Xue Sha
Ph.D. Student
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Ag & Biosystems Engineering
Brookings, SD 57007
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Research Focus:
Xue's research focuses on UV-based decontamination of Salmonella on food-contact surfaces, spanning two areas: UV-C inactivation kinetics — examining how bacterial distribution and wavelength (254 nm vs. 222 nm) drive shielding effects and "tailing" behavior — and UV-A laser treatment of Salmonella biofilms, optimizing processing conditions and characterizing structural and microbial community changes via microscopy and sequencing.
Research Projects
Wavelength-Dependent Shielding Effects in UV-C Inactivation of Salmonella on Surfaces
Wavelength-Dependent Shielding Effects in UV-C Inactivation of Salmonella on Surfaces
Xue's Ph.D. research investigates how bacterial concentration, spatial distribution, and UV-C wavelength (254 nm vs. 222 nm) affect the inactivation kinetics of Salmonella on food-contact surfaces. This work identifies cell shielding — caused by bacterial layering and overlap — as the primary driver of the non-linear "tailing" behavior observed in UV-C disinfection, using Gram-stain/SEM imaging and a dual-population kinetic model to distinguish fast-dying and shielded bacterial subpopulations.
UV-A Laser Disruption of Salmonella Biofilm Structure and Microbial Community Composition
UV-A Laser Disruption of Salmonella Biofilm Structure and Microbial Community Composition
Xue's Ph.D. research also explores Q-switched UV-A laser treatment as a strategy for decontaminating Salmonella biofilms on food-contact surfaces. This work optimizes laser processing conditions (e.g., power, pulse frequency, exposure time) for maximum disinfection efficacy, and characterizes treatment-induced changes in biofilm architecture and microbial community structure through microscopy imaging and sequencing analysis before and after treatment.
Manuscripts in Submission/Preparation
Sha, X., KazemzadehPournaki, L., Yuan, J., Tan, S., Tang, J., Lee, G., and Yang, R. (in submission). Bacterial spatial distribution and UVC penetration depth jointly determine Salmonella inactivation kinetics on dry surfaces
Pan, Z. *, Sha, X.*, Li, H., Ban, W., Sun, X., Shen, Yang., Ying G., Jiang N., Lv, D. (in submission). Viscoelastically Tunable and Injectable Bioprinted Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Laden Hydrogel Constructs Enhance Glottic Adipose Tissue Regeneration for Voice Restoration
KazemzadehPournaki, L., Sha, X., & Yang, R. (in preparation) Q-switched 355 nm UV-A laser for the decontamination of Salmonella enterica Enteritidis PT-30 on glass surfaces.
Sha, X., KazemzadehPournaki, L., Lee, G., and Yang, R. (in preparation). UV-A Laser Disruption of Salmonella Biofilm Structure and Microbial Community Composition
Recent Publications
Gu, Q.; Gao, M.; Gao, T.; Yang, Y.; Sha, X.; Yang, F. Characterization and Pathogenicity of Mannheimia glucosida Isolated from Sheep. Microorganisms 2025, 13, 2676. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122676
Sha X, Li Y, Huang J, Zhou Q, Song X, Zhang B. Detection and molecular characteristics of canine coronavirus in Chengdu city, Southwest China from 2020 to 2021. Microb Pathog. 2022 May;166:105548. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105548. Epub 2022 Apr 22. PMID: 35462014.
3. Song X, Li Y, Huang J, Cao H, Zhou Q, Sha X, Zhang B. An emerging orthopneumovirus detected from dogs with canine infectious respiratory disease in China. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2021 Nov;68(6):3217-3221. doi: 10.1111/tbed.14291. Epub 2021 Aug 26. PMID: 34405559.
4. Zhou L, Fu N, Ding L, Li Y, Huang J, Sha X, Zhou Q, Song X, Zhang B. Molecular Characterization and Cross-Reactivity of Feline Calicivirus Circulating in Southwestern China. Viruses. 2021 Sep 12;13(9):1812. doi: 10.3390/v13091812. PMID: 34578393; PMCID: PMC8473038.
5. Zhou Q, Li Y, Huang J, Fu N, Song X, Sha X, Zhang B. Prevalence and molecular characteristics of feline coronavirus in southwest China from 2017 to 2020. J Gen Virol. 2021 Sep;102(9). doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001654. PMID: 34524074.
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