Byron Rippke, D.V.M.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Veterinary Biologics (USDA CVB) (retired)

 

Byron Rippke, D.V.M., a native of northwest Iowa, received his D.V.M. from Iowa State University in 1983. From 1983 through 1987, Rippke was engaged in mixed animal clinical practice in Iowa and Texas.

In 1987, he joined the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service holding a variety of positions eventually joining their National Correlation Center in Ames, Iowa. His duties there included teaching continuing education seminars on poultry pathology and correlating slaughter dispositions. Rippke also began a master's program in veterinary pathology at Iowa State University in 1995. During his time with FSIS, Rippke was a subject matter expert involved in the agency's HACCP program development, as well as the agency's Field Microcomputer Demonstration Project.

In October 1996, Rippke joined USDA, APHIS with the Center for Veterinary Biologics inspection and compliance staff as a biologics specialist. In November 1997, Rippke joined the CVB-Licensing and Policy Development (now CVB-PEL) staff as a staff veterinarian (reviewer) and then section leader for poultry virology and bacteriology. In 2005, Rippke was named the CVB director of policy, evaluation and licensing with oversight of all review and laboratory testing activities as well as the development of center policies for the regulation of veterinary biological products.

After almost 10 years as the director of CVB-PEL, Rippke was appointed as the CVB center director in January of 2015 and held that position until his retirement in December of 2022.