Professor of Biology
Director of Undergraduate Research
Office: Science Center 059
Phone: (319) 352-8339
FAX: (319) 352-8606
Lab Phone: (319) 352-7090
Email: roy.ventullo@wartburg.edu

Courses Taught
BI 151 Ecosystem, Cells, & Evolution
LS 206/216 Culture of Guyana & Trinidad/Tobago
BI 206/216 Ecology of Guyana & Trinidad/Tobago I, II
BI 305 Microbiology & lab
BI 406 Microbial Ecology & lab
BI 455 Methods of Biological Research
BI 456 Student Research

Advising Expertise
Biology
Environment/Conservation
Research
Graduate Studies: Environmental/Conservation
Graduate Studies: Public Health
Pre-nursing
Medical Technology
Exploring

Curriculum VITA (resume in PDF format)

Personal Interests

I am a computer geek at heart. I have been using computers for education and research since the early days of Radio Shack TRS-80s and IBM 8086 (We had to add floppy disc drives as no one thought they were needed!!) With much help from students, I run the Bio Department Website, the Virtual Laboratory Guide for BI 151, and the Virtual Microscope sites. There are six computers in my laboratory.

My tastes in music are somewhat eclectic. I still like the Beatles and much of the music from the 60s and 70s (Eric Clapton, Sanatana (old and new stuff), the Stones). I also listen to jazz (Miles Davis, Brubeck) and the Blues (BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan).

Wartburg Undergraduate Research Web site:
http://www.wartburg.edu/wcur/

Research/Areas of Interest

The occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in companion animals.

Isolation and characterization of microorganisms that metabolize antibiotics.

Ecology of microbial communities using molecular methods.

• microbial communities in disease (contact and catheter biofilms, water, soil).
• microbial communities in nature (aquatic ecosystems, soil, sewage treatment, tropical Bromeliads and hypersaline ponds).

Biodegradation of dyes by the fungus, Phanerochaete. (moved from above)

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria. Dogs and cats may serve as reservoirs for infections in humans.  Current research involves the presence and characterization of antibiotic resistant staphylococci and MRSA in otherwise healthy domestic animals in NE Iowa.

Antibiotic resistance and biodegradation in the environment. There has been a resurgence of interest in the spread of antibiotic resistant and antibiotic degrading bacteria in ecosystems. These projects combines the techniques of culturing (plates, tubes, continuous culture, biofilm reactors), microscopy (SEM, DIC and Confocal) and molecular biology (FISH staining, PCR, DGGE) to study antibiotic resistance/degradation.

Biofilms. Attached bacterial communities, called biofilms, have a major impact on ecological, economic, medical, and industrial processes. I have been studying SLIME (microbial biofilms) since my post-doc days at the University of Calgary. We are using culturing and molecular methods (metabolic stains, PCR, FISH, DGGE) to study bacterial biofilm development and activity using CDC bioreactors and flow cells.

Analysis of bacterial communities in Bromeliad tanks and hypersaline ponds. These projects developed from my many trips to the tropics in May term and upcpoming trip to the Bahamas. Many species of Bromeliads (epiphytic tropical American plants of the family Bromeliaceae) are structured so they "trap" water in what are called tanks. These tank bromeliads contain a myriad of micro- and macro-organisms.  Little has been done to analyze the bacteria and fungi in these tanks. While much work has been done on microbial ecology of hypersaline systems, there is a dearth of work on the hypersaline ponds in the Bahamas.  We are using  (SEM), light, and fluorescent in-situ hydridization (FISH) microscopy, PCR and DGGE to characterize these communities.

Biodegradation of azo dyes by Phanerochaete chrysosporium. I spent my sabbatical leave in the laboratory of Dr. John Bumpus at the University of Northern Iowa. Studies continue on the biodegradative enzymes of PC under various nutrient conditions. Projects in my lab include growing PC in biofilms and measuring the effect of nutrients on enzymes which degrade azo and aryl dyes.