Dr. Sazama graduated from the University of Sioux Falls in 2013 with a B.S. in Biology. He then spent the next year at Sanford USD Medical Center in the Medical Laboratory Science internship program where he worked on developing clinical skills while working in a hospital lab. From there he went to the University of South Dakota where he earned his Ph.D. in Biology while working on the presence and effects of Wolbachia on aquatic insects. Eric began working as an adjunct professor for USF in the summer of 2017. After a few years of adjunct teaching and working full time as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Sanford in Sioux Falls, he was offered a full time faculty position at USF in the Fall of 2021. He currently lives in Sioux Falls with his wife Naomi, and their son Newton.
Education
- B.S., Biology, University of Sioux Falls, 2013
- Ph.D., Biology, University of South Dakota, 2018
Courses Taught
- BIO100 - General Biology
- BIO100L - General Biology Lab
- BIO380 - Immunology
- BIO380L - Immunology Lab
- BIO204 - General Zoology
- BIO204L - General Zoology Lab
- BIO315 - Human Physiology
- BIO315L - Human Physiology Lab
- BIO302 - Biology of Microorganisms
- BIO302L - Biology of MIcroorganisms Lab
- SDV100 - The USF Experience
- BIO490 - Bioethics
Expertise
- Entomology
- Molecular biology
- Medial Laboratory Science
Scholarships and Creative Work
Publications
- Eric J Sazama, Scot P Ouellette, Jeff S Wesner, Bacterial Endosymbionts Are Common Among, but not Necessarily Within, Insect Species, Environmental Entomology, Volume 48, Issue 1, February 2019, Pages 127–133, https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvy188
- Sazama EJ, Bosch MJ, Shouldis CS, Ouellette SP, Wesner JS. Incidence of Wolbachia in aquatic insects. Ecol Evol. (2017)7:1165–1169. doi:10.1002/ece3.2742.
Service/Volunteer Work
Church
Eric is an active member of Connection Church of Sioux Falls where he serves once per month as an A/V team lead for church services. Eric also helps lead discussion in one of the Gospel Communities at Connection.