Academic Background

I received a B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. in Marine Microbiology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and a Ph.D. in Applied Microbiology from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. I was trained in microbial ecology, physicochemistry, microarray technologies, molecular biology, and bioinformatics at the following universities: University of California, Irvine, University of Maryland, Northwestern University, and University of South Carolina.

I was a Research Assistant Professor in Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington for over 9 years. During the summers, I served as a Visiting Professor at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Massachusetts, and at the University of Cologne and the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany.

I was a Full Professor at Alabama State University and held Affiliate Professorships in Periodontics at the University of Washington and in Microbiology at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

I have experience as an instructor at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels (see Teaching). I am a certified high school teacher through the University of British Columbia's science education program. I have taught high school science and biology, undergraduate courses at the University of California, Irvine, and graduate-level courses at Alabama State University.

I have been productive in terms of publications, with a Scopus h-index of 26, over 50 published articles, and more than 1900 citations. I have initiated and maintained an externally funded research program, which has provided salary for myself for over 9 years (all "soft money"), as well as salaries, supplies, and travel funds for students and a post-doctoral fellow.