Dr. Matthew Jennings has joined the Biology and Earth Systems Science Department as an assistant professor.
Jennings is from Trooper, Pa., which is about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
In 2005, Jennings received a bachelor of science in biology and philosophy from the University of Scranton. He then went onto receive a master of science in biology in 2010 from Villanova University. Later, in 2016, he received a doctorate in biology from the University of Arkansas.
Jennings’s returned to the Wyoming Valley because he had a fondness for it. Jennings described his experience with Wilkes as a “combination of being closer to family, a higher paying position and a more research-oriented position compared to (his) previous job.”
Research opportunities are an important aspect of Jennings’ personal career desires, describing his favorite part of his job as “the freedom to pursue my own research goals.”
Outside of his job and in his spare time, Jennings plays the bari saxophone in the Wilkes Civic Band, in addition to the University of Scranton Jazz Ensemble.
“I’ve been playing the saxophone for about 29 years. I started in the fourth grade and have played ever since. I’ve played in a lot of jazz ensembles over the years.”
Jennings went on to name some favorite musicians and music.
“Duke Ellington is my favorite…I’m also a big fan of ska.”
Jennings got his start in elementary school, saying that “my elementary school band director made us try out different instruments, and saxophone was the one I was best at.”
Jennings also enjoys playing table top and video games in his spare time. His top five favorite games (in no particular order) are “Super Metroid” (SNES), “Chrono Trigger” (SNES), “Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” (N64), “Knights of the Old Republic” (PC) and “Resident Evil 4” (GCN).
“The current systems I own are a PS5 and Switch. However, I also have a fair collection of older consoles,” said Jennings.
One fun fact about Jennings is that he is a certified scuba diver of eight years. He got his certification in 2015.
“I was certified as a junior in high school, but my certification lapsed. A friend asked if I wanted to get certified again and I agreed.
“My favorite dive location is Cozumel, Mexico. There are a lot of coral reefs you can explore that are relatively shallow,” said Jennings.
In the future, Jennings hopes to finish some papers he has been working on, long before the pandemic started. He also plans to attend The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) general meeting, which is being held in Houston, Texas, over the summer.
“ASM is the professional organization for microbiology in the United States, so it’s a big meeting. I haven’t been to one since before COVID-19, so it will be good to attend now as a professor instead of a postdoctoral.
“I’ll be presenting some of the work I’ve been doing the past few years, including here at Wilkes,” said Jennings.
One piece of advice Jennings offers students is that “the five second rule has been experimentally shown to be invalid,” and provides the website with the article titled, “Longer Contact Times Increase Cross-Contamination of Enterobacter aerogenes from Surfaces to Food,” written by Robyn C. Miranda and Donald W. Schaffner. It is available on the ASM Journals website, where students can learn more about it.