Office Hours
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Monday & Friday: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm (Noon)
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Tuesday: 1:00 – 2:00pm
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By appointment, (email to schedule)
Office Location
Kevin J Manning Academic Center
Room N176
Owings Mills North Campus
Bern Monari Ph.D.
Education
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Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine, Genome Biology track, University of Maryland, Baltimore (2025)
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M.S. in Clinical Research and Epidemiology, University of Maryland, Baltimore (2020)
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B.S. in Biology (general), B.S. in Chemistry (general), Immaculata University (2018)
Professional Experience
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Stevenson University, Visiting Lecturer in Genetics and Genomics (2025-present)
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Baltimore Underground Science Space, Barcoding the Harbor Project Lead (2025-present)
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Loyola University Maryland, Affiliate Instructor, Biology (2024)
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Stevenson University, Adjunct Instructor, Biological Sciences (2023-2025)
Research
My research interests broadly center on the use of next-generation sequencing technologies (primarily Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technologies) to explore the complex community interactions of organisms within specific ecosystems. I recently completed my Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine, Genome Biology track, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where my dissertation focused on host-microbe interactions in the human vaginal microenvironment during gender-affirming testosterone therapy. Currently, my research involves evaluating prokaryotic communities in the Chesapeake Bay (Ocean Research Project) and communities of primarily marine invertebrates living on acrylic discs in the Baltimore Inner Harbor (MD-CRAB), using 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing.
Publications
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Monari B, Wilcox H, Haywood P, Gajer P, Rojas-Vargas J, Zuanazzi D, Rutt L, Shouldice A, Parmar R, Waetjen LE, Krakowsky Y, Potter E, Prodger JL, Ravel J. (2025). The vaginal microbiota, symptoms, and local immune correlates in transmasculine individuals using sustained testosterone therapy. Cell Reports. [Link]
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Rojas-Vargas J, Wilcox H, Monari B, Gajer P, Zuanazzi D, Shouldice A, Parmar R, Haywood P, Tai V, Krakowsky Y, Potter E, Ravel J, Prodger JL. (2025). The neovaginal microbiota, symptoms, and local immune correlates in transfeminine individuals with penile inversion vaginoplasty. Cell Reports. [Link]
- Krakowsky Y, Potter E, Hallarn J, Monari B, Wilcox H, Bauer G, Ravel J, Prodger JL. (2022). The effect of gender-affirming medical care on the vaginal and neovaginal microbiomes of transgender and gender-diverse people. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 11:769950. [Link]
Teaching
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BIO 113 General Biology I: Cell Biology and Genetics
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BIO 113L General Biology I Laboratory: Cell Biology and Genetics
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BIO 203L Microbiology Lab
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BIO 230L Genetics Lab
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