Fall 2024 FDSN Seminar Series: Siyun Wang

The Department of Food Science and Nutrition presents its fall 2024 seminar series featuring Siyun Wang, professor of food safety engineering and principal investigator of the Wang Lab of Molecular Food Safety, who will present “Bacteriophage-Based Biocontrol of Salmonella in Poultry.” This seminar will take place on Thursday, October 10, 2024, from 12:45–1:45 p.m. over Zoom.

Abstract

Recent concerns regarding the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in food production have led the withdrawal of the use of many antibiotics for preventative purpose in the Agri-Food industry globally. However, reduced use of antibiotics may also be accompanied with issues such as reduced product quality, reduced yields, and increased microbiological contaminations. Bacteriophages are considered as natural predators of bacterial pathogens. As such, there is a strong demand to develop eco-friendly alternative strategies to reduce the burden of microbial contamination through the application of bacteriophages. This talk will discuss about the recent progresses and challenges associated with developing bacteriophage-based biocontrol methods in Agri-Food, with an emphasis on the poultry sector.

Bio

Siyun Wang is a professor of food safety engineering and the principal investigator of the Wang Lab of Molecular Food Safety at the University of British Columbia, where she teaches and conducts research on ensuring a safer food supply system. She received her B.S. in pharmacy from Fudan University in 2005 and Ph.D. in Biology from Illinois Institute of Technology in 2010. Prior to joining UBC in January 2013, she was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University.

Wang has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on food safety. Awards she received included Notable Distinctions at UBC, the Food Safety Award from BC Food Protection Association, the Young Researcher Initiative from the European Food Safety Authority, and the scholarship for young women scientists underrepresented in STEM from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Wang currently serves as an associate editor of current research in food science, an editorial board member of Journal of Food Protection and Food Microbiology, and a review editor of Frontiers in Microbiology|Phage Biology.

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