IAFP Announces 2008 Student Travel Scholarship Recipients

Monday, July 14, 2008

Des Moines, Iowa (July 14, 2008) - The International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) will present Student Travel Scholarships to the following individuals at IAFP 2008, August 3-6, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by the IAFP Foundation, the Student Travel Scholarships provide travel funds to enable selected students to travel to IAFP 2008.

Ji-Yeon Hyeon is working toward her Ph.D. at the Department of Public Health in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Konkuk University in South Korea. Ms. Hyeon's p rojects are related to development and validation of various rapid detection methods, rapid kit assay, automated ELISA, and real-time PCR for detection of foodborne bacteria and viruses. She plans to undertake postdoctoral research in the US and pursue a career in veterinary science and food safety in the public health sector.

Hudaa Neetoo is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Delaware in Newark. Her research is concentrated on enhancing the microbial safety of sprouts commonly consumed in sandwiches and salads using high pressure processing technology. Ms. Neetoo is active in various professional organizations and intends to pursue a career in academia.

Rolf Erik Nilsson of Australia completed clinical microbiology studies before beginning his Ph.D. program at the Australian Food Safety Centre of the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research in Hobart. Mr. Nilsson seeks to direct his research, which is aimed at developing an understanding of the molecular biology of persistent Listeria monocytogenes strains, toward defined industry applications, with the ultimate goal of reducing the economic risks faced by food industry and contributing to improved public health.

Christopher Nnadozie Njoku , a native of Nigeria, is an international master's student in the Department of Sustainable Development at Linkoping University, Sweden, specializing in Water and Food Security. Currently at work on an intensive research thesis, Mr. Njoku also worked as a quality control officer and taught secondary education while serving his country's National Youth Service Corp.

M. Elizabeth Palmer of Cornell University is a Ph.D. student in Food Science with a focus on Food Safety and Microbiology. Ms. Palmer's research at the Food Safety Laboratory is centered on alleviation and mitigation of food safety and public health concerns by understanding Listeria monocytogenes' mechanisms of stress survival and developing methods for its inhibition. Ultimately, she hopes to work as a food microbiologist/food safety scientist in a research or regulatory setting.

Akafete Teklu Fite , a native of Ethiopia, is pursuing her MSc at Addis Ababa University. She has earned scholarships and financial support for her research, which focuses on the prevalence, distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella serovars in apparently healthy slaughtered sheep and goats and abattoir environments at an export abattoir in Ethiopia.