Kaidi Wang

Kaidi Wang is an Assistant Professor and Agriculture and Agri-Food Innovation Chair in Applied Microbiology at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences. Her research program focuses on food microbiology to improve safety, quality and sustainability of agri-food products, with emphasis on microbial ecology of foodborne pathogens like Salmonella.

Education includes a PhD in Food Science from McGill University, Master of Science in Food Science from University of British Columbia, and Bachelor of Engineering in Food Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University, China.

Research integrates advanced detection techniques including optical tweezers, microfluidics, vibrational spectroscopy, machine learning, transcriptomics and metabolomics. Key investigations examine pathogen survival mechanisms in agroecosystems, particularly biofilm formation and viable but non-culturable (VBNC) states. Additional research applies molecular tools, sensor-enabled data and artificial intelligence to study microbial behavior in food fermentation.

Publications demonstrate focus on innovative detection methods, including Raman spectroscopy combined with neural networks for pathogen identification and novel approaches for VBNC state detection in foodborne pathogens.

Research contributes to developing safer food processing methods and sustainable supply chain management.

Laboratory focuses on molecular detection techniques and advanced spectroscopic methods for microbial characterization in food systems.