Dr. Sharon Berk, professor of biology Phone: (931) 372-3451 Fax: (931) 372-6346 E-mail: sberk@tntech.edu Education Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Maryland (1978) M.S., Zoology, University of Maryland (1974) B.S., Biology, University of Illinois (1972)

Dr. Berk's Research Specialty Areas Legionella-protozoa interactions Development of new microbial aquatic toxicity assays Protozoan-bacterial trophic interactions Detection of novel human pathogens associated with amoebae Click the links below for video clips of Dr. Berk's research. (Note: Images require QuickTime Player that can be downloaded at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/.) Tetrahymena Salmonella enterica Acanthamoeba polyphaga Current or Recent Research Projects Animal Model Testing for Novel Pathogens Infecting Amoebae from Cooling Tower Water (with J.H. Gunderson). Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Characterization of a Naturally Occurring Amoeba-Resistant Bacteria from Water Samples (with J.H. Gunderson). Funded by Middle Tennessee State University via the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Distribution and Disease Potential of New Legionella-like Bacteria as a Function of Environmental Variables (with J.H. Gunderson and N. Uddin). Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Interactions of Salmonella enterica and E. coli 0157:H7 with Protozoa from Fresh Produce. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Microbial Ecology of Food-borne Pathogens—Role of Protozoa in Pathogen Survival and Maintenance in the Environment. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (To view pdf files, you will need Adobe Acrobat software for Macintosh, Windows or Linux. This software is available free at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.)