Dr. Bower has been teaching biology in Southern California since 1987. After completing a B.S. in Biology at UCLA, she spent two years working at the Orange County Marine Institute in Dana Point as a naturalist and instructor. Dr. Bower returned to graduate study in Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California, where she earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. Her research focused on the assessment of particulate composition in marine ecosystems. Specifically, using the optical characteristics of the particles, she was successful in partitioning the phytoplankton community into taxonomic groupings. Dr. Bower's diverse teaching experiences have included general biology, marine biology, microbiology, and molecular biology. She first served as a reader for the College Board's AP® Biology Exam in 1998, and co-founded the Southern California AP® Summer Institute in 1999. Dr. Bower is currently an assistant professor in the Division of Natural Sciences at Pasadena City College.
