Beth Pfotenhauer

Background

About Beth Pfotenhauer

Hello Welcome to my professional profile. I am an enthusiastic One-health experienced Public Health Microbiologist. I enjoy learning, teaching and sharing the wonder, fun and importance of microbes in our daily life and how they relate to our health and the health of the world around us. I have traveled globally to share this passion in various teaching, science and engineering projects in many nations and communities. It brings me great joy to teach students of all ages backgrounds and experiences about microbiology health and well being. I started my microbiology journey in college fascinated by the importance and function of microbes in wastewater treatment plants; how key they are to our water's health and in turn ours. Drinking water around the world and safe wastewater treatment are so simple and yet a huge issue for EVERYONE no mater where they live. We are spoiled when we ignore how much understanding microbes has led to living more full and healthy productive lives. I want to give that gift of healthy water and the respect of the microbes (Good and Bad) that contribute to this important and simple aspect of living. My Masters in Science project explored the seasonal concentrations of antibiotic resistance genes (and the microbes that harbor them) transferring from wastewater treatment effluent into environmental stream water. I then interned at the WI State Lab of Hygiene looking for an indicator virus for drinking water treatment standards to track. I am also an outdoor adventure enthusiast, with kayaking as my most frequent indulgence (followed closely by hiking and camping). So once again, healthy environmental waters is of big importance in my life. My first professional job was to analyze fish viruses from stock around the state before they were released to grow in our Wisconsin waters. My animal agricultural microbiology expanded to testing cow diseases (Yay Wisconsin). Not only is animal health and microbial disease diagnostic foundational for animal commerce and food stocks, but many zoonotic diseases are key to controlling human health like rabies, cryptosporidium and salmonella as some common examples. I transitioned once again to water, but this time focusing on human health at the City of Milwaukee Health Department lab. As the senior virologist, I helped improve methods of testing old viruses (STI and respiratory ones) as well as initiating testing the new outbreaks plaguing our world these last years from Zika to the world altering COVID-19 SARS2-CoV and MPox. I am excited to share my knowledge and skills for what is next.