A Day In The Lab
V I R G I N I A G A L A N
Microbiologist | USDA | April 2014
At the age of twenty, Virginia moved to New York from the Philippines in 1973 with a license in medical technologies. Being new to the country and without much experience, it was difficult for her to land a job. As soon as she did she hasn’t stopped working. Since then she has worked in toxicology, doing drug analysis from the military and has done research on Liminoids at the Agricultural Research Center, in hopes to help cure breast cancer. She has now worked at the USDA Western Laboratory in Alameda, Ca for 14 years as a microbiologist, where she analyzes meat samples for e.coli, samonella, and listeria. I was able to shadow her in the lab during her nine hour shift. The day started with her daily commute to work, a thirty minute drive to the BART station, a 45 minute train ride, and a ten minute bus ride. Aside from her long and tiring days, her positive attitude about life and her work was truly inspiring. Not only has she always been a hard worker, but has also put all five of her kids through college and is a proud grandmother of three.
Q & A
What do you like to do when your not working?
Listen to music. Classical music like Beethhoven, Mozart ... Bruno Mars. Work on my house and garden . See my grandchildren. I hope to see as much as I can... I asked my husband to take me sight seeing on the weekends. I'd also like to travel more, but can't really because of financial reasons.
What do you wish to accomplish?
I've accomplished all that I want. My children's accomplishments are now mine. I want them to be successful and happy.
What keeps you going?
My faith, without it I'd be lost. My faith got stronger when all my kids left for college. They were my only company. Luckily I have my husband and my faith to keep my positive outlook on life going.
Who are your role models?
My parents, Marcosa and Roman, they worked so hard to raise all ten children.
Microbiologist | USDA | April 2014
At the age of twenty, Virginia moved to New York from the Philippines in 1973 with a license in medical technologies. Being new to the country and without much experience, it was difficult for her to land a job. As soon as she did she hasn’t stopped working. Since then she has worked in toxicology, doing drug analysis from the military and has done research on Liminoids at the Agricultural Research Center, in hopes to help cure breast cancer. She has now worked at the USDA Western Laboratory in Alameda, Ca for 14 years as a microbiologist, where she analyzes meat samples for e.coli, samonella, and listeria. I was able to shadow her in the lab during her nine hour shift. The day started with her daily commute to work, a thirty minute drive to the BART station, a 45 minute train ride, and a ten minute bus ride. Aside from her long and tiring days, her positive attitude about life and her work was truly inspiring. Not only has she always been a hard worker, but has also put all five of her kids through college and is a proud grandmother of three.
Q & A
What do you like to do when your not working?
Listen to music. Classical music like Beethhoven, Mozart ... Bruno Mars. Work on my house and garden . See my grandchildren. I hope to see as much as I can... I asked my husband to take me sight seeing on the weekends. I'd also like to travel more, but can't really because of financial reasons.
What do you wish to accomplish?
I've accomplished all that I want. My children's accomplishments are now mine. I want them to be successful and happy.
What keeps you going?
My faith, without it I'd be lost. My faith got stronger when all my kids left for college. They were my only company. Luckily I have my husband and my faith to keep my positive outlook on life going.
Who are your role models?
My parents, Marcosa and Roman, they worked so hard to raise all ten children.
U S D A ::: United States Department of Agriculture :::
Microbiologists handle meat inspection, analyzing all meats sold in the US for salmonella, ecoli (raw ground beef), and listeria. I was able to spend a day in the lab with Virginia and see how they test the meats. I was lucky enough for to come on a day when samples came in; boxes and boxes of raw meat came from slaughterhouses, deli meats from numerous companies, and ready to eat meats (some from out of the country), anything meat was there ready to be tested.
They log in the samples according to the test needed. Grow the bacteria by adding specific enrichment broth for each type of organism to the sample, then put them in the incubators at a certain temperature for 18-24 hours. They then perform the actual analysis the next day and from there on … if negative, the results are released the next day and if positive, the maximum turnaround time is five days. The amount of work and procedures that come with being a microbiologist entails concentration and patience. I bow my head to those working in labs like such, someone's got to do it.
Microbiologists handle meat inspection, analyzing all meats sold in the US for salmonella, ecoli (raw ground beef), and listeria. I was able to spend a day in the lab with Virginia and see how they test the meats. I was lucky enough for to come on a day when samples came in; boxes and boxes of raw meat came from slaughterhouses, deli meats from numerous companies, and ready to eat meats (some from out of the country), anything meat was there ready to be tested.
They log in the samples according to the test needed. Grow the bacteria by adding specific enrichment broth for each type of organism to the sample, then put them in the incubators at a certain temperature for 18-24 hours. They then perform the actual analysis the next day and from there on … if negative, the results are released the next day and if positive, the maximum turnaround time is five days. The amount of work and procedures that come with being a microbiologist entails concentration and patience. I bow my head to those working in labs like such, someone's got to do it.