Gordon J. Pherribo II has extensive education and experience in microbiology, curriculum development, and science communication. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from UC Berkeley in 2022, where he also conducted research investigating bacterial interactions and scientific identity formation. Currently he works as a Curriculum Consultant for an anti-racist education non-profit and facilitates workshops on communication careers. His background demonstrates leadership in both research and promoting public understanding of science.

1. Gordon J. Pherribo II, Ph.D.
EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA
Ph.D. in Microbiology Summer 2022
Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
Bachelor of Science in the Biological Sciences May 2015
TEACHING AND WORK EXPERIENCE
Curriculum Consultant, Feb 2023 - Current
The Institute for Anti-Racist Education
 Design and develop culturally and historically responsive curriculum to transform youth
educational experiences through Abolitionist Social Emotional Learning practices.
 Create pedagogical tools to empower students to be change-agents in their communities by
providing them with skills, resources, networks and community partnerships.
Workshop Facilitator, April 2022- Current
MD Anderson Cancer Center
 Deliver workshops for NIH-funded study about communication and research careers to
undergraduate students and their mentors.
 Data from workshops is used to inform strategies that can help researchers have more
satisfying experiences during and after their training.
MCB51 Public Engagement with Science
Curriculum Consultant September 2019-Dec 2019
Graduate Student Instructor and Curriculum Designer, September 2017 – May 2018
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley
 In 2019 serves as curriculum consultant for MCB15 for Dr. Matsui and MCB15 GSI’s
 Designed curriculum and organized speakers for 80 students enrolled in the Biology Scholars
Program
 Worked closely with Dr. John Matsui to create student evaluation metrics to evaluate student
performance throughout the semester
 Lead discussion sections designed to encourage students reflection about the political, social,
and cultural factors that influence how science is taught, learned and performed.
C112L Microbiology Laboratory Graduate Student Instructor, Fall 2016
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley
 Facilitated and led 4 hour laboratory sessions designed to encourage and providing students
with opportunities to design their own experiments and learn about the scientific method
process.
 Gained valuable experience in constructively critiquing student work writing (i.e. lab reports and
poster presentations)

2. RESEARCH
Graduate Student Researcher, August 2015 – August 2022
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
 Genetically engineer synthetic co-culture of metabolically interdependent bacterial strains as a
tool for testing hypotheses about vitamin B12 interdependence
 Investigate cell lysis (bacterial cell death) as a mechanism of nutrient sharing in communities by
developing tools to systematically modulate cell lysis
Graduate Student Researcher, September 2018 – August 2022
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
 Investigate how doctoral students in the biological sciences make sense of themselves as
scientists throughout their training in graduate school.
 Conduct structured, unscheduled interviews with 2nd, 3rd and 4th year graduate students about
their training experiences within their labs, and to understand how social factors, such as
departmental and laboratory culture, influence how doctoral students construct their scientific
identities.
Center for Science Technology and Policy Fellow, Jan 2018 – Jan 2019
 Exploring how debates held in 1970’s on recombinant DNA technology (rDNA) are frequently
used as models of successful governance of emergent technologies
 Understanding democratic governance of emergent technologies, how scientists constructed
boundaries of public engagement around discussions of genetic engineering, and how these
boundaries shape the potential of new technologies to improve society
 Comparing process of public involvement and expert decision making surrounding rDNA and
CRISPR-Cas9 technologies through archival research and interviews of UC Berkeley, UCSF
and Stanford faculty.
PUBLICATIONS (*= co-authored)
Gude, S.*, Pherribo, G. J.*, & Taga, M. E. (2020). Emergence of Metabolite Provisioning as a By-
Product of Evolved Biological Functions. mSystems, 5(3).
Haggerty A.E, Bening MR, Pherribo G., Dauer E.A., Oudega M. (2019). Laminin polymer treatment
accelerates repair of the crushed peripheral nerve in adult rats. Acta Biomat. 86.
10.1016/j.actbio.2019.01.024
Ji X., Park JW, Bahrami-Samani E, Lin L, Duncan-Lewis C, Pherribo G, Xing Y, Liebhaber SA.
(2016). Alpha-CP binding to a cytosine-rich subset of polypyrimidine tracts drives a novel pathway of
cassette exon splicing in the mammalian transcriptome. Nucleic Acids Res. 44(5): 2283-97.
MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION
Pherribo GJ. (2023) Cell Lysis Releases Bioavailable Nutrients to Support Amino Acid Auxotroph
Growth
Pherribo GJ. (2023) Scientific Identity and Sensemaking among Doctoral Students in the Biological
Sciences.

