Microbiologist

Imagine you are sitting at your bench carefully preparing samples as all around you scientists bustle back and forth with racks of test tubes and stacks of agar plates. You are a microbiologist and your lab is operating in high gear. Two days ago, a tanker truck hauling liquid waste from a nearby hog operation overturned on Reservoir Bridge, spilling its contents into your city's drinking water. As part of a team of microbiologists specializing in environmental emergency response, you were immediately called in to analyze the extent of contamination and the threat this spill poses to public health.

As a microbiologist with a specialty in environmental pathogens, you know how critical it is to quickly and accurately identify what has been spilled into the water supply. The reservoir's water is treated before being distributed to city residents, but without knowing what is in the water, there is no way of knowing if it is being removed at the treatment plant. You have spent the last two days analyzing samples from the reservoir and tanker, preparing dozens of cultures, and using DNA-based molecular techniques to identify potential pathogens.

Once you have established the presence and extent of contamination, you and your team can begin to develop ways to remove it, for example adding additional filters to the treatment plant, disinfecting the water with UV rays, or possibly adding other micro-organisms to the water supply that kill pathogens without posing a threat to the health of humans or the reservoir's aquatic communities. With your team's hard work and expertise, the city's water supply will be clean and back to normal in only a few more days.