Ileana Galdamez

Department	Biological Science
Biola Affiliations	Faculty

Documents

Degrees

Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
M.S., University of California, Los Angeles
B.S., University of California, Los Angeles

Biography

Dr. Ileana Callejas earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering from UCLA, where she also obtained her Master of Science in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in environmental engineering. Before joining Biola, she taught introductory microbiology laboratory courses at Mount Saint Mary’s University. Her research focuses on studying the fate and transport of antibiotic resistance in rivers and beaches. Additionally, she uses satellite remote sensing for coastal water quality monitoring, particularly in Belize. In this capacity, she has collaborated with institutions such as the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority & Institute, and the Belize Wildlife Conservation Society. Passionate about education, Callejas is committed to integrating authentic research experiences and evidence-based approaches into her classroom. As a first-generation Latina, born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she hopes to inspire her students to harness their skills and knowledge in the stewardship of the environment and in service to others, all for the glory of God.

Awards

International Institute Fieldwork Fellowship — UCLA — 2022 — Los Angeles, CA.
GradSWE@UCLA Support Scholarship — UCLA — 2022.
Graduate Traineeship in Integrated Urban Solutions for Food, Energy, and Water Systems — NSF — 2021.
Charles F. Scott Fellowship — UCLA — 2020 — Los Angeles, CA.
Center for Diverse Leadership in Science Early Career Fellow — UCLA — 2019 — Los Angeles, CA.
Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Scholar — HSF — 2019.
Competitive Edge Fellowship — UCLA — 2019 — Los Angeles, CA.
Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Fellowship — 2019.
Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship — UCLA — 2019 — Los Angeles, CA.
Graduate Opportunity Fellowship Program — UCLA — 2018 — Los Angeles, CA.

Publications

“Use of Google Earth Engine for Teaching Coding and Monitoring of Environmental Change: A Case Study among STEM and Non-STEM Students”, Callejas, I.A., Huang, L., Cira, M., Croze, B., Lee, C. M., Cason, T., Sustainability, 2023.
“A GEE Toolkit for water quality monitoring from 2002-2022 in support of SDG 14 and coral health in Marine Protected Areas in Belize,” Callejas, I. A., Osborn, K., Lee, C. M., Mishra, D. R., Gomez, N. A., Carrias, A., et al. Front. Remote Sens., 2022.
“Monitoring coastal water quality with satellite data,” Callejas, I., Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, September, 2022.
“Modeled Impacts of LULC and Climate Change Predictions on the Hydrologic Regime in Belize,” Martín-Arias, V., Evans, C., Griffin, R., Cherrington, E. A., Lee, C. M., Mishra, D. R., Gomez, N. A., Rosado, A., Callejas, I. A., Jay, J. A., Rosado, S., Frontiers in Environmental Science, April, 2022.
“Kinetic Properties of Microbial Exoenzymes Vary With Soil Depth but Have Similar Temperature Sensitivities Through the Soil Profile,” Alves, R. J. E., Callejas, I. A., Marschmann, G. L., Mooshammer, M., Singh, H. W., Whitney, B., Torn, M. S., Brodie, E. L., Frontiers in Microbiology, November, 2021.
“Effect of COVID-19 Anthropause on Water Clarity in the Belize Coastal Lagoon,” Callejas, I.A., Lee, C. M., Mishra, D. R., Felgate, S. L., Evans, C., Carrias, A., Rosado, A., Griffin, R., Cherrington, E. A., Ayad, M., Rudresh, M., Page, B. P., Jay, J. A., Frontiers in Marine Science, 2021.
“Commercially available garden products as important sources of antibiotic resistance genes—a survey,” Cira, M., Echeverria-Palencia, C. M., Callejas, I., Jimenez, K., Herrera, R., Hung, W.-C., Colima, N., Schmidt, A., Jay, J. A., Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021.

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