Curriculum Vitae

Robert Scott Miller

Department of Biological Sciences

101 Life Sciences Building

Auburn, AL 36849

015 Life Sciences Building
millers@auburn.edu

334-844-1657

Education:
M.S. Poultry Science / Microbiology, 2008
Auburn University; Auburn, AL
Thesis title: Evaluation of Subtyping Methods for the Characterization of Campylobacter Strains from Different Geographical Areas

 

Work Experience:

Auburn University, Department of Biological Sciences; Auburn, AL

Coordinator III, Science Teaching Laboratories, October 2013 � Present

Coordinator II, Science Teaching Laboratories, August 2011 � October 2013

�         Instruct clinical and general microbiology laboratory classes

�         Coordinate instruction of general microbiology laboratory classes by graduate teaching assistants

�         Supervise prep laboratory (3 employees)

�         Design laboratory curriculum for general and clinical microbiology laboratory classes

�         Develop test and quiz materials and assigning of grades for general and clinical microbiology laboratory classes

�         Maintain culture collection for general and clinical microbiology laboratory classes

�         Provide technical support and supplies to professors leading applied and environmental microbiology laboratory classes, food microbiology laboratory classes, and microbial evolution and diversity classes

�         Responsible for maintenance and spore testing of department autoclaves

�         Procurement of supplies for general microbiology laboratory classes, clinical microbiology laboratory classes, and food microbiology laboratory classes

 

Savannah River National Laboratory; Aiken, SC

Scientist, October 2009 � August 2011

�         Active DOE security clearance

�         Served as instructor and subject matter expert (SME) of biological weapons and agricultural terrorism for DHS� Customs and Border Patrol's Weapons of Mass Effect classes at FLETC, Charleston, SC

�         Provided microbiology and molecular biology expertise to SRNL�s Environmental and Biotechnology Section (EBS) on following projects

�  DHS SERRI project Effective Mold and Contaminant Remediation for Flood and Water Damaged Homes

�  DOD/EPA/DOE SERDP Project ER-1561, Standardized Procedures for Use of Nucleic Acid-Based Tools for Microbial Monitoring

�  DOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development project Development of Cooling Towers for Enhanced Biocollection, Concentration, and Biodetection

�  Inter-Agency Agreement between the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to develop, test and demonstrate a prototype Hybrid Microwave Decontamination System, to remove pathogens and other contaminants from law enforcement materials and equipment

�         SRNL ESB Legionella Cooling Tower Surveillance team member providing expertise in QPCR and fluorescent microscopy

�         DOE Biological SME/technical reviewer for Dept. of Commerce export control applications

 

Auburn University, Department of Poultry Science; Auburn, AL

Research Assistant III, October 2008 � September 2009

Research Assistant II, October 2003 � October 2008

�         Microbiology and molecular laboratory supervisor

�         Assist in planning research projects for microbiology and molecular techniques laboratories

�         Report experiment results and assist in writing publications

�         Provide technical assistance for graduate student research

�         Responsible for lab logistics and procurement of supplies

�         Identification of bacteria to species level by multiplex polymerase chain reaction

�         Developed and validated Taqman and SYBR green assays for real time PCR

�         Bacterial fingerprinting by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, repetitive PCR, and restriction fragment length polymorphism

�         Sequence alignment using Multalign, Clustal, and BioEdit

 

Teaching Experience:

Auburn University, Department of Biological Sciences (Auburn, AL)

Coordinator II, Science Teaching Laboratories 2011 � present

Instructor for clinical and general microbiology laboratory classes

 

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (Charleston, SC)

Instructor 2009 � present

Classroom lectures and proctored practical exercises pertaining to bio- and agro- terrorism weapon production, organism overview, signs and symptoms, and weapon delivery for Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Patrol Weapons of Mass Effect

�����������

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) (Aiken, SC)

Instructor 2011

Taught basic microbiology and QPCR methods for Legionella pneumophila at SRNL's 2011 Annual Legionella Surveillance Meeting

 

Auburn University, Department of Poultry Science (Auburn, AL)

Instructor

Workshop on Campylobacter Isolation and Identification from Foods - 2007 � 2009

Taught PCR, QPCR, PFGE, RFLP, latex agglutination, phase contrast and darkfield microscopy, gram staining, direct enumeration, biochemical identification, ELISA, automated antibody labeled identification, and antimicrobial resistance screening of Campylobacter.� Those attending were from the following organizations: USDA, FDA, HealthCanada, bioM�rieux, New York State Dept. of Agriculture and Marketing, Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture, Veterinary Laboratories Agency (UK), Illinois Dept. of Public Health, Silliker Laboratories, University of Delaware, Universidad Austral de Chile, Koch Foods, Maple Leaf Farms,� Jennie-O,� Wayne Farms, Sanderson Farms, and Tyson Foods

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant - 2007

Food Safety/Advanced Food Safety course.

