Fulbright Foreign Student Program

Grant

PHD in Microbiology

Host Institution

Arizona State University

Kiara Nicole D. Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor in the Microbiology Unit at the University of the Philippines Manila, where she teaches core microbiology and biology courses. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, cum laude, from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and her Master of Science in Microbiology from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

She ranked second in the Registered Microbiologist certification examination and received the Young Researcher's Grant Award from the Philippine Society for Microbiology Inc. (PSM) for her master's thesis on hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria recovered from oil-contaminated coastal sediments in Guimaras, Philippines. She served as the Aquatic Microbiology Division Representative in the PSM for fiscal years 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. Currently, she serves as con-investigator in a DOST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development-funded project investigating antibiotic resistant bacteria from hospital wastewaters.

As a Fulbright scholar, she will pursue a PhD in Microbiology at Arizona State University, specializing in tropical peatland microbial ecology through integrated laboratory and field research in the Amazon. She aims to establish the first Philippine-focused tropical peatland and coastal microbial ecology research program at the University of the Philippines Manila, train the next generation of Filipino microbiologists in advanced molecular and field ecology methods, and contribute to evidence-based environmental management policies for Philippine wetland and coastal ecosystems.