Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Will you be attending the Welcome Reception and Poster Competition on Tuesday, Sept. 26th from 5-6:30pm? If so, please complete this brief form so that we have an accurate head count:
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Speaker Bios
Jennifer C. Acuff, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Food Microbiology and Safety
Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Jennifer C. Acuff is an assistant professor of food microbiology and safety at the University of Arkansas. Prior to her current appointment, Acuff received a B.S. in Biology at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, TX, after which she attended Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) for a M.S. in Food Science, where she studied strategies for mitigation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in beef during post-harvest processing. Acuff earned a Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in Food Science, primarily conducting research in low-moisture food safety and evaluating the survival of foodborne pathogens on the surfaces of dried fruits and nuts during low-temperature vacuum-steam treatments. Acuff currently leads the Food Safety, Microbiology, And Research Technology Lab (also known as the Food SMART Lab), which focuses on low-moisture food safety with projects focused on understanding persistence of foodborne pathogens in a low-moisture food environment and validating and optimizing thermal and non-thermal interventions used for low-moisture food treatments. Acuff also teaches courses in food microbiology and food biosecurity, as well as serves as an extension specialist in Arkansas for food processors.
Michael Becker
Manager, US Sales, Eagle Protect PBC
Mike has had a major focus on the food safety industry, starting with his time at Ecolab and now working for Eagle Protect. He is passionate about making sure his customers are using best practices whether that is within food manufacturing, hospitality, or the medical field. Since his time at Eagle Protect, he has become a self-proclaimed glove expert and is trying to educate anyone he can about the dangers of the glove industry as a whole.
Dr. Carmen Cano Roca
Dr. Carmen Cano Roca is the Program Manager for Supply Quality at Dairy Farmers of America. She received her PhD in food science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research experience is primarily in the field of food microbiology, with industry experience in bakery, food service and dairy products. With Dairy Farmers of America, she is part of a team focused on supplier auditing and raw material risk assessment throughout the supply chain.
Mark Carter
Mark is the Senior Product Manager for Software at Hygiena. Mark also currently serves as the President Elect of the Internal Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and owns MC Squared (MC2) an independent consulting firm with in-depth expertise in business, technology development and deployment. MC2 works with companies and organizations that are focused on improving public health.
Mark has extensive international business and technical experience. He recently served as COO of Matrix Sciences as well as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development where he was responsible for Matrix Sciences M&A activity. Mark previously held positions as CEO of QCL and Corporate Vice-President of R&D at Merieux Nutrisciences, Mark spent 15 years in the food industry at McKee Foods Corporation and Kraft.
Mark has experience in various technical, quality and business functions and is an active member of IFT, IAFP, AOAC and ASM (American Society for Microbiology). He serves on the AOAC Expert Review Panel for Food and Environmental Methods.
Mark has served on the advisory boards of the food science and nutrition departments at both Cornell and Tuskegee University. He also spent time on the board of Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.), an advocacy group dedicated to serving those affected by foodborne illness.
Mark is a graduate of University of Georgia with a B.S. in Microbiology and holds an M.S.A. from Columbus State University. He is also a registered clinical and public health microbiologist (RM AAM) with the American Academy of Microbiologists. He has extensive training and experience in statistics, epidemiology, and diagnostic development.
Dr. Barbara Chamberlin
Barbara Chamberlin’s office is a bit different from those at other universities: she has lego flowers and a sword of Gryffindor and toys and a lite brite. It’s clear that she is an advocate for play, which makes sense given the work she and her shop do in the Innovative Media Research and Extension department at New Mexico State University.
The Department and her Learning Games Lab create educational tools for a wide variety of content and audiences. For example, they are working on virtual reality programs for a national park, have completed child development apps for toddlers, games on financial literacy and math, and a whole suite of products for college students in agriculture and related majors. We know her because of their extension collection of food safety education tools, including games, animations, videos and interactives. Her team of professional artists, programmers, videographers and developers create amazing tools for millions of users annually.
Dr. Chamberlin has been designing learning tools in the field of educational technology with NMSU for almost 30 years, so we’ve asked her here today to talk about the ways technology should impact the future of our work, and what technology has to do with it.
Mike Clark
Global Marketing Manager, Molecular Food Diagnostics, Bio-Rad Laboratories
Mike began his career in 2000 as a microbiologist with Dairy Farmers of America/Chestnut Labs. During his 12 years with Dairy Farmers of America/Chestnut Labs, Mike served as a Food Microbiologist, Laboratory Director and Director of Business Development. In those positions, he conducted pathogen and indicator organism testing, evaluated and implemented new laboratory testing methods, consulted on food safety/quality programs, and method validation. Mike joined Bio-Rad’s Food Science Division in 2012 as a Business Development Manager for North America before transitioning in 2015 into his current role as Global Marketing Manager, Molecular Food Diagnostics. As a Global Marketing Manager, Mike is responsible for developing and strengthening Bio-Rad's position in key markets; government and regulatory affairs; and worldwide product and marketing strategy for PCR and ddPCR for food diagnostics. Mike holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in business. Mike is actively involved in AOAC serving on the Board of Directors, Research Institute Advisory Council, Cannabis Analytical Science Program Advisory Council, and multiple working groups, stakeholder panels, and programs.
