معرفی
Joy Waite-Cusic is an Associate Professor of Food Safety and Quality Systems at Oregon State University's Department of Food Science & Technology, within the College of Agricultural Sciences. Her research integrates food safety systems, focusing on pre-harvest safety, process validation, pathogen prevalence, and microbiological quality indicators. She collaborates with industry partners to improve food safety practices and reduce foodborne illnesses.
Education:
- B.S., Food Science & Technology, Oregon State University (2002)
- M.S., Microbiology, Oregon State University (2004)
- Ph.D., Food Science & Technology, The Ohio State University (2007)
Research Interests: Dr. Waite-Cusic's work spans food safety across production, processing, and distribution. Key areas include pathogen reduction in fresh produce, sanitation efficacy, and spoilage microbiology. Her lab evaluates processes like depuration for shellfish and dry-roasting for nuts to ensure microbial safety. She also investigates antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens.
Key Contributions: Recent studies address alcohol-based sanitizers in dry produce packinghouses, UV-C processing for human milk, and E. coli survival in onions. Her work emphasizes practical solutions for industry compliance with food safety regulations.
Awards:
- 2021 James and Mildred Oldfield Team Award
- 2020 Search for Excellence Award
- 2019 Oregon Farm Food Safety Team Award
- National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellowship (2002)
Advising & Grants: Advises students like Madeleine Enriquez. Her grants fund projects on produce safety, sanitizer efficacy, and pathogen dynamics. Collaborates with the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety on outreach and training.
Labs & Teams: Leads the Waite-Cusic Food Microbiology Lab, focusing on process validation for food companies. Engages with industry partners to validate kill steps (e.g., dehydration, roasting) for regulatory compliance.
