Food Safety and One Health
Goals
The overall goal of this project is to assess the prevalence of enteric pathogens that impact the safety of our food supply, through the lens of One Health. Our approach recognizes the interconnectedness between human health, animal health, and the environment to take into account all of the factors that may influence the presence of pathogens in our food supply.
Student projects in this VIP may involve investigating a facet of One Health or teaming up with another student or students to obtain a holistic view of the source and prevalence of pathogens in the food chain. Other student projects may involve investigating the role of microbes and the microbiome as it relates to food quality and safety. Students who participate in this VIP will have the opportunity to work on different types of projects ranging from working at the bench to participating in a fully online bioinformatics project analyzing Oxford Nanopore sequence data. In the laboratory students will be mentored as they develop important skills in project and protocol design and implementation in the laboratory. Fully online students will have the opportunity to complete guided tutorials to install and use a sequence analysis pipeline to analyze samples processed and sequenced by students in the research laboratory.
Issues Involved or Addressed
- Sample collection for analysis and identification of pathogens that affect the safety of food
- Microbiome changes in response to spoilage microbes and pathogens in food
- Oral and written scientific communication and networking
Methods and Tech
- Sample collection and processing
- Microscopy and culturing for identification of enteric pathogens (parasites and bacteria)
- Molecular detection techniques (PCR)
- DNA extraction and library preparation
- Bioinformatic analysis
Academic Majors of Interest
Though open to all majors, we are most interested in students majoring in:
- Food Safety
- Microbiology
- Veterinary Science
- Animal Science
- Nutrition
- Biology
- Public Health
- One Health
- ASEMS Program
- Honors Program
Preferred Interests and Preparation
- Attributes
- Lecture and laboratory coursework in life sciences/biology/microbiology/veterinary science/animal science
- Ability and interest to work both independently and as part of a team
- Interest in bioinformatics and/or sample collection
- Diligence and responsibility
- Skills
- Recordkeeping
- Microbiology hands-on benchwork skills (streaking, plating, microscopy) are a plus
Application Process
To express interest in this team, please complete the VIP Interest Form and select "Food Safety and One Health."
This team:
- Accepts students at the start of each semester
- Accepts fully online students
- Only recruits undergraduate students
- Only recruits students for credit