3. ARTICLES (*= co-authored)
Pherribo, G.J.*; Molina, S.J.* (2021) Backstage Decisions Front-stage Experts. Free Radicals.
https://freerads.org/tag/backstage-decisions-front-stage-experts/
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Pherribo GJ and Taga ME (2020), The role of cell lysis in bacterial nutritional interactions. West
Coast Bacterial Physiology Conference. Oral Presentation delivered over Zoom.
Pherribo GJ and Molina SJ (2019), “Democratizing” Biotechnology: Institutional Constraints on
Participatory Governance in Genetic Engineering. Society for Social Studies of Science Conference.
Oral Presentation delivered in New Orleans, LA September 4th 2019 .
Pherribo GJ and Molina SJ (2019), Remembering Histories of Biotechnology. Plant and Genome
Engineering Symposium. Oral Presentation delivered in Berkeley, CA on May 23rd, 2019.
Pherribo GJ and Taga M (2017), Feed Thy Neighbors: Cell Lysis Nutrient Mediated Cross Feeding.
Microbiology Retreat. Poster Presentation delivered in Berkeley, CA.
Pherribo GJ and Taga M (2016), Development of a synthetic co-culture to investigate novel
interspecies nutrient cross-feeding mechanisms. Plant & Microbial Biology Conference. Poster
Presentation delivered in Marshall, CA.
PEER REVIEWER
Nature (2022) 1 paper
Journal of Bacteriology (2021) 1 paper
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction (2018) 1 paper
PNAS (2017) 1 paper
SCIENCE & EDUCATION OUTREACH
Popping the Science Bubble – Co-founder (March 2017-September 2018)
We aim to disseminate information, demystify commonly misunderstood topics, and to create direct
communication between scientists and the broader public.
 Organize and collaborate with the Berkeley Public library to hold monthly science seminars
featuring graduate students and postdocs from UC Berkeley’s campus.
Academic Entrepreneurship Summit Committee Chair—Lead Facilitator (September 2017 –
May 2018)
 A 1-day summit aimed to generate future actions and collaborations in entrepreneurship by
discussing ideas to promote greater inclusion and cross-discipline collaboration at UC
Berkeley and in the Bay Area.
 Trained 9 facilitators and organized breakout session containing 80+ staff, faculty, graduate
students and post docs about challenging stereotypes of what it means to be an entrepreneur,
fostering accessibility and broadening participation in academic entrepreneurship for graduate
students and postdocs.
 Actively involved in various planning stages of the summit throughout the fall and spring
semester.

4. Getting into Graduate School (GiGS), Fall 2016-Spring 2017
A partnership between the Office of Graduate Diversity and the Graduate Assembly that aims to
encourage and prepare first-generation, historically underrepresented and other diverse
undergraduate UC Berkeley students to apply and enroll in graduate school.
 Advise 3 undergraduates through their junior or senior academic term as they apply to graduate
schools.
 Assist with graduate school selection, graduate school/internship applications, locating
internship opportunities and identifying funding opportunities.
INVITED LECTURES & PANELS
March 2020 Panelist, “Virtual Microbiological Teach-In” (Oakland, CA)
November 2018 Lecturer, “Democratizing” Technology: Expertise and Innovation in
Genetic Engineering, Berkeley Ethics and Regulation of Innovation
Technologies Group (Berkeley, CA)
November 2018 Lecturer, “The Politics of Genetic Engineering”, HIS180 UC Berkeley
(Berkeley, CA)
August 2018 Lecturer, “College, Science and Microbiology”, Bard Early College (New
Orleans, LA)
AWARDS / HONORS
David P. Gardner Fellow 2020-2021
Center for Society, Technology and Policy Fellow 2018
NSF Graduate Fellowship Research Program (NSF GFRP) 2016
Chancellor’s Fellowship for Graduate Study 2015