Kovac Lab
Our research at Penn State is focused on precision food safety.
We are integrating (meta)genomic and phenotypic methods to better understand how microbial genetic background and environmental factors influence epidemiology, pathogenic potential and antimicrobial resistance of foodborne pathogens.
News
March 3, 2025
Congratulations to Amelia Navarre for Successfully Defending Her MS Thesis
Amelia Navarre defended her thesis titled: "Prevalence and control of viable Campylobacter on chicken breasts" on February 28th, 2025.
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March 3, 2025
Penn State Ag Student Auja Bywater Wins Global Research award
Auja Bywater, a doctoral student in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded second prize in the Global Challenges University Alliance (GCUA) 2030 research competition for her work titled "Improving Food Safety in Controlled Environment Agriculture Systems."
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January 15, 2025
College of Ag Sciences Graduate Students Receive Research Grant Awards
Thirteen graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences received research grants recently awarded by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among them was "Persistence and control of foodborne pathogens in hydroponic systems," awarded to Auja Bywater, food science.
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December 23, 2024
Happy holidays!
Wrapping up the semester and starting the holiday season with the White Elefant at the lab dinner. Happy holidays!
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