Produce Safety Research
How to reach us
Send comments and questions to contactproducesafety@ifas.ufl.edu or reach out to any CONTACT member below.
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University of Florida
Dr. Michelle Danyluk
Professor, Extension Specialist
Food Microbiology, Produce Safety
Email: mddanyluk@ufl.edu
Project Director (PD), Contributing to Objectives 1, 3, 4, 5, 7
Christina Kessler
Extension Program Specialist
Email: christinakessler@ufl.edu
Grant Coordinator
Dr. Keith Schneider
Professor, Extension Specialist
Food Microbiology, Produce Safety
Email: keiths29@ufl.edu
Co-PD, Location Lead University of Florida, Contributing to Objectives 2, 3, 4, 7
Dr. Arie Havelaar
Professor
Risk Assessment of Infectious Diseases, Food Safety
Email: ariehavelaar@ufl.edu
Co-PD, Contributing to Objective 5
Visit the Havelaar Lab Website
Dr. KC Jeong
Associate Professor
Molecular Microbiology, Bacterial Pathogenesis, Food Safety
Email: kcjeong@ufl.edu
Contributing to Objectives 2, 4
Dr. Rafael Munoz-Carpena
Professor
Hydrology & Water Quality
Email: carpena@ufl.edu
Contributing to Objective 5
Dr. Naim Montazeri
Assistant Professor
Food Virology
Email: nmontazeri@ufl.edu
Contributing to Objectives 1, 3, 4
Taylor O’Bannon
State Specialist Agent
Email: taylorlangford@ufl.edu
Contributing to Objective 7
Ashley Lake - Undergraduate Student
Ashtyn Vandiver - Graduate Student
Dr. Cameron Bardsley - Postdoctoral Associate
Charles Bency Appolon - Graduate Student
Dr. Claudia Ganser - Assistant Scientist
Claudia Pegueros Valencia - Graduate Student
Julia Beadle - Undergraduate Student
LaTaunya Tillman - Graduate Student
Loretta Friedrich - Research Staff
Dr. Kalindhi Larios - Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Karuna Kharel - Postdoctoral Associate
Mari Schroeder - Graduate Student
Mya Maybank - Undergraduate Student
Nuradeen Yusuf - Graduate Student
Sarah Johnson - Undergraduate Student
Yuting Zhai - Graduate Student -
University of Arizona
Dr. Channah Rock
Professor, Extension Specialist
Water Quality, Microbiology
Email: channah@cals.arizona.edu
Objective 1 Lead, Location Lead University of Arizona, Contributing to Objective 7
Natalie Brassill - Research Staff
Zoe Scott - Graduate Student and Research Staff
Taylor Janiec - Research Staff
Hannah Crean - Research Staff
Dalton Zingali - Research Staff -
The University of California Davis
Dr. Michele Jay-Russell
Associate Researcher
Molecular Epidemiology of Enteric Zoonotic Foodborne Pathogens
Email: mjay@ucdavis.edu
Location Lead UC Davis, Contributing to Objectives 2, 3, 7
Dr. Roger Baldwin
Associate Specialist
Wildlife Management
Email: rabaldwin@ucdavis.edu
Contributing to Objectives 3, 7
Dr. Jairo Diaz
Director ANR Desert Research & Extension Center
Water, Soil and Land Use
Email: jdiazr@ucanr.edu
Contributing to Objectives 1, 2, 7
Peiman Aminabadi - Research Staff
Anka Zwieiecka - Research Staff
Mayela Castaneda - Research Staff
Gilberto Magallon - Research Staff
Cuong ("Jimmy") Huu Nguyen - Research Staff -
University of Delaware
Dr. Kali Kniel
Professor
Food Virology, Microbial Food Safety
Email: kniel@udel.edu
Objective 3 Lead, Location Lead University of Delaware, Contributing to Objective 1
Kyle McCaughan - Graduate Student
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University of Georgia
Dr. Faith Critzer
Professor
Food Microbiology, Produce Safety
Email: fcritzer@uga.edu
Objective 4 Lead, Contributing to Objectives 1, 3, 7
Dr. Laurel Dunn
Assistant Professor
Food Microbiology; Produce Safety
Email: laurel.dunn@uga.edu
