Dr. Lednicky traces his interest in science back to the third grade, when his father gifted him a microscope for Christmas. That pivotal moment sparked a deep curiosity about the unseen world of microbes — a curiosity that would ultimately shape his distinguished career.
Over the years, Dr. Lednicky has held positions in both private and academic laboratories, advancing from a microbiology technician to a globally recognized virologist.
His career has included appointments at several prestigious research institutions, including the University of Miami, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Texas at Austin, University of Missouri-Columbia, Baylor College of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center, the Midwest Research Institute, and currently the University of Florida.
Dr. Lednicky has long championed a One Health perspective, with the knowledge that microbes frequently move from species to species — we just fail to detect them. He emphasizes the need to move beyond narrow diagnostic assumptions, stating: “One should never assume that infectious diseases are caused only by a small and already identified menu of pathogens”.
He has pioneered the detection of viruses at the human-animal interface and has been a trailblazer in air sampling techniques. Notably, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Lednicky was among the first scientists to isolate live SARS-CoV-2 virus from air samples. Demonstrating that the virus could be transmitted via inhalation — at a time when it was assumed the virus spread through close contact alone.
Throughout his career, Dr. Lednicky has conducted many diverse research projects, including a broad spectrum of pathogens across nearly every viral family. While much of his work has involved studying humans, he has often studied both domestic and wild animals, as well as insects.
He and his team members were the first to discover numerous previously unidentified viruses, several of which are listed in the table below:
In addition to these discoveries, Dr. Lednicky’s team were also the first to isolate several unusual viruses in human samples, including: Keystone virus, Madariaga virus, Melao virus, Porcine deltacoronavirus, and a recombinant canine coronavirus.
Dr. Lednicky is recognized for his boundless curiosity and very successful microbiological problem solving. In his hands fastidious viruses are often cultured where other laboratories may fail. Often, he helps other virological teams, such as our UTMB One Health laboratory solve complex problems. He observes: “Molecular detection methods have surpassed virus isolation in cultured cells for virus diagnostics in clinical settings. Yet when performed side-by-side, we continue to find viruses that were missed by molecular technologies. One must remember that molecular technologies tend to be very specific in scope and may not work when for previously unknown viruses”.
UTMB has been uniquely privileged to work closely with Professor John Lednicky in multiple research projects. His broad scientific insight, deep microbiological knowledge, and tireless curiosity continues to enrich and inspire collaborative research in the One Health arena.