On Feb. 9, the Coppell High School science department hosted guest speaker Dr. Romeo Solano to speak to students about setting themselves up for success. Dr. Solano is the executive director of research and development at Quest Diagnostics, specializing in toxicology and drug monitoring.

Having immigrated from Guatemala to the United States at age 10, Solano strived to further his education by supporting himself and working since he was 11 years old. 

Dr. Solano earned his Ph.D in chemistry as a first-generation college graduate at Cleveland State University, later becoming a board-certified forensic toxicologist, propelling him to start working at Quest Diagnostics in 1991.

How did you discover your passion for forensic science?

What first got me interested was the TV show “Quincy” and then I started researching. At that time, it was obviously much harder because we didn’t have the internet, so we had to go to the library and other places in order to get information.

Can you tell us about a project you’ve worked on at Quest Diagnostics?

I was a part of a team that worked with the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in order to determine the true positivity rate of COVID-19 in the normal population, and mainly I was focused on the southwest, while [Quest Diagnostics] did it for the rest of the country. We would get two population positivity rates across the United States.

What do you hope that your audience takes away from today’s presentation?

Personal accountability. It’s up to everybody here to be responsible for their own success. There are always mountains to climb. While getting my Ph.D, I saw this big mountain in front of me and to climb it, I had to get my Ph. D.  Once you look up, there’s another mountain that you have to climb, so you always have to keep learning.

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