Location Lead University of Georgia, Contributing to Objectives 2, 3, 7
Dr. Govinderaj Kumar
Assistant Professor
Food Microbiology; Produce Safety
Email: goraj@uga.edu
Contributing to Objectives 2, 4
Dr. Abhinav Mishra
Assistant Professor
Food Microbiology, Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA)
Email: amishra@uga.edu
Contributing to Objective 5
Aadeya Arora - Graduate Student
Andrew Widmer - Graduate Student
Anna Townsend – Graduate Student
Autumn Burnett - Graduate Student
Blanca Ruiz Llacsahuanga - Research Coordinator
Harsimran Kapoor - Graduate Student
Isa Reynoso – Graduate Student
Jennifer Dorick – Graduate Student
Krishnaprabha - Graduate Student
Rucha Boralkar – Graduate Student
Sabrina Buck - Graduate Student
Samhitha Chalamalasetti - Graduate Student
Yihang Feng – Graduate Student -
University of Maryland
Dr. Shirley Micallef
Associate Professor
Food Microbiology, Produce Safety
Email: smicall@umd.edu
Location Lead for University of Maryland, Contributing to Objectives 1, 3, 4
Dr. Rohan Tikekar
Associate Professor
Food Microbiology, Produce Safety
Email: rtikekar@umd.edu
Contributing to Objectives 1, 3, 4, 7
Adam Hopper - Graduate Student
Aprajeeta Jha - Postdoctoral Associate
Claire Hudson - Graduate Student
Diksha Klair -Graduate Student
Zhujun (Abby) Gao - Graduate Student -
The Ohio State University
Dr. Robert Scharff
Professor
Economics of Risk, Consumer Sciences
Email: scharff.8@osu.edu
Objective 6 Lead, Location Lead The Ohio State University
Xuerui Yang - Graduate Student
Charles Bashiru Bakin - Graduate Student
Dr. David Landsbergen - Associate Professor, Translational Data Analytics -
Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
Dr. Donald Schaffner
Distinguished Professor, Extension Specialist
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, Predictive Food Microbiology
Email: don.schaffner@rutgers.edu
Objective 5 Lead, Location Lead Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Contributing to Objectives 4, 6, 7
Dr. Wesley Kline
Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent II
Email: wkline@njaes.rutgers.edu
Contributing to Objective 7
Meredith Melendez
Agriculture & Natural Resources County Agent II
Email: melendez@njaes.rutgers.edu
Contributing to Objective 7
Anjama Dutta - Graduate Student
Sneha Bhat - Graduate Student
Megan Wang - Graduate Student
Tejaswini Tumuluri - Graduate Student -
USDA ARS Beltsville
Dr. Manan Sharma
Research Microbiologist
Environmental Microbiology & Food Safety
Email: manan.sharma@ars.usda.gov
Objective 2 Lead, Contributing to Objective 3
Dr. Ray Xiong - Postdoctoral Associate
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Virginia Tech
Dr. Laura Strawn
Associate Professor, Extension Specialist
Food Microbiology, Produce Safety
Email: laurakstrawn@vt.edu
Objective 7 Lead, Location Lead Virginia Tech, Contributing to Objectives 1, 3, 4
Dr. Alexis Hamilton
Assistant Professor, Extension Specialist
Food Processing Microbiology
Email: ahamilton@vt.edu
Contributing to Objective 7
Alyssa Rosenbaum - Graduate Student
Claire Murphy - Graduate Student
Cyril Nsom Ayuk Etaka - Graduate Student
Marcela Silva - Graduate Student
Monica Osoria - Graduate Student -
George Washington University
Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk
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Associate Professor and Director of Food Policy Institute
Epidemiology, Biostatistics/Informatics, Risk Analysis
Email: barbara.kowalcyk@gwu.edu
Contributing to Objectives 5, 6
Katie Stolte-Carroll - Center for Foodborne Illness and Prevention Project Coordinator
