Resume

• 2007

  Ph.D.

  Texas A&M University Regents Fellowship 2007-2008\nAmerican Society for Microbiology Student Travel Grant 2011\nPlant Pathology and Microbiology Student Travel Grant\t2011\nVolunteer Judge at the 2011 Robertson County

  Texas Science Fair

  Plant Pathology and Microbiology

  Officer in MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture

  Natural Resources

  and Related Sciences) 2008-2010\nPlant Pathology Graduate Student Club 2007-2011\nAmerican Society for Microbiology Student Member

  Texas A&M University

• 2002

  BS

  Recipient of TWU Chancellors Student Research Scholars Award 2006\nTWU Biology Department Scholarship 2006\nFirst place in the Genomics Education Poster Scholarship program

  a nationwide competition sponsored by LI-COR Biosciences Corporation 2006

  Biology

  Officer in Kappa Epsilon Mu Chemistry Club 2005-2006\nBeta Beta Beta Biological Society

  Texas Woman's University

• Botany

  Molecular Biology

  Bioinformatics

  DNA extraction

  Bacterial Transformation

  Plant Pathology

  Microbial Ecology

  Bacterial Culturing

  Biofuels

  DNA sequencing

  Microscopy

  Soil Microbiology

  Biology

  Higher Education

  Bacterial Identification

  Sequence Analysis

  Environmental Microbiology

  Industrial Microbiology

  Microbiology

  University Teaching

  Comparison of three screening methods to select mixed-microbial inoculum for mixed-acid fermentations

  Using a mixed culture of microorganisms

  the carboxylate platform converts biomass into hydrocarbons and chemicals. To develop a method that identifies the highest performing inoculum for carboxylate fermentations

  five bacterial communities were screened and ranked by three fermentation performance tests: (1) 30-day batch screen

  (2) 28-day continuum particle distribution model (CPDM)

  and (3) 5-month continuous countercurrent fermentation trains. To screen numerous inocula sources

  these tests were used sequentially in an aseptic environment. For the batch-fermentation screen

  Inoculum 1 achieved the highest conversion. For the CPDM evaluation

  the operating map for Inoculum 1 had the highest performance. For the continuous countercurrent fermentation

  the train resulting from Inoculum 1 was among the best performers. This study suggests that the three screens are a useful and predictive method for choosing optimal inocula sources. The bacterial community with optimal performance in these three screens could be considered for use in commercial-scale fermentations.

  Comparison of three screening methods to select mixed-microbial inoculum for mixed-acid fermentations

  To test the hypothesis that microbial communities from saline and thermal sediment environments are pre-adapted to exhibit superior fermentation performances

  501 saline and thermal samples were collected from a wide geographic range. Each sediment sample was screened as inoculum in a 30-day batch fermentation. Using multivariate statistics

  the capacity of each community was assessed to determine its ability to degrade a cellulosic substrate and produce carboxylic acids in the context of the inoculum sediment chemistry. Conductance of soils was positively associated with production of particular acids

  but negatively associated with conversion efficiency. In situ sediment temperature and conversion efficiency were consistently positively related. Because inoculum characteristics influence carboxylate platform productivity

  optimization of the inoculum is an important and realistic goal.

  Evaluating the performance of carboxylate platform fermentations across diverse inocula originating as sediments from extreme environments

  Naturally occurring microbial communities from high-salt and/or high-temperature environments were collected from sites across the United States and Puerto Rico and screened for their efficacy in the MixAlco™ biofuel production platform. The MixAlco™ process

  based on the carboxylate platform

  is a sustainable and economically viable platform for converting lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels. Using a mixed culture of anaerobic organisms

  lignocellulosic biomass is fermented into carboxylic acids

  which are neutralized to their corresponding carboxylate salts. These salts can then be converted into a wide variety of chemical products and fuels (alcohols

  gasoline

  diesel

  jet fuel). The central hypothesis is that microbial communities from relatively extreme environments

  having evolved to withstand selection pressures similar to the conditions in the carboxylate platform

  will exhibit high rates of biomass conversion. A total of 559 soil communities was screened as inocula in established laboratory-scale fermentations. We used pyrotag sequencing of 16S rRNA genes to characterize the bacterial components of the best-performing microbial communities. The best performing communities converted up to 3 times more biomass to acids than a standard marine community inoculum. The community analyses have allowed us to determine the extent to which the same functional types are favored during fermentation

  at both laboratory and demonstration plant scales. The wealth of data provided by current sequencing technologies allowed us to question whether communities with high process performances tend to achieve that performance with similar community structures.

  Hammett

  Texas Woman's University

  North Central Texas College

  Texas Woman's University

  Texas A&M University

  Tarrant County College

  University of Pennsylvania

  Flower Mound

  Texas

  Microbiology Instructor

  North Central Texas College

  Denton

  Texas

  Department of Biology faculty position responsible for preparation

  set-up and supervision of biology laboratory courses including microbiology

  immunology

  botany

  ecology

  environmental science

  and general science.

  Laboratory Instructor

  Texas Woman's University

  Denton

  TX

  Department of Biology faculty position responsible for preparation

  set-up and supervision of biology laboratory courses including microbiology

  immunology

  botany

  ecology

  environmental science

  and general science.

  Assistant Clinical Professor

  Texas Woman's University

  Denton

  Texas

  Nutrition and Food Sciences Adjunct Faculty Food Microbiology

  Texas Woman's University

  Denton

  Texas

  Adjunct Faculty Microbiology

  Texas Woman's University

  Denton

  Texas

  Research with Tina L. Gumienny

  Ph.D.

  in cell signaling using C. elegans

  Research Assistant

  Texas Woman's University

  Philadelphia

  Pennsylvania

  Participant in the 2006 Summer Undergraduate Internship with Dr. Michael Sebert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia investigating protease regulation of pneumococcal competence.

  Internship Program in Bio-medical Science

  University of Pennsylvania

  Denton

  Texas

  Undergraduate research with Dr. Sarah McIntire investigating plasmids and their role in the pathogenicity of Helicobacter pylori.

  Undergraduate Research

  Texas Woman's University

  Denton

  Texas

  Nursing Microbiology and Biology Laboratory Student Teaching Assistant. Instruction of laboratory principles and techniques to students.

  Course Assistant

  Texas Woman's University

  Denton

  Texas

  Undergraduate research with Dr. Camelia Maier investigating bio-mineralization in dioecious Maclura pomifera (Osage-Orange) trees.

  Undergraduate Research

  Texas Woman's University

  College Station

  Texas

  Analysis of microbial communities from extreme environments

  and obtaining and screening naturally occurring microbial communities in a bio-fuel platform (MixAlco™) by comparing phylogenetic diversity between the sediment microbial communities to those same communities after the screen’s selective pressure.

  Graduate Research

  Texas A&M University

  Denton

  Texas

  Undergraduate Research with Dr. Sarah McIntire and Dr. Camelia Maier investigating microbial communities associated with Dionaea muscipula (Venus Flytrap) traps.

  Undergraduate Research

  Texas Woman's University

  Fort Worth

  Texas

  Microbiology Instructor

  Tarrant County College