TUSKEGEE, Ala. — A recent, three-year USDA grant has been awarded to a Tuskegee University research team to assist poultry processing facilities to identify Salmonella contamination risks earlier and provide improvements for food safety management.
Dr. Woubit Abebe, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) professor of pathobiology and director of the university’s Center for Food Animal Health, Food Safety, and Food Defense, is the principal investigator and director for this Salmonella research grant.
“Our project aims to strengthen TUCVM’s research capacity while developing innovative, rapid, and highly sensitive tools for detecting and characterizing Salmonella across the food production continuum,” Abebe said in a statement.
Abebe’s research “focuses on improving food animal health, food safety, and food defense in the State of Alabama, while also supporting the broader agricultural industry,” the university said in its announcement.
This project will be using GenoPATHx, which utilizes rapid molecular detection along with “machine learning-based predictive tools to enable detection and forecasting of Salmonella in poultry processing plants,” the university added.
Dr. Temesgen Samuel, Tuskegee University Department of Pathobiology associate dean for research and advanced studies; and Dr. Nelson Oranye, Tuskegee University Department of Graduate Public Health associate professor, will be assisting Abebe as co-project directors.
“Dr. Abebe and her team are to be commended for the scientific contributions they are making to improve food safety, animal health, and human health,” Dr. Ebony Gilbreath, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine dean, said. “We are proud of the innovative and meaningful work being conducted by Dr. Abebe and other researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Their laboratories focus on diseases and preventative strategies that support the well-being of both animal and human populations.”
“Our researchers embody the One Health triad, which highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health,” Gilbreath noted. “They consistently demonstrate that the research conducted at Tuskegee University makes a significant impact on the world.”
The $750,000 USDA grant stems from the department’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, with $560,000 allotted to support the Tuskegee University research, and the remainder shared by researchers at Cornell University, University of California-Davis, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, Michigan State University, and the NIFA AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems at the University of California-Davis.
