BS, Sioux Falls College
PHD, University of Iowa
My primary teaching interest is in the area of Microbiology. I have taught students in Medical Microbiology, Clinical Microbiology, Nursing Microbiology, Epidemiology and the Molecular Biology of SARS CoV-2. In addition, I enjoy teaching students in General Biology and The Molecular Biology of Cancer.
Early in my career my research focus was centered on protein synthesis mechanisms in E. coli and then developing a model system to screen for drugs that blocked replication of HIV.
I currently am focused on writing. I have published 6 books including Visualizing Microbiology 2e, Outbreak: Cases in Real World Microbiology 2e, and The Invisible ABCs, a children's book that focuses on all the great things microorganisms do for us rather than the incomplete message that microbes just cause disease.
I have been actively involved in microbiology education. I am a past chair of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Conference for Undergraduate Educators, which developed the core curriculum for undergraduate microbiology courses. I have also been a symposium organizer and a frequent speaker at numerous education division conferences at the ASM annual meetings.