In 2009, I earned my PhD in Biology with a concentration in Ecological and Environmental Microbiology under the guidance of Dr. Harwood.  During my time in her lab my work focused on developing and optimizing a real time PCR assay to quantify human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) in various matrices as an indication of water quality. This method has been employed in several epidemiological studies across the United States and to date the HPyVs assay has been utilized in laboratories of various states and countries. 

Shortly after graduating I taught Cell Biology and Biology at the University of South Florida. In the Fall of 2010, I began teaching at St. Petersburg College (SPC) and am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at SPC.  I instruct a diverse array of courses including Biology, Microbiology, Genetics, Immunology and Food Science.  I also mentor an undergraduate microbiology-based research club with projects that include identification of pigmented bacteria, assessment of triclosan-resistance in enterococci isolates, documenting pathogenicity of Vibrio spp. isolated from local recreational waters, and evaluating antibiotic resistance in bacterial isolates collected from fomites.  In addition, I am actively involved with the Florida Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (http://www.flasm.org/) and am the host of the monthly WEDU PBS science series QUEST (http://www.wedu.org/programs/quest/). 

To learn more about what I do, check out my website: https://drulrich1.wordpress.com/