Howdy! I fell in love with microbiology in high school and now work for the FDA analyzing food and cosmetics for harmful bacteria. I’m originally from San Antonio and got my degrees at Texas State University. I enjoy all things science though I must confess I have a particular bias towards all the small things (microorganisms). I find it fascinating that such tiny things can have such detrimental effects on us humans and to all life on our planet.
I do enjoy helping people and if I can...
Howdy! I fell in love with microbiology in high school and now work for the FDA analyzing food and cosmetics for harmful bacteria. I’m originally from San Antonio and got my degrees at Texas State University. I enjoy all things science though I must confess I have a particular bias towards all the small things (microorganisms). I find it fascinating that such tiny things can have such detrimental effects on us humans and to all life on our planet.
I do enjoy helping people and if I can get someone motivated about science or just confident enough to do well in school, that’s fine by me. Some aspects of science can be difficult and very detailed, which is why it is very important to lay a foundation of information in order to comprehend the details. For instance, in order to understand why milk from the store won’t make you sick, you must understand raw milk is loaded with microbes. The process of pasteurization heats milk to kill many of the microbes, which delays the rate of spoilage. Ultra-pasteurization heats milk longer, thus killing more microbes and extends the life of milk. Refrigeration slows the metabolism of microbes which also delays spoilage. And of course, avoiding contamination throughout the process decreases the likelihood of spoilage.
I taught lab courses for Microbial Physiology and Genetics, Advanced Microbiology, and Freshman Biology. I also tutored my students and helped friends with their courses when I could.
In addition to my studies I also did a ton of field research traveling to various places around Texas to survey frogs for Chytrid fungus, snorkeled in springs to look for crayfish, and spent time abroad in Cambodia and Vietnam detecting detecting Chytrid fungus in local amphibian populations. My research involved determining whether or not warmouth (freshwater sunfish) was a reservoir for Salmonella.
After I graduated, I spent half a year teaching microbiology at a technical school until I was offered a position with the Food and Drug Administration.
Though I studied
