IAFP Announces 2011 Student Travel Scholarship Recipeints

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Des Moines, Iowa (May 5, 2011) - The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) will present Student Travel Scholarships to the following individuals at IAFP 2011, July 31-August 3, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation, the Student Travel Scholarships provide travel funds to enable selected students to travel to and participate in IAFP 2011.

 Ashley Bramlett is pursuing her graduate degree in Foods and Nutrition at the University of Georgia in Athens, with an expected graduation date of August 2011. She currently serves as a teaching assistant at the university and has interned at the Partnership for Food Safety Education. Through her research and teaching, Ms. Bramlett also created "Safe Eats," a Facebook page dedicated to food safety education for young adults. She plans to pursue a career as a registered dietitian with an emphasis on food safety.

Jessica Corron is a Ph.D. candidate in Animal Science at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where she also received her master's degree. Ms. Corron has served as a teaching assistant and delivered guest lectures at the university. Her current project focuses on understanding the persistence of Listeria monocytogenes in the food processing plant environment, helping to foster the production of safer food and allow food producers to better focus their preventative efforts in reducing the bacteria in the plant environment. Ms.Corron plans to obtain a post-doctoral research position to better understand the ecology and evolution of foodborne pathogens.

Marcus Vinicius Coutinho Cossi is pursuing his Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine at the Universidade Federal de Vicosa in Brazil, where he also obtained his master's degree in this field. Mr. Cossi currently serves on the faculty at Vértice, teaching Veterinary Microbiology, and plans to become a teacher at the university level while continuing research in food safety and quality. His graduate degree focused on contamination of chicken carcasses and his doctoral studies include research regarding contamination of bovine carcasses.

Sarah Finn, a native of Ireland, is a Ph.D. candidate at University College Dublin in the Centre for Food Safety. Ms. Finn is currently conducting research on the bacterial mechanisms involved in supporting the survival of Salmonella in low-moisture foods and the associated environment. She presented two posters at the IAFP European Symposium in 2010 and recently spent six months working in the Quality and Safety Department at the Nestlé Research Centre in Switzerland. After graduation, Ms. Finn plans to pursue a career in research with an industrial perspective.

Patricia Hingston is currently pursuing her M.Sc. in Food Microbiology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Originally from Ontario, Ms. Hingston's focus is on the genetic and physiological characteristics which enable Listeria monocytogenes to survive extended periods of desiccation. Her ultimate goal is to work for a government food inspection agency or continue research to increase and promote food safety.

Kevin Ebere Njoku is pursuing his undergraduate degree in the Department of Food Science and Technology at Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria. Mr. Njoku is currently researching the effects of malnutrition affecting child mortality in Nigeria resulting from poor quality and safety of food. He hopes to become a Food Science professional in Nigeria, continuing his work and education surrounding the country's issues with food quality and safety.

Vinicius Buccelli Ribeiro is a Ph.D. student in the Food Sciences Department at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he also attained his master's degree. As an undergraduate research assistant, Mr. Ribeiro developed a project that was awarded the best study in the food microbiology area in a competition promoted by the Brazilian Society of Microbiology (BSM) and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also received the 2005 and 2007 Scientific Merit Award of Food Microbiology in the Brazilian Microbiology Congress granted by BSM. Upon graduation, Mr. Ribeiro aspires to teach food microbiology and conduct research in this area.

Courage Kosi Setsoafia Saba, a native of Ghana, is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Animal Health at Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Mr. Saba is a published author and currently serves on the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Complutense University, where he helps teach microbiological practical courses. Upon completion of his thesis, Mr. Saba will return to Ghana as a lecturer at the University for Development Studies in Tamale, where he served as a teaching assistant prior to his graduate studies.

Jan Mei Soon is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Agriculture, Royal Agricultural College, Gloucestershire, England. She has written papers on food safety for an international conference in Malaysia and carried out an early review of reported food safety breakdowns linked to the agricultural production stage of supply chains. Upon graduation, Ms. Soon plans to return to Malaysia to help establish a food handler's hygiene training programme, HACCP and food safety management Unit for the farming and food industries on the East Coast of Malaysia, and conduct potential field works to determine and quantify the microbial and pesticide loads in local fresh produce.