COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES POULTRY SCIENCE

Suresh D. Pillai Professor and Director

Kleberg 418B 2472 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2472 Tel. 979.845.2994 Fax 979.845.1921 s-pillai@tamu.edu www.tamu.edu/faculty/pillailab

November 1, 2013

Dr. David Ragsdale

Chair of Search Committee

Department of Entomology

Texas A&M University

Dear Dr. Ragsdale,

Thank you for your letter inviting me to apply for the position of Professor and Head of the Department of Nutrition and

Food Science. It is indeed an honor to be nominated as a candidate for this position.

I am currently Professor of Microbiology and Texas A&M AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow with a joint appointment in

the Departments of Poultry Science and Nutrition & Food Science. Additionally, I serve as the Director of the National

Center for Electron Beam Research. My research area in food safety and environmental microbiology is aimed at

understanding the molecular ecology of microbial pathogens in natural and man-made ecosystems that are at the interface

of food safety, environmental microbiology, and public health. As Director of the National Center for Electron Beam

Research, my focus has been to advance research and foster commercialization of electron beam technologies. These

efforts are starting to pay dividends in terms of the faculty members participating in the Center, extramural research

funding to faculty directly attributable to this technology, and commercialization successes.

Having served on the committee tasked with the formation of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, and as one

of its founding faculty members, I know the Department has incredible talent in its faculty, staff, and students. We need to

integrate the disciplines of nutrition and food sciences and make profound and paradigm-shifting discoveries in food

science, nutrition and global health. I am extremely confident that these activities can be executed within the context of

the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences priorities in high-impact learning, diversity, accountability, and the Grand

Challenges initiatives.

I see an extremely unique and exciting opportunity in providing leadership to the Department of Nutrition and Food

Science. I am hereby submitting my CV, statement about my vision and administrative philosophy, and a list of

references. Please contact me at s-pillai@tamu or 845-2994 if you have any questions or need additional information.

Sincerely,

Suresh D. Pillai, Ph. D.

Professor of Microbiology & Texas A&M AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow

Departments of Poultry Science & Nutrition and Food Science

Director, National Center for Electron Beam Food Research

Texas A&M University

Administrative Philosophy and Goals for the Department

I have spent over 21 years in the Texas A&M University System with colleagues and students, whom

I consider are amongst the very best in the world. I served as the Associate Director of Research for

the Institute of Food Science and Engineering for 5 years, served as Chair of the Graduate Faculty of

Biotechnology for 7 years, and for the last 9 years I have served as the Director of the National

Center for Electron Beam Research. My vision for the Department of Nutrition and Food Science

and my administrative philosophy has been molded from these experiences.

I am extremely optimistic about the institution, the Department, and its people. My administrative

philosophy is based on the precept that the human resource in an organization is its life blood. For

any organization to thrive and grow, people have to be valued, people have to be empowered, and

people have to be rewarded. I am strongly committed to diversity in hiring of faculty, students, and

staff. We spend much of our valuable resources recruiting faculty and staff, and I believe it is a

travesty if we don’t collectively empower faculty to be successful. As Department Head, I will

work along with the faculty mentoring committee to develop and fine-tune a customized

mentoring programs designed specifically for specific individuals. My approach to empowering

people is shared governance, transparency, and accountability. I am confident that inclusiveness and

transparency will empower people to perform at levels beyond expectations. An empowered

department automatically “raises the bar” in terms of excellence. This excellence will manifest itself

in our faculty, our staff, our students, our