Erin Crowley
Erin Crowley is the Chief Scientific Officer at Q Laboratories, Inc in Cincinnati, Ohio. Erin and her R&D team have served as an independent third-party laboratory with a primary focus on providing high quality method validation for microbiological rapid detection methods. These validations include Independent laboratory evaluations for pathogen detection, qualitative methods and confirmatory assays for AOAC Official Methods of Analysis, AOAC Research Institute Performance Tested Methods Program, MicroVal and AFNOR NF Certification Programs. Erin frequently presents technical symposia globally on Method Validation, Method Verification, Harmonization and ISO standards development often representing the perspective of the third-party laboratory. In addition to being an active member of the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) and AOAC, Erin serves as Past-President of the AOAC International Board of Directors, Past-Chair of the AOAC Official Methods Board, a member of the MicroVal Technical Committee (MVTC), ISO TC34/SC9/WG 3 Committee on Method Validation and Chair-Elect of the JIFSAN Advisory Council. Erin earned a B.S. from the University of Cincinnati and an M.A. from Tufts University.
Wilfredo Dominguez
Wilfredo is the Field Technical Service Manager for US and Canada at Neogen Corporation. In his role, he works with food industry leaders to improve quality and safety of the food supply using innovative solutions. As a passionate learner, he has experience with food production system; processing and value-added operations; food microbiology, safety and quality; education and extension efforts; molecular biology and engineering; as well as statistics and application of modern machine learning algorithms. He had published for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and in peer-reviewed journals such as Microbiology and Biosensors & Bioelectronics. He also holds patents related to the application of machine learning and pathogen detection in the food industry.
Dr. José Emilio Esteban
Dr. José Emilio Esteban was sworn in as under secretary for food safety on January 4, 2023. In this role, Dr. Esteban leads the Office of Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has regulatory oversight for ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled.
In August 2018, he was appointed FSIS chief scientist. In this capacity, Dr. Esteban served as the primary scientific advisor on matters of public health and food safety that affect the mission of the agency, with primary responsibility for scientific initiatives within the FSIS Office of Public Health Science (OPHS). Dr. Esteban’s efforts directly supported FSIS’ Strategic Goals 1: Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health, and 2: Transform Inspection Strategies, Policies and Scientific Approaches to Improve Public Health.
In 2002, Dr. Esteban joined OPHS as the director of the Western Laboratory. In this role, he directed the implementation of the sampling program and was responsible for the facility, equipment and personnel infrastructure. In 2008, he was appointed as the FSIS science advisor for laboratory services and then as executive associate for laboratory services, where he harmonized the operation of all three FSIS laboratories, maintained operations to meet with the ISO17025 standard and coordinated emergency response.
Prior to joining FSIS, Dr. Esteban worked in several positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 1994 to 2002, he was as an epidemic intelligence service officer; a staff epidemiologist in the National Center for Environmental Health; and an assistant director for the CDC Food Safety Office.
He received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, a Master of Business Administration from the Panamerican Institute, and a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, as well as a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of California at Davis.
Billie Johnson
Dr. Billie Johnson has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Oklahoma. She is the Food Safety & Regulatory Compliance Manager for BHJ North America, a pet food ingredient manufacturer, overseeing 9 plants in the US and Canada. Previously she was with Menu Foods / Simmons Pet Food for 19 years overseeing Food Safety Programs for 5 pet food manufacturing locations. She has extensive knowledge in internal auditing, GFSI certified audits, HACCP / PC development and maintenance of supplier approval programs including supplier auditing, and development of raw material in-process food safety testing protocols. She has been involved with the Editorial Team for the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) group responsible for creating the FDA approved curriculum for the “Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis and Risk Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals, Final Rule” and is a lead instructor for PCQI implementation for animal foods. She has presented at the most recent Pet Food Forum in Kansas City and has been an invited guest lecturer for Cornell University.
Jarrod Kersey
Jarrod is the Vice President of Quality and Government Affairs for Simmons. He has a wealth of experience in the regulatory and pet food safety arena, stemming from work early in his career as a trade association representative interacting with the Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Jarrod’s career includes roles with Procter & Gamble’s Iams and Eukanuba brands, the American Feed Industry Association, and Mars Pet Food. He holds multiple degrees in his field, including a PhD from the University of Arkansas.
Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., MPH
Executive Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs, The Acheson Group (TAG)
Dr. Miller has more than twenty years of experience in food safety, public health, epidemiology, and infectious disease outbreak investigations. Ben earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Health with a background in infectious diseases and his Master of Public Health in Epidemiology.
He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs at the Acheson Group where he works across multiple sectors advising on food safety, food safety culture, traceability, public health, outbreak-related and regulatory issues.
Dr. Miller also has extensive food regulatory experience and, as previous Division Director at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, led the State of Minnesota’s Human and Animal Food regulatory work. In his role as a state regulator, Dr. Miller developed experience implementing legislative reforms on topics related to food safety and is an expert in FDA traceability requirements. He is currently a member of the International Association of Food Protection Program Committee.
Tina Rendon
Tina Rendon graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S, in Poultry Science. She began her career in 1998 as a Quality Assurance Supervisor, and has held various positions in Food Safety and Quality Assurance since then, with the majority of her career with Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation. In her current position, Tina focuses on Regulatory Compliance, where she participates in trade organization meetings, conducts hands-on HACCP training, as well as communicates and implements the latest regulatory updates to 33 poultry slaughter and processing establishments. Tina has previously served as chairperson on the National Chicken Council Tech and Reg Committee, and served on the National Advisory Committee for Meat and Poultry Inspection. Tina has a passion for food safety and regulatory compliance, and truly enjoys being part of the nation’s safe food supply.
Dr. Kis Robertson Hale, DVM, MPH, DACVPM
Rear Admiral Kis Robertson Hale is the Deputy Assistant Administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Office of Public Health Science and serves as the agency’s Chief Public Health Veterinarian. In these roles, she oversees the science behind FSIS’ regulatory agenda and represents the agency in One Health engagements. She has worked in multiple offices within the agency, including the Office of Field Operations. In 2008, she joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer and in 2010, she was assigned to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as a CDC Preventive Medicine Fellow. Her educational background includes a BS from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a DVM from Tuskegee University, and an MPH from the University of Minnesota. She is also board certified in veterinary preventive medicine. As a flag officer in the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service, she also is an Assistant Surgeon General.
RADM Hale has received numerous awards and recognitions. In 2018, she received the James H. Steele One Health Outstanding PHS Veterinary Career Award and in 2019, she was named an Honorary Diplomate of the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society for outstanding contributions to One Health.
Michele M. Sayles, Ph.D.
Dr. Michele M. Sayles has over 23 years experience in Food Safety, Quality and Food Microbiology. Michele’s current role is Executive Director of Food Safety and Quality for Diamond Pet Foods. Prior to joining Diamond, Michele was responsible for the Global Food Safety and Microbiology Program at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Michele has held key Food Safety and Quality positions across various industries. She was the Sr. Corporate Quality Assurance & Food Safety Manager for the Sara Lee Corporation; the Director of HACCP and Food Safety for Seaboard Foods; and Director of Pork Safety for the National Pork Board.
Michele holds a Ph.D. in Food Microbiology from Oklahoma State University, a Masters of Science degree from Kansas State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.
Dr. Hany Sidrak
Dr. Hany Sidrak was appointed deputy assistant administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) Office of Field Operations (OFO) in May 2018. Dr. Sidrak has been committed to ensuring the FSIS' Strategic Goals – 1: Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health; 2: Transform Inspection Strategies, Policies and Scientific Approaches to Improve Public Health; and 3: Achieve Operational Excellence – have been successfully implemented.
Some of Dr. Sidrak’s major accomplishments consisted of developing and leading modernization efforts, including the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based Inspection Models Project, New Swine Inspection System, and New Poultry Inspection System. He plays a critical role in guiding OFO district offices that oversee more than 6,800 geographically dispersed plants to ensure that meat, poultry and processed egg products are inspected for wholesomeness, safety and proper labeling. In addition to domestic and exported products, Dr. Sidrak leads the inspection of imported products to ensure that public health is protected at home and abroad.
Dr. Sidrak joined FSIS in November 1991 as an in-plant veterinarian covering large volume poultry producing establishments in the Delmarva and Shenandoah areas. Moving to FSIS headquarters in March 1997, he has served as a staff officer with the Office of Policy and Program Development, director of the Recall Management Staff, and program manager for field operations. Dr. Sidrak served as an executive associate for regulatory operations from April 2012 to May 2018, where he provided leadership to the district offices and field personnel to protect the public’s health.
Dr. Sidrak is a 1984 graduate of Cairo University, College of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Kaliramesh (Kali) Siliveru
Dr. Kaliramesh (Kali) Siliveru is the associate professor of grain processing in the Department of Grain Science and Industry, Kansas State University. He teaches courses over particle technology, advanced grain processing technology, and grain handling. Along with teaching, Siliveru conducts research related to grain processing and storage, food safety, modeling and simulation. During his career, Siliveru has authored or co-authored over 50 refereed journal papers and more than 100 conference papers. Since starting his academic and professional career at K-State, Siliveru has been honored with 15 awards in the department, college, university, national and international levels. A few of these awards include the 2021 Early Career Engineer of the Year of ASABE, The Andersons Early-in-Career Award of Excellence from the U.S. Quality Grains Research Consortium, and the Gamma Sigma Delta Early Career Reward from Gamma Sigma Delta, The Honor Society of Agriculture, ETA Chapter.
Manpreet Singh
Manpreet Singh is a Professor and Head of the Department, for the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Georgia. He received his MS in Food Science from Kansas State University, and PhD in Food Science and Technology from Iowa State University. He worked as a faculty member in the Department of Poultry Science at Auburn University from 2007-2013, the Department of Food Science at Purdue from 2013-2016, and the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia from 2017-2020, prior to starting his position as Department Head in July 2021. His research and outreach activities have focused on innovation and optimization of intervention technologies against Salmonella and Campylobacter during poultry processing. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers and numerous proceeding papers and abstracts that have been presented at national and international conferences. He has garnered in excess of $5 million in extramural funding from USDA-NIFA, USAID, US Poultry and Egg, poultry industry contracts, and other funding agencies. His outreach activities have provided over 5000 industry professionals networking and educational opportunities worldwide and his programming includes several training workshops on pathogen control in poultry processing, Onfarm control measures for Salmonella and Campylobacter, and pathogen detection technologies to assist the poultry processing industry. Dr. Singh served as the program chair for the annual PSA meeting in 2018.
Dr. Susy Tejayadi
Dr. Susy Tejayadi has had 33 years of experience in research and development in the human and pet food industry and is recently retired in March 2023. She is the Founder and President of TPS Consulting LLC. In her last position as the Chief Scientific Officer at Instinct Pet Food she has developed a science-based approach in making safe raw pet food. Driven by the science-based approach, Instinct is the only raw pet food company in the USA that employs full time experienced scientists having a college or advanced degree in food science, animal science, and a Board-Certified veterinary nutritionist.
While at Instinct, Dr. Tejayadi collaborated with outside institutions such as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Arkansas, log 10 and Institute of Food Safety and Health/Illinois Institute of Technology to conduct research. Dr. Tejayadi has extended the science-based approach beyond product development, initiating a multi-year research collaboration with the University of Helsinki Dog Risk study and the University of Georgia to build a scientific body of knowledge for the health benefits of feeding raw to pets.
Danah Vetter, DVM
I received my Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Mississippi State University (2000). After practicing small animal medicine for two years, I joined the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) in 2002.
While employed by USDA/FSIS I enjoyed a diverse 15-year career, which began as a Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) in a large poultry slaughter establishment. I supervised and trained other USDA/FSIS employees in post-mortem carcass inspection and disposition, regulatory verification procedures, food product sampling, food safety system implementation, and documentation of regulatory noncompliance.
I was cross trained as an Enforcement Investigations and Analysis Officer (EIAO) in 2003, and a full-time EIAO from 2007 through 2008.
In 2009, I joined the Recall Management Staff operating under the Office of Field Operations (OFO) in Washington, D.C. I spent six (6) years in this role and led numerous recall committee deliberations providing leadership, guidance, and feedback to committee members and attendees regarding complex, unusual, or controversial issues covering a full range of inspection matters, regulations, policies, and procedures for meat, poultry, and egg products.
In 2014, I joined the Office of Public Health Science (OPHS), Science Staff as a Veterinary Medical Officer in 2014. And although I did not work on recalls full time, I frequently served as the OPHS Recall Committee representative. I also regularly worked on outbreak investigations while in OPHS which included interpreting complex epidemiological information, as well as developing investigative sampling plans and analyses of results.
Having over six years of experience organizing, leading, and participating in FSIS Recall Committees has provided me with a diverse knowledge of classifying food safety risks for the purpose of recalls and for determining scope/distribution of a recall by interpreting and analyzing multifaceted food production practices, distribution, and traceback documentation. In addition, I have experience in outbreak-related recalls involving complex epidemiological information.
In August of 2019, I joined George’s Inc. as the Director of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs and recently celebrated four (4) years with the company.
Frank Yiannas
Frank Yiannas is a renowned food safety leader and executive, food system futurist, author, professor, past president of the International Association of Food Protection, and advocate for consumers. Most recently, he served under two different administrations as the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a position he held from 2018 to 2023, after spending 30 years in leadership roles with two industry giants: Walmart and the Walt Disney Company. Through his career, Frank has been recognized for his role in strengthening food safety standards in new and innovative ways, as well and building effective food safety management systems based on modern, science-based, and tech-enable prevention principles.
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