Taught laboratory section to undergraduate and graduate students.� Overview of food borne pathogens and how to develop and write Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans for meat and poultry processing plants to prevent pathogen introduction into food products.

 

Teaching Assistant - 2004

Food Safety/Advanced Food Safety course.�

Taught students about food borne pathogens and how to perform gram stain, visualize bacteria with a microscope, practice sterile technique, prepare microbial growth media, enumerate bacteria, and identify bacteria biochemically.

 

Creative Work:

Brigmon R.L., R.S. Miller, P. Moeller. 2011. Funtox: Sodium Channel Toxin for Biomedical Applications. Patent Disclosure. Savannah River National Laboratory�

 

Oyarzabal O. A., B. Shaheen, R. S. Miller. 2007. Differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli based on survival at pH 4. Patent Disclosure. Auburn University

 

Refereed Journal Publications:

S. Leskinen, E. Kearns, W. Jones, R. Miller, C. Betivas, M. Kingsley, Brigmon, R., D. Lim. 2012. Automated dead-end ultrafiltration of large volume water samples to enable detection of low-level targets and reduce sample variability. J Appl Microbiol. 113(2):351-360.

 

Miller R.S., W. Miller, M. Behringer, H. Hariharan, V. Matthew, O. A. Oyarzabal. 2010. DNA Identification and Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Isolated from Cecal Samples of Chickens in Grenada. J. Appl. Microbiol. 108:1041�1049

 

Liu L., S.K. Hussain, R.S. Miller, O.A. Oyarzabal. 2009. Efficacy of Mini VIDAS for the Detection of Campylobacter spp. from Retail Broiler Meat Enriched in Bolton Broth with or without the Supplementation of Blood. J. Food Prot. 72:2428-32

 

Fergus, J. W., O. A. Oyarzabal, R. S. Miller, W. F. Gale, and D.E. Conner. 2009. Reductions of Escherichia coli, coliforms, aerobic plate counts, and Campylobacter jejuni by a small-scale, high-pressure system devised to clean a miniaturized poultry giblet transport system. J. Food Safety 29: 650�660

 

Miller, R. S., L. Speegle, A. J. Lastovica, and O. A. Oyarzabal. 2008. An Evaluation of Three Commercial Latex Agglutination Tests for the Identification of Campylobacter spp. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46:3546-3547

 

Oyarzabal, O. A., S. Backert, L. L. Williams, A. J. Lastovica, R. S. Miller, S. J. Pierce, S. L. Vieira and F. Rebollo-Carrato. 2008. Molecular typing, serotyping and cytotoxicity testing of Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from commercial broilers in Puerto Rico. J. Appl. Microbiol. 105:800-812

 

Bano, L., I. Drigo, K. S. Macklin, S. W. Martin, R. S. Miller, R. A. Norton, O. A. Oyarzabal, and S. F. Bilgili. 2008. Development of a polymerase chain reaction assay for specific identification of Clostridium colinum. Avian Pathol. 37(2):179-181

 

Potturi-Venkata L.-P., S. Backert, A. J. Lastovica, S. L. Vieira, R. A. Norton, R. S. Miller, S. Pierce, and O. A. Oyarzabal. 2007. Evaluation of Different Plate Media for Direct Cultivation of Campylobacter Species from Live Broilers. Poultry Sci. 86(7): 1304-1311

 

Oyarzabal, O. A., S. Backert, M. Nagaraj, R. S. Miller, S. K. Hussain, E. A. Oyarzabal. 2007. Efficacy of supplemented buffered peptone water for the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli from broiler retail products. J. Microbiol. Meth. 69:129-136

 

Oyarzabal, O. A., K. S. Macklin, J. M. Barbaree, and R. S. Miller. 2005. Evaluation of agar plates for direct enumeration of Campylobacter spp. from poultry carcass rinses. Appl. Environ. Microb. 71:3351-3354

 

Professional Presentations with Published Abstracts:

Kearns E. A.,� S. D. Leskinen, S. Maga�a, S. Schlemmer, R. L. Brigmon, M. Kingsley, W. L. Jones, R. S. Miller, C. R. Bevitas, and D. V. Lim. 2011. Broad-spectrum concentration of threat agents from water.� Defense Threat Reduction Agency Chemical and Biological Science and Technology Conference, November 14-18, Las Vegas, NV.

