April 16, 2018
Food science student from Brazil receives international travel scholarship
Carla Schwan, doctoral candidate in food science, has received a travel scholarship from the International Association for Food Protection to attend its annual conference and exposition in July in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The association is the leading food safety focused conference in the world and approximately 3,600 members from academia, the food processing industry, technology companies and government attend to hear the latest in food safety research, learn about technology and innovations to advance food safety and public health, and network with thousands of food safety professionals from around the globe. Student members get the chance to interact with leading experts to build networks that will support their food safety careers. The International Association for Food Protection Foundation supports the full cost of attendance of up to 20 students from around the world to attend the annual meeting each year.
Schwan works under the mentorship of Jessie Vipham, assistant professor of food safety and security and faculty member in K-State's Food Science Institute. Her doctoral research is focused on understanding the movement of pathogens in environmental and vegetable samples collected from farms to local markets in two provinces in Cambodia, Battambang and Siem Reap, by characterizing the whole genome profiles of the microbial isolates. This research is part of K-State's leadership of the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification, which aims to reduce global hunger and poverty, and improve the nutrition of smallholder farmers, in five developing countries.