Interview with Dr.

Luis Cruz-Vera

Describe the level of college degree and types of courses required to be a microbiologist.

​You would need a major in biology, or biology/chemistry, or microbiology. These majors would

give you the following areas of knowledge:​

Genetics, Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Ecology. Later on you can specialize in Bacteriology

(bacteria), Mycology (fungi), or Parasitology (little eukaryotic organisms).

What are the main technological instruments microbiologists use in the lab and what are

they used for?

​Microscopes (to check for size, morphology or expression of genes), cell counter (to count

number of cells in a sample), sterilization ​hoods (to keep biological samples free from other

microorganisms), autoclaves (to keep material and equipment free from microorganisms),

thermocyclers (to amplify genes from microorganisms using a technique named PCR),

incubators (to grow microorganisms in media at diverse temperatures), freezers and refrigerators

(to preserve biological samples), centrifuges (to separate cellular components), sonicators or

french press (to breakdown cells), and computers (to analyze data).

Describe the daily routine and tasks of a laboratory microbiologist.

1. Check if cultures of bacteria that were set up the day before grew.

2. Separate the cells from the growing media.

3. Break down the cells if you would like to analyze the composition of the cells. If you would

like to check for the types of cells in your sample, you spread them in media to separate their

cellular components.
4. Perform modern technologies to analyze expression of genes, mostly biochemical assays such

as PCR, Northern blot, RNA sequencing, proteomics, and western blot.

5. If you are interested in the type of microorganism in a sample, you use today's modern

methods of PCR to detect genes that are unique for each microorganism, microscopy to check for

morphology, or biochemistry to check for chemical reactions unique to each microbe. ​

What are the requirements for obtaining a Ph.D in microbiology and publishing your own

research?

​Do scientific work related with the genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, ecology or physiology of

a simple microorganism or multiple microorganisms. Of course, you have to take advanced

courses such as Microbial Genetics to do well in a research lab. Publications are mostly

presented in journals such as ​Journal of Bacteriology​ where they look for studies related to the

topics mentioned above.​

What is a typical entry-level job in the microbiology lab like and what qualifications are

needed to obtain the job?

Complete the courses mentioned before and essentially do research work ​in a laboratory

dedicated to the studies of any microorganism. Check what my lab does at this website:

https://sites.google.com/a/uah.edu/cruz-vera-s-lab/