 

Diehl S., R.L. Brigmon, H. Aglan, S. Miller, P. Moeller, S. Kitchens. 2011. Analysis of mold on Residential Wall Materials Subjected to Flooding. Forest Products Society 65th International Conference, June 19-21, Portland, OR.

 

Brigmon R.L., R.S. Miller, H. Aglan, W. Jones, S. Diehl, P. Moeller. 2011. Chemical and Biological Agents in Flooded Building Materials and Human Health Effects. Chemical and Biological Terrorism Defense Gordon Research Conference, March 20-25, Ventura, CA.

 

Visser M., D. Boothe, O. A. Oyarzabal, R. S. Miller, K. Thungrat, B. Shaheen. 2010. The Role of Efflux Pumps in Canine Pathogenic Multi Drug Resistant Escherichia coli. 96th Annual Southeastern Branch ASM Conference, November 4-6, Montgomery, AL

Miller R. S., M. G. Behringer, and O. A. Oyarzabal. 2008. DNA Identification and Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Strains Isolated from Chickens in Grenada. Southeastern Branch � Florida Branch American Society for Microbiology Meeting, November 6 � 8, Jacksonville, FL

Bano L., K. S. Macklin, S.W. Martin, R. S. Miller, R. A. Norton, O. A. Oyarzabal, and S. F. Bilgili. 2007. Development of a polymerase chain reaction assay for rapid identification of the causative agent of ulcerative enteritis. Poultry Science Association Meeting, July 8-12, San Antonio, TX

Miller, R. S., L.-P. Potturi-Venkata, S. Backert, R. A. Norton, L. Speegle, O. A. Oyarzabal. 2007. Logistic processing of commercial broiler flocks to reduce cross-contamination by Campylobacter. International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting, July 8-11, Lake Buena Vista, FL

Backert, S., L. Williams, R. S. Miller, S. J. Pierce, A. Sumners, F. Rebollo-Carrato, O. A. Oyarzabal. 2007. Characterization of Campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from commercial broilers in Puerto Rico by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multi locus sequence typing and cytotoxicity assays. International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting, July 8-11, Lake Buena Vista, FL

Nagaraj, M., E. A. Oyarzabal, R. S. Miller, O. A. Oyarzabal. 2005. Evaluation of a New Enrichment Medium for Isolation and Enumeration of Campylobacter spp. from Retail Broiler Products. 106th American Society for Microbiology Conf., May 21-25, Orlando, FL

Oyarzabal, E. A., N. I. Barbosa, J. M. Barbaree, R. S. Miller, and O. A. Oyarzabal. 2004. Optimization of a Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Technique for the Differentiation of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli. Undergraduate Research Symposium, Biological Sciences. University of Chicago, October 29-31, Chicago, IL

Macklin, K. S, R. S. Miller, and O. A. Oyarzabal. 2004. Comparison of plate media for direct enumeration of Campylobacter spp. from carcasses rinses. Poultry Science Annual Meeting, July 25-28, St. Louis, MO

Conferences Attended:
International Poultry and Feed Exposition (2011)
Southeastern Branch � Florida Branch American Society for Microbiology (2008)
Southeastern Branch American Society for Microbiology (2007)
International Association for Food Protection (2007)
International Association of Food Protection (2004)
International Poultry Exposition (2004)

 

Scientific Society Affiliations:

�         American Society for Microbiology (Member)

�  Southeastern Branch (Member)

�  South Carolina Branch (Member)

�         International Association of Food Protection (Member)

Honors and Awards:

Outstanding Graduate Student 2007 - Auburn University

 

Community Service:

�         Evangelism and Outreach Team Chairman at Parkway Baptist Church - Auburn, AL (2012 � present)

�         Lee County Gideons Camp Vice President - Opelika, AL (2012 � present)

�         Assistant coach of Hooks t-ball team � Opelika, AL (2012)

�         Substitute Sunday School teacher at Parkway Baptist Church - Auburn, AL (2007-2009, 2011-present)

�         Sunday School outreach coordinator at Parkway Baptist Church � Auburn, AL (2007-2009, 2011-present)

�         Substitute Sunday School teacher at Town Creek Baptist Church - Aiken, SC (2010-2011)

�         Coach of Braves baseball team (8 year old league) - Aiken, SC (2011)

�         Coach of Bengals flag football team (7 year old league) - Aiken, SC (2010)