Makeda Matthew-Bernard
Demonstrator, Microbiology, Immunology, and Pharmacology
Biography
Makeda I. Matthew-Bernard is a microbiologist and medical educator at St. George’s University with expertise spanning microbiology, virology, and molecular diagnostics. She was appointed a Research Scientist at the Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation (WINDREF) in 2025.
She completed an MSc in Microbiology in 2025 and a BSc in Biology in 2013, both at SGU. She is currently at Demonstrator III level, delivering wet-lab instruction and mentoring students across medicine, nursing, and undergraduate programs. As co-course director for NURS 201 and BIOL 401 Microbiology she coordinates labs, develops assessments, authors training manuals, and supports curriculum delivery using learning-management and secure testing platforms.
Makeda’s applied research focuses on antimicrobial-resistant organisms and wastewater-based epidemiology. She is a core member of SGU’s wastewater testing team, helping design and implement local surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and exploring additional targets, including ARGs and environmental biomarkers. Her clinical service includes weekly STI NAAT testing (DNA extraction and RT-PCR), data interpretation, and reporting. She has led or contributed to multiple abstracts, posters, and oral presentations (ASCP, CARPHA, SGU Research Day), and her peer-reviewed publications include studies on phenotypic antibiotic resistance in E. coli from clinical and wastewater sources and on optimized aluminum-hydroxide concentration methods for viral detection in wastewater.
In addition, to teaching and research, she supports laboratory operations and safety, and serves as the Researcher’s Liaison for onboarding and compliance, and previously supervised campus water-quality monitoring and food microbiology testing to international standards.
Contact Information
473-444-4175 ext. 3757
Areas of Interest
- Microbiology
- Virology
- Molecular and diagnostic testing
- Antimicrobial resistance monitoring and stewardship
- Wastewater & environmental surveillance
Affiliations
- Research Scientist, Windward Islands Research & Education Foundation (WINDREF) (2025–present)
- Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
- American Society of Clinical Patology (ASCP)
- American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
- Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA)
Selected Publications
- Matthew-Bernard MI, et al. Phenotypic antibiotic resistance patterns of E. coli from UTI and municipal wastewater, Grenada. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025;22(1):97. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22010097
- Farmer-Diaz K, Matthew-Bernard MI, et al. Optimized Al(OH)₃ adsorption–precipitation for viral detection in wastewater. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025;22(2):148. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22020148
Selected Projects
- Antibiotic resistance in E. coli: comparative analysis of clinical UTI vs. wastewater isolates; phenotyping and ARG exploration.
- Wastewater-based epidemiology: development/optimization of viral concentration and RT-qPCR workflows; campus surveillance for SARS-CoV-2; method comparisons.
- STI screening trends at SGU: NAAT-based testing and reporting for C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae.
- Environmental monitoring (prior roles): campus drinking-water quality assurance and food microbiology testing to FDA/WHO/HPA methods.
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