Mag. Marcela Restrepo

 Maintains a line of communication with customers providing accurate and timely information to their queries  IANZ Certificate of Accreditation in the field of Mechanical Testing Laboratory, approved signatory as per IANZ’s schedule for the laboratory  Revise and write SOP and testing procedures  Performs training of junior technicians and new employees  Responsible for maintaining the quality system to keep IANZ endorsement

 Carry out aggregate, asphalt, bitumen/emulsions and concrete testing using New Zealand and Australian test methods and following ISO 17025 quality requirements.  Responsible for equipment calibration following IANZ standards  Perform field test on construction sites using Nuclear Density Meter, beam deflection, scala penetrometer and clegg impact hammer  Complete and maintain all paper work associated with daily testing in an accurate and timely manner

 Designed and implemented microbiology and molecular biology experiments to isolate and characterize bacteriophages that infect the soil bacteria R. leguminosarum  Presented research work at Canadian Society of Microbiology conference (2010 and 2011, Canada), Evergreen International Phage Meeting (Washington, 2011) and Viruses of Microbes International conference (Brussels, 2012)  Prepare proposals, presentations and manuscripts for publication

 Explained and demonstrated how to set up laboratory experiments  Supervised and guided groups of 25 students during laboratory sessions  Proposed changes to the newly implemented laboratory material for better flow of experiments on the upcoming years  Evaluated student’s progress and graded laboratory reports

 Suggested the use of a different air sampler leading to a cost reduction of over $70,000 per year  Validated products for Sterility and Preservative Effectiveness tests following USP and EP requirements  Tested water by filtration and isolation of coliforms utilizing Mendo and other enrichment media  Wrote and revised SOP for implementation of new techniques and equipments required in the new laboratory environment  Participated in setting-up a new microbiology laboratory

 Prepared media and tested finished products and raw materials using selective testing, particulate matter and bioburden testing according to USP and EP requirements  Completed environmental monitoring of isolators, sterile production areas and non-classified rooms  Performed identification of isolates using Omnilog-Biolog identification system  Generated batch sheets to the samples received using LIMS and Oracle applications

 Prepared media and tested food products such as meat and poultry seasonings, soups, sauces and gravy mixes, snack seasonings, bakery and dough mixes, and coating systems in the microbiology department  Developed a shelf-life study of a new bacterial starter culture that the company was planning to add to their products  Worked with the Griffith Continuous Improvement Department evaluating new raw materials to be used in existing formulae, resulting in cost savings and better quality

Thesis: “Isolation and Characterization of Rhizobium leguminosarum phages from western Canadian soils”. Area: Bacterial Genetics

Specialist Program in Industrial Microbiology