What is life? Answering this question and understanding the diversity and complexity of life form the central focus of biology. Biologists study systems as small as tiny viruses to entire ecosystems. Furthermore, biologists attempt to comprehend how organisms interact with other organisms and with the environment, how energy is transferred and transformed, how life’s continuity is based on hereditary information, how life changes over time, that life evolves, and many other inquiries.
Faculty
Robert Bethel joined the Biology Dept. at Río Hondo in 1996 after receiving his Master’s degree in Microbiology from CSULB. He started his college career at Long Beach City College and then transferred to UC Davis where he studied winemaking as part of the Fermentation Science major. Prior to going to CSULB for graduate studies he worked for various wineries in the Napa Valley, Spain, and New York. He is currently spearheading the development and implementation of the College’s new Biotechnology program with an emphasis on brewery technology. A life-long learner, he also has a Master’s in Spanish and has taught Spanish courses as well as courses in the Biology Dept. Professor Cummings has been a full-time faculty member of the Biology Department since 2000 and spent 5 years prior to that teaching part-time at various community colleges throughout southern California. Her area of emphasis is Marine Biology but strives to instill an appreciation for and understanding of all aspects of the natural world in her students. Traveling, visiting natural areas, reading and spending quality time with friends and family are some favorite activities. Melanie Fierro joined the Biology Department in the Spring 2018 term. In the past two decades, she has taught various biological science courses spanning sixth grade to university levels and served as K-12 science coordinator for the largest school district in Wyoming. As a first-generation college student, Melanie’s greatest joys are sharing her love for life-long learning and seeing her students succeed. In her spare time, she enjoys personal fitness, traveling with her husband, and baking cookies and cakes. Vic graduated from UCSD in 2003 and got a job doing research on ground squirrels for the University of California's Cooperative Extension. He went back to school to get a Masters in Science from CSULB. His masters project studied the antipredator behavior of songbirds using robot birds as artificial flock members. Vic began teaching at Rio Hondo as an adjunct in 2013 and was hired to a full time position in 2020. In his time away from campus, Vic can be found on the soccer field (watching his daughters, not playing), hanging out with friends and family, watching baseball, basketball, or soccer (depending on the season), or enjoying a good book/movie/TV show. Professor Jeronimo Ribaya joined the Rio Hondo College, Department of Biology in 2006 after earning his B.S. in Molecular Biology, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of California Los Angeles. During his tenure at Rio Hondo College, he helped expand the Biology Majors Program by creating an Introduction to Genetics course. In addition to teaching biology majors, he teaches Human Anatomy and Human Physiology. He enjoys attending daily Mass, hiking, running, fishing, playing basketball, and most especially, spending quality time with his wife and five children. Dr. Spencer earned a Master of Science Degree in Biology and a Doctoral of Education in Educational Leadership. She has taught biological sciences at the college level since 2002, including courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, botany, advanced plant physiology, human sexuality, general biology, and biology for majors. She has been full-time at Rio Hondo College since 2006. Dr. Spencer finds teaching to be very rewarding because teaching provides the opportunity to help students reach their academic and professional goals
Instructional Lab Technician
Christin joined Rio Hondo College’s Department of Math, Sciences, and Engineering in 2020. Her experience as an Instructional Laboratory Technician span over 7 years in the community college system. She has worked as a lab tech in all the life science departments like biology, physics, chemistry, and geology. Christin has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration abroad and currently working on her Master of Science in Biology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
