Rate My Professor Rima Franklin

Rima B. Franklin, Ph.D., is the Director of the School of Life Sciences and Sustainability and a Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Biology faculty, with expertise in microbial ecology. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia and her B.A. in Biology from Bard College. Franklin began her academic career at VCU in 2007 as an Assistant Professor of Biology, was promoted to full Professor in 2023, and has held several leadership positions, including Interim Chair of the Department of Forensic Science in 2018, Chair of the Department of Biology from 2022, and Interim Vice Provost for VCU Life Sciences effective July 2023. She is also Affiliate Faculty at the VCU Rice Rivers Center.

Franklin's research focuses on microbial ecology, wetland and soil biogeochemistry, nitrogen cycling, environmental and public health microbiology, and water quality. She has obtained over $5 million in research funding and produced more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and chapters, garnering over 4,500 citations. Key publications include "Cooperative microbial interactions mediate community biogeochemical responses to saltwater intrusion in wetland soils" (FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2022), "Persistence of wastewater-associated antibiotic resistant bacteria in river microcosms" (Science of the Total Environment, 2022), "Novel microbial community composition and carbon biogeochemistry emerge over time following saltwater intrusion in wetlands" (Global Change Biology, 2019), and "Trace metal availability affects greenhouse gas emissions and microbial functional group abundance in freshwater wetland sediments" (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2020). Among her honors are an NSF Research Initiation Grant and a BeCKIS Bermuda Biodiversity Project grant. She serves as subject editor for Soil Biology & Biochemistry and associate editor for Frontiers in Microbiology, and holds memberships in the American Society for Microbiology, International Society for Microbial Ecology, Ecological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, and Society of Wetland Scientists. Franklin teaches BIOL 401: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, BIOL 475: Capstone Seminar - Bacteria: Allies & Enemies, BIOL 509: Microbial Ecology, and BIOL 607: Science Communication Fundamentals.