Patricia Cruz, Ph.D., is a professor of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the School of Public Health.  Since 1995, Cruz has conducted research in microbiology focused on enhanced methods for the detection of environmental fungi that pose a potential risk to human health. She is a co-inventor of a patented method for the detection and quantification of fungi of indoor air quality concern. She has also conducted research involving methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant microorganism; and is the co-director of the Emerging Diseases Laboratory. Cruz serves as a member of the UNLV Institutional Biosafety Committee.