Jianghong Meng

Jianghong Meng is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition & Food Science at the University of Maryland, College Park, and serves as Director of the Joint Institute for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) and the Center for Food Safety and Security Systems (CFSSS). His research focuses on food safety microbiology, particularly molecular identification, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

Education: Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology (UC Davis), MPVM in Preventive Veterinary Medicine (UC Davis), and DVM (Sichuan Agricultural University, China).

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of pathogen survival and transmission, genomic epidemiology of foodborne pathogens, and development of novel detection methods. Key projects include tracking Salmonella populations in surface waters across Latin America and investigating antibiotic resistance patterns in foodborne bacteria.

Professional Service: Member of numerous national/international committees including the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance, US Pharmacopeia Microbiology Expert Committee, and China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment International Expert Committee.

Awards: Fellowships from the American Academy of Microbiology and International Association for Food Protection, Commissioner’s Special Citation Award (US FDA), and the Dean Gordon Cairns Award for Distinguished Creative Work and Teaching.

Lab/Teams: Leads JIFSAN and CFSSS, collaborating with global partners on food safety initiatives and training programs.