I am a molecular microbiologist. I have taught a variety of courses over the years including cell biology, microbiology, molecular biology, and biotechnology. The inner workings of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells fasinates me and I hope to convey both the knowledge and the enthusiasm I have for these subjects to my students. Laboratory exercises accompany the microbiology course and biotechnology course. Biotechnology is a fascinating area in which to teach since it is rapidly evolving and much of the current medical, agricultural, and industrial research involves biotechnology in some way.

I use a variety of molecular techniques to study the genetics and physiology of bacteria. My primary focus is examining the composition and diversity of microbial populations in complex environmental samples. I use a wide range of molecular methods as tools to better classify the mixed microbial populations in these samples since many of these organisms will not grow on standard microbiological media. Most of my past and on-going research focuses on the biological treatment process in pulp mill and municipal wastewater biotreatment systems. Currently I am also involved in using molecular techniques such as rt-PCR, DGGE and FISH to monitor and detect specific bacterial populations and microbial pathogens in surface waters before and after water purification processes.

Another focus of my research is the nitrification process within the biological treatment system. We have employed FISH to visualized the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in floc in bench scale batch reactors following ammonia oxidation and/or protozoan grazing inhibition. We were able to show that inhibition of protozoan grazing on the bacteria corresponded to a decrease in the rate of nitrification.

The overall goal of my research is to better understand complex bacterial communities. It aims to relate the phylogenetic composition and genetic/functional capability of the microbial community to process parameters and general proficiency of the systems. Such information is necessary to improve process design and management practices in water biotreatment and purification systems.

I am involved with the Women in Engineering Committee at Ryerson. This committee was establishes in 1989 to promote the engineering field to women. The committee initiated a summer camp for women called Discover Engineering in the summer of 1991. Its goal is to introduce young women in high school to the challenges and rewards of engineering through a variety of fun, hands on projects and discussions led by women engineers, scientists, and students. The camp was very successful with 60% of the camp participants enrolling in engineering university programs. Other outreach activities include a High School 'Discover Engineering' Workshop program and a One-Day 'Discover Engineering' Career Workshop. Currently WIE hosts a summer research assistant program for high school girls interested in working with a scientist or engineer for the summer.

Clark, S.T., K.A. Gilbride*, M. Mehrvar, I.V. Bostan, A. Laursen, R. Pushka and L.H. McCarthy. 2011. Evaluation of Low-copy genetic targets for qPCR-based waterborne bacterial pathogen detection. Water Research, 45 (11), pg. 3378-3388.

Levinson, L. and K.A. Gilbride.*2011. Detection of melamine and cyanuric acid in vegetable protein products used in food production. Journal of Food Science, 76(4), C568-C575.

cHaffar, M and K.A. Gilbride.*2010. The utility of RT-PCR and FISH application for the detection of single copy gene targets in E.coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 56, 254-262.

Microbial Papers: Gilbride, K.A.* and Levinson, L. 2008 Wastewater Treatment and Emerging Pollutants in the Environment, Chapter 4 In: Water Resources Research Progress, Liam N. Robinson (ed), Nova Publishers, pp 127-148

Pogue, A. and K.A. Gilbride. 2007. Impact of Protozoan Grazing on Nitrification and the Ammonia- and Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacterial Communities in Activated Sludge. Can. J. Microbiol. 53: 559-571.

Gilbride, K.A., D.Y. Lee and L. Beaudette. 2006. Molecular Techniques in Wastewater: Understanding microbial communities, detecting pathogens, and real time process control. J. Microbiol. Methods 66(1): 1-20.

Gilbride, K.A., A. Cesnik, J. Gawat, D. Frigon and R.R. Fulthorpe. 2006. Effect of Chemical and Physical Parameters on a Pulp Mill Biotreatment Bacterial Community. Wat. Res. 40: 775-787.