Life Science Seminar: Microbiological predictive modeling for food safety risk assessment: State of the art and way forward

Life Science Seminar
Microbiological predictive modeling for food safety risk assessment: State of the art and way forward

Dr. Nurul Hawa Ahmad (RIT ’10)
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Food Science and Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysia

Abstract:
Predictive modeling can be described as mathematical expressions that reflect the growth, survival, or inactivation behaviors of foodborne pathogens under certain conditions. When kinetic parameters of microbial behaviors can be estimated, this information is valuable as scientific evidence to support risk-based decision making in food safety. This talk will cover concepts of predictive modeling, available web-based tools, and the roles of predictive modeling in food safety risk assessment. This talk will also discuss our works inactivation and growth of foodborne pathogens in selected food commodities as well as future recommendations for predictive modeling in food safety.

Speaker Bio:
Nurul Hawa Ahmad specializes in food safety and food microbiology research, with a great interest in predictive modeling and microbiological risk assessment. She started as a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Food Science & Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Jan 2020. Her research experience started when she joined Dr. Savka’s research group to work on a quorum sensing project. In 2020, Nurul earned her Ph.D. in Food Science from Michigan State University, supervised by Dr. Elliot Ryser. Nurul has led a portion of USDA-funded project that aimed to improve process validation of low-moisture foods. She has utilized a surrogate microorganism for validating thermal inactivation of Salmonella in low-moisture foods, which have been linked to major outbreaks. In 2018, she was awarded 1st place in the Developing Scientist Award Poster Competition at the Annual Meeting of the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP). Nurul is also the recipient of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) postdoctoral fellowship from USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Nurul did her postdoctoral training at the USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, PA from Nov 2022 to Sep 2024. Nurul was working with Dr. Lihan Huang, who developed the USDA predictive modeling tools. Her work was focusing on growth boundary of spore-former foodborne pathogens in processed meat and egg products, with one of the projects a collaboration with a USDA sister agency, Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). Apart from research, Nurul is also a reviewer board member of ASM Microbiology Spectrum for food microbiology cluster. She has presented her work in multiple international seminars and conferences organized in Malaysia, Thailand, and USA. She also has served as thesis examiner, master program coordinator, and main supervisor for two master students and 10 undergraduate students. Overall, Nurul has published 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and 5 book chapters.

Intended Audience:
All are Welcome!

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