Use of Next-Generation Sequencing Methods for Surveillance and to Study Bacterial Adaptation

Join the Department of Food Science and Nutrition for this seminar series event featuring guest speaker Séamus Fanning, professor of the food safety centre at University College Dublin, for a virtual seminar titled “Anti-inflammatory Interactions of Gallotannins with the Intestinal Microbiome” on Thursday, November 10, 2022, beginning at 1 p.m. 

Abstract

Cronobacter species are recognized food-borne pathogens of importance to human health. in particular, Cronobacter sakazakii has been linked to recent issues concerning contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) in the United States. this presentation will describe the use of next-generation sequencing methods as applied for surveillance and also to study the adaptation of this pathogen to low-moisture build environments and the PIF food matrix.

Biography

Séamus Fanning graduated with a B.S. degree in biochemistry from University College Cork in 1983. He subsequently obtained his Ph.D. from University College Cork in molecular microbiology in 1990. In 2002 Fanning was appointed to the chair of food safety and zoonoses at University College Dublin, and currently serves as the director of the UCD-Centre for Food Safety. Current research themes of the centre include studies related to antimicrobial resistance; bacterial transmission across the food chain, and these are focused at extending our understanding of those mechanisms that enable bacteria to adapt to food production environments. This research work is underpinned using molecular methods, including next-generation sequencing (NGS), among others.  Fanning’s research group has an interest in Salmonella and Cronobacter related to low-moisture conditions and associated food matrices, such as powdered infant formula (PIF). Fanning has published more than 356 original experimental papers, along with 32 review papers, 28 book chapters, and two text books. He is a member of the editorial boards of International journals including, Foodborne Pathogens & Disease; Journal of Food Protection; Microbial Drug Resistance; and an editor of a further two journals: Research in Microbiology and FEMS Microbiology Letters. In 2019 he was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

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