rho’s decades-long legacy in federal research,” said Dr. Schmidt. “Healthcare continues to evolve, and I look forward to helping our customers navigate those changes by using science to empower advances in clinical medicine.” 

Prior to joining Rho, Dr. Schmidt oversaw basic, translational, and clinical research in his role as Vice Dean at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. As a biomedical researcher, he has contributed as an inventor, principal investigator, and statistician across diverse domains. During his long tenure at the National Parkinson Foundation, Dr. Schmidt designed and led the largest clinical study of Parkinson’s disease ever conducted. He has served on scientific and regulatory committees for federal programs, with recent research focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and healthcare.   

With a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, Dr. Schmidt has an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Cornell University’s Sibley School of Mechanical Engineering, where he studied gait and balance and total joint replacement. He completed a fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, holds two patents, and is the author of many peer-reviewed journals.  

About Rho’s Federal Systems Division 

For more than 35 years, Rho has supported federally funded programs that seek new treatments and standards of care for diseases across a variety of indications. Our scientists and research teams have supported pioneering research for interventions to reduce the devasting effects of food allergies and asthma on children, autoimmune diseases, organ and stem cell transplantation, and dental and craniofacial pain. Through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), we aid the search for safer and more effective medical countermeasures, including pandemic influenza vaccinations for adults and anthrax vaccinations for our most vulnerable populations. Our researchers have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Nature, Science, and others . 

About Rho 

Rho is a global, privately held contract research organization (CRO) headquartered in Research Triangle Park, a biotech hub in North Carolina, US. Rho provides a full range of drug development services, from program strategy through to clinical trials and marketing applications. For more than 36 years, Rho has been a trusted partner to some of the most innovative pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies as well as academic and government organizations. Dedicated to service excellence and cross-functional collaboration, Rho’s therapeutic expertise, employee focus and commitment to strong site relationships change what it means to work with a CRO – accelerating time to market, maximizing ROI, and delivering consistent, smarter and more efficient programs. Experience Rho by following the company on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. 

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Kelly Maicon (on behalf of Rho) 

LARGEMOUTH COMMUNICATIONS 

m: +1.919.741.9784 

kmaicon@largemouthpr.com 

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