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Contact Maria B.

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Profile Details

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USD 25 /hr

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Hire Dr. Maria B.

United States

USD 25 /hr

Senior Service Fellow

Profile Summary

I am a microbiologist with 25 years of experience across clinical microbiology, environmental microbiology, bacteriology, mycology, molecular biology, QC, bioinformatics, and public health. My expertise includes working with biofilm‑forming bacteria, understanding their behavior, persistence, and impact in both clinical and environmental settings.

I also provide English for Academic Purposes (EAP) support, helping researchers and students improve academic writing, refine manuscripts, strengthen clarity, and communicate scientific ideas effectively.

I am currently expanding my skills in AI‑assisted scientific workflows, including pattern recognition, data interpretation, and integrating modern AI tools into microbiology, QC, and molecular biology processes.

With a broad foundation across laboratory science, biofilm and bacteriology work, academic communication, QC, molecular biology, and emerging AI tools, I can assist with literature reviews, QC documentation, molecular biology tasks, environmental microbiology questions, scientific writing, EAP editing, and general scientific support.

Subject Matter Expertise

Services

Writing
Research
Consulting
Data & AI
Product Development

Writing Non-Medical Regulatory Writing, Technical Writing, Creative Writing, Newswriting, General Proofreading & Editing, Translation

Research Fact Checking, Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Healthcare Consulting, Scientific and Technical Consulting, Regulatory Consulting

Data & AI Statistical Analysis, Image Processing, Image Analysis, Data Visualization, Data Cleaning

Product Development Formulation, Stability/Shelf Life Testing, Product Evaluation, Product Validation, Quality Assurance & Control (QA/QC)

Work Experience

Independent Consultant

BG BioWrite Scientific

August 2026 - Present

Microbiologist

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

October 2014 - July 2026

Microbiologist IV

Chenega

October 2014 - September 2015

Postdoctoral Scholar

Pennsylvania State University, USA

June 2013 - July 2014

Graduate Student

Pennsylvania State University

August 2007 - June 2013

Microbiologist

PA Department of Health

March 2005 - August 2007

QA/QC Technician/Food Microbiologist

Berks Packing

January 2004 - March 2005

Lab Technician

Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Bayamón

June 2003 - December 2003

QC Analyst/Environmental Microbiologist

M J Reider Assoc.

November 2000 - June 2003

Youth Program Assistant, Child & Youth Services (CYS) Support

Fort Buchanan, U.S. Army Installation

May 2000 - August 2000

Food Microbiology Assistant

R & J Bottling / 7UP

January 1997 - January 1998

Education

PhD Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology

Penn State University

August 2007 - June 2013

BS Microbiology

Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Bayamón - Puerto Rico

August 1996 - May 2004

Certifications

Certification details not provided.

Publications

PREPRINT

Florence Whitehill, Amanda K. Lyons, Bethelhem Abera, Colin Adler, Maria Burgos-Garay, Mariya Campbell, Ariel J. Santiago, Christine Ganim, Jamari Moore, Yimu Cahela, et al. (2026). Insights from Wastewater Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Skilled Nursing Facilities: Comparing Virus Concentration Methods for Wastewater and Correlating Wastewater Virus Concentrations with Clinical Infections, Georgia, USA, 2022 . Journal of Water and Health.

María Burgos-Garay, Mariya Campbell, Angela Coulliette-Salmond (2026). Comparison of RT-ddPCR and RT-qPCR for Detection and Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Archived Skilled Nursing Facility Wastewater .

Hans Desale, Forrest K Jones, Frances Vila-Hereter, Jessica Carrion, Manuela Beltran, Candimar Colon-Sanchez, Cindia Diaz, Genesis Cintron-De Leon, Camille Rivera Avilés, Maria Burgos-Garay, et al. (2025). Diagnostic Performance and Regulatory Readiness of Dengue Rapid Diagnostic Tests Commercially Available in the United States .

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Ariel Jose Santiago, Maria Burgos Garay, Mariya Campbell, Yimu Cahela, Rodney Donlan, Paige Gable, Christine Ganim Kyros, Lauren Franco, Leila Kartforosh, Susanna Lenz, et al. (2025). Skilled nursing facility wastewater surveillance: a SARS-CoV-2 and antimicrobial resistance detection pilot study . Journal of Water and Health.

Multifaceted Public Health Response to a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Meat-Processing Workers, Utah, March-June 2020 @article{2021, doi = {10.1097/phh.0000000000001383}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1097%2Fphh.0000000000001383}, year = 2021, month = {jun}, publisher = {Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)}, volume = {Publish Ahead of Print}, author = {Tia M. Rogers and Susan J. Robinson and Laura E. Reynolds and Chandresh N. Ladva and Maria Burgos-Garay and Ari Whiteman and Holly Budge and Natalie Soto and Mariela Thompson and Estee Hunt and Todd Barson and Andrew T. Boyd}, title = {Multifaceted Public Health Response to a {COVID}-19 Outbreak Among Meat-Processing Workers, Utah, March-June 2020}} . Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

María L. Burgos-Garay, Ariel J. Santiago, Leila Kartforosh, Shireen Kotay, Rodney M. Donlan(2021). Supplemental nutrients stimulate the amplification of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CPKP) in a sink drain in vitro biofilm reactor model . Biofouling. 37. (5). Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Localization.LocalizedHtmlString 465--480. Informa {UK} Limited

(2020). Colonization of carbapenem-resistant <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> in a sink-drain model biofilm system . Infection control and hospital epidemiology.

(2020). Bacteriophage treatment of carbapenemase-producing <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> in a multispecies biofilm: a potential biocontrol strategy for healthcare facilities . AIMS microbiology.

(2019). Lessons from the reestablishment of Public Health Laboratory activities in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria . Nature Communications.

(2016). Pythium and Phytopythium Species in Two Pennsylvania Greenhouse Irrigation Water Tanks . Plant Disease.

(2014). Interactions of Heterotrophic Bacteria from Recycled Greenhouse Irrigation Water with Plant Pathogenic Pythium . HortScience.