M. Ruth Elliott is currently a lecturer in biochemistry for the College of Liberal and Professional Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She worked as a research technician and lab manager in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania with Dr. Susan R. Weiss for nine years, where she also trained graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the basics of animal research and primary cell culture. She has published papers on mouse hepatitis virus and the pathogenesis and genetics of this family of viruses in the central nervous system and liver. While in the Weiss group, Ruth came to realize from the tutoring she did in mathematics and the life sciences how much she enjoyed working with students and began to consider teaching as a career. Ruth obtained her Master of Science in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania while working in biomedical research, and her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Temple University in Philadelphia. She also taught nursing students at LaSalle University part time for several years before joining the Penn LPS Online faculty.
