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 2026)

• 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 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:

• M.S. Virginia Tech, Food Science (expected 2026)

• 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 

Education:

• B.S. Virginia Tech, Food Science (expected 2026)

Research: Han is assisting with a scoping review examining the role of environmental water bodies as reservoirs of Salmonella.

Hobbies: Drawing/Painting, Cooking, Travelling

Email: hannguyen04@vt.edu 

Education:

• B.S. Virginia Tech, Biochemistry (expected 2026)

Research: Camryn is investigating the genetic diversity of lactic acid bacteria isolated from three distinct sourdough starters. Her work involves amplifying and sequencing the 16S rRNA gene to identify and compare bacterial communities across these fermented ecosystems.

Hobbies: Tennis, hiking, running, and spending time with friends and family.

Email: camrynh23@vt.edu