Education:

• Ph.D. Cornell University, Food Science

• B.S. Oregon State University, Microbiology

• B.S. Oregon State University, Food Science

Research: Typhoid toxin, Salmonella diversity, Bacillus cereus group species

Hobbies: Hiking, Travel, Spending time with family

Email: racheng@vt.edu 

Education:

• Ph.D. Virginia Tech, Food Science (expected Spring 2030)

• B.S. Texas A&M University, Food Science and Technology 

Research: Food safety risks associated with alternative protein sources

Hobbies: 

Email: makanasloan@vt.edu 

Education:

• Ph.D. Virginia Tech, Food Science (expected Spring 2027)

• M.S. South Dakota State University (SDSU), Dairy Science

• B.S. National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Dairy Science

Research: Bhaswati's research focuses on (i) environmental sources of Salmonella, (ii) characterizing the surface proteome of Salmonella associated with poultry, and (iii) characterizing coding sequences carried on plasmids encoded by diverse Salmonella isolates.

Hobbies: Cooking, Baking, Hiking, Travelling

Email: bhaswatic@vt.edu 

Education:

• Ph.D. Virginia Tech, Food Science (expected Spring 2026)

• M.S. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Biotechnology

• B.S. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Fisheries

Research: Rakib's research focuses on (i) elucidating the function of genes in the O antigen synthesis cluster of Salmonella for enhancing in silico serotype prediction, and (ii) characterizing the genomic diversity of understudied Salmonella serovars. 

Hobbies: Fishing

Email: rakib@vt.edu 

Education:

• Ph.D. Virginia Tech, Food Science (expected 2028)

• B.S. Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB), Biochemistry

Research: Diego's research centers on (i) validating molecular detection methods for Salmonella and (ii) characterizing the genomic diversity of conserved genes of different Salmonella serovars.

Hobbies: Cooking, Biking, Playing Drums

Email: diegofredes@vt.edu