Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:During the reporting period, we trained 8 undergraduate students in food microbiology research skills, targeting those from small colleges and universities around Pennsylvania, and the University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla. The target audiences include these students, and the mentors at their home institutions. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The students performed independent research and were able to presenting data in an oral format to the entire Penn State Department of Food Science at the end of the summer. The weekly faculty-run seminars also provided opportunities for students to discuss more broadly topics such as career development and preparation for graduate school. We were able to reestablish the trip to the US Food and Drug administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, which has been closed to visitors since COVID times. We brought all students to College Park, Maryland, where they listened to presentations from FDA scientists, discussing how bacterial sequencing and metagenomics are used to develop regulatory policy. This was followed by a tour of their facilities, and opportunities for students to interact directly with FDA scientists. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated through research publications and poster presentations at scientific meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We currently have a cohort of 8 students in the summer 2024 program, and will continue with this successful program model including bringing these students back in November 2024 to the Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology meeting. We will recruit another 8 students for summer 2025.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For summer 2023, we hosted 8 students and integrated them with an additional 4 that are funded through a National Science Foundation program led by faculty at the University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla. All students participated in the bootcamp and weekly seminars to build professional skills. The students worked on the following projects: 1. Growth substrate optimization of Aspergillus niger biomass for biomaterials production (with co-PI Wee) 2. Evaluating heat resistance of Byssochlamys nivea ascospores in orange juice (with co-PI Wee) 3. Assessing the Role of Hemolysin BL Produced by Bacillus cereusDuring Competitive Colonization (with co-PI Kovac); 4. Genomic characterization of Escherichia coli isolated from dairy environments in Ethiopia (with co-PI Dudley) 5. Isolation of Ruminococcus bromii and its role in the degredation of resistant starches in the gut (with co-PI Cockburn) 6. Microbiome of bluegrass weevil and relation to pesticide resistance (with co-PI Cockburn) 7. Characterization of new isolates of Bacillus cereus (with co-PI Kovac) 8. Novel sources of nitrites for inhibition of foodborne pathogens in meat fermentations (co-PI Campbell) All 8 students who began the program stayed for the entire 8 weeks, and gave final presentations on the last day of the program. Their presentations were peer-evaluated and feedback was provided to each student. We also collected surveys each week to identify any issues from students that needed to be addressed, and a final survey that evaluated the entire program.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ohstrom Ashley Mae , Buck Autumn Elizabeth , Du Xue , Wee Josephine. 2023. Evaluation of Kluyveromyces spp. for conversion of lactose in different types of whey from dairy processing waste into ethanol. Frontiers in Microbiology 14. DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1208284
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Taejung Chung, Abimel Salazar, Grant Harm, Sophia Johler, Laura M. Carroll, Jasna Kovac. 2024. Comparison of the performance of multiple whole-genome sequence-based tools for the identification of Bacillus cereus sensu stricto biovar Thuringiensis. Appl Environ. Microbiol. 10.1128/aem.01778-23
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Basu M., Tornari, G., Sheyko T. and Cockburn D.W. (2023). Characterization of strain differences in resistant starch degrading organisms. ABASM annual meeting, Williamsport, PA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Mendez Acevedo, M. (Author and Presenter - Graduate Student), LaBorde, L.F., & Kovac, J. (Co-Author). (March 30, 2023). "Assessing the resistance and persistence of Listeria monocytogenes isolates collected from apple packing facilities before and after cleaning and antimicrobial treatments," Gamma Sigma Delta Research Expo, Gamma Sigma Delta, University Park, PA, Accepted.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Wei, X. (Co-Author - Postdoctoral Student), Hassen, A., McWilliams, K., Pietrzen, K., Chung, T. (Co-Author - Graduate Student), Mendez Acevedo, M. (Co-Author - Graduate Student), Chandross-Cohen, T. (Co-Author - Graduate Student), Dudley, E., Vipham, J., Mamo, H., Tessema, T. S., Zewdu, A., & Kovac, J. (Corresponding Author) (2024). Genomic characterization of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua isolated from milk and dairy samples in Ethiopia. BMC Genomic Data 25(1), 8. DOI: 10.1186/s12863-024-01195-0.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Praul, B., Rivera-Pellot, C., Molinary-Ruiz, K., Nawrocki, E., Nieves-Miranda, S., Feng, J., Rivera-Lopez, E. O., Salazar, A, Flanery, D. D., and E. G. Dudley. 2023. Characterization of Ethiopian and Pennsylvanian Clinical E. coli isolates. Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology meeting. November 2023. Williamsport, PA.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Chung, T., Salazar, A., Harm, G., Johler, S., Carroll, L. M., & Kovac, J. (2024). Comparison of the performance of multiple whole-genome sequence-based tools for the identification of Bacillus cereus sensu stricto biovar Thuringiensis. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 11. DOI: 10.1128/aem.01778-23
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Rosado, J., Irakoze, Z., & Wee, J. (2023). "Evaluating heat resistance of Byssochlamys nivea ascospores in orange juice," Allegheny Branch, American Society of Microbiology (ABASM), American Society of Microbiology, Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA. Regional.
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Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23
Outputs
Target Audience:During the reporting period, we trained 8 undergraduate students in food microbiology research skills, targeting those from small colleges and universities around Pennsylvania, and the University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla. Three undergraduates from Penn State were included to serve as peer-leaders to the group. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The students performed independent research and were able to presenting data in an oral format to the entire Penn State Department of Food Science at the end of the summer. The weekly faculty-run seminars also provided opportunities for students to discuss more broadly topics such as career development and preparation for graduate school. As with 2021, we were unable to take students to the FDA due to continued government COVID-19 restrictions. (of note, this facility reopened for visitors in 2023 and we were able to resume these visits, which are one of the highlights of the summer for the group). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated this year primarily through publications. Due to logistical problems, we were unable to bring the cohort back in the Fall, for the Allegheny Branch meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, but intend to resume these in 2023. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue with this successful program in summer 2023, with the reimplementation of visits to the FDA facility in College Park, MD, and Fall presentations at the local ASM meeting.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For eight weeks over the summer of 2022, 8 undergraduate students were part of a cohort we trained in food microbiology/food safety research. Five students came from St Vincents College, Juniata College, and Mount Aloysuis. Another three students were from the University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla. Students began the summer by participating together in a one-week "boot camp", where the PIs on this project took the students through five days of laboratory sessions designed to build, or reenforce, their microbiological and molecular biology skills. This has become a standard first week for the program, as we received strong positive feedback from students through online surveys about how much they benefited and how this helped strengthen their cohort. After that, students were divided among the PIs, and spent the remaining summer working on individual projects including, but not limited to: 1) Genomic sequencing of Salmonella enterica; 2) Food safety of Bacillus cereus; 3) Characterizing non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from wine fermentation; 5) Characterizing the ability of a number of human gut isolates to use starch derived oligosaccharides as growth substrates. As with previous years, students had once per week lectures directed by one of the PIs and end of week meetings as described in earlier yearly reports. At the end of the summer, students gave an oral presentation that was open to all faculty and students. We collected feedback through online surveys weekly, and a final comprehensive survey at the end of the program. We now have two years of such data, the majority of which is positive, and will reassess the program after summer 2023 when we have a full three years worth of data.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ohstrom, A.M., Buck, A.E., Du, X., and Wee, J. (2023) Evaluation of Kluyveromyces spp. for conversion of lactose in different types of whey from dairy processing waste into ethanol. Front. Microbiol. 14:1208284. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1208284
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ohstrom, A. M., Buck, A. E., Du, X., & Wee, J. (2023). "Project Zero WheyASTE: Using non-Saccharomyces Yeast for Fermentation of Dairy By-products," 2023 European Fungal Genetics Conference, European Fungal Genetics Society, Innsbruck, Austria, Accepted. International.
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Progress 05/01/21 to 04/30/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During the reporting period, we trained 8 undergraduate students in food microbiology research skills, targeting those from small colleges and universities around Pennsylvania, and the University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla. Three undergraduates from Penn State were included to serve as peer-leaders to the group. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The students had the opportunity to perform independent research and to practice presenting data in an oral and poster format. The weekly faculty-run seminars also provided opportunities for students to discuss more broadly topics such as career development and preparation for graduate school. In previous years, training was supplemented by visits to government facilities including the Food and Drug Administration, however these were not done in 2021 due to such facilities not accepting visitors due to COVID-19. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were disseminated through publications, promoting the program at the annual Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology meeting, and through stories on the Penn State online news outlet. We intended to collect post-survey data that could be eventually published in a scientific education journal however we were unable to get approval from our Human Subjects review board on time for summer 2021. We have these approvals now and will use the survey we have designed for the summer 2022 cohort. Penn State News ran a story in 2021 about Dr. Wee's involvement in this project, called "Penn State's Department of Food Science, Discovery Space partner on outreach". Student participants in her lab developed an outreach activity for Discovery Space, a local non-profit that engages young children in science activities (https://www.psu.edu/news/academics/story/penn-states-department-food-science-discovery-space-partner-outreach/) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have a successful model for an eight week summer program in place that we have revised each year since 2018. We will follow a very similar format for summer 2022. One change for this coming summer, is the plan for a peer-reviewed publication as we have Human Subjects approval for our pre- and post- assessment.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For eight weeks over the summer of 2021, 8 undergraduate students were part of a cohort we trained in food microbiology/food safety research. Four students came from St Vincents College, Juniata College, and Mount Aloysuis. Another four students were from the University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla. Students began the summer by participating together in a one-week "boot camp", where the PIs on this project took the students through five days of laboratory sessions designed to build, or reenforce, their microbiological and molecular biology skills. This was similar to what we did with students in 2019. After that, students were divided among the PIs, and spent the remaining summer working on individual projects including, but not limited to: 1) Genomic identification of heavy metal resistence genes from Escherichia coli; 2) Screening a collection of ~80 B. cereus isolates for the production of insecticidal crystal proteins; 3) Biochemical approaches to characterize the probiotic potential of non-Saccaromyces, Pichia spp. yeasts; 4) Characterizing growth rates of non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from wine fermentation on different carbon sources; 5) Characterizing the ability of a number of human gut isolates to use starch derived oligosaccharides as growth substrates. As with previous years, students had once per week lectures directed by one of the PIs and end of week meetings as described in earlier yearly reports. At the end of the summer, students gave an oral presentation that was open to all faculty and students.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Abimel Salazar, Taejung Chung, Grant Harm, Jasna Kovac: Evaluating the correlation between detection of crystal protein-encoding genes and expression of crystal proteins in Bacillus cereus s.s. isolates. Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology annual meeting, 2021. Virtual meeting.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Hannah Carney, Laura Aston, Andrea Miranda-Perez, Darrell Cockburn: Characterization of carbohydrate degrading ability of human gut isolates. Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology annual meeting, 2021. Virtual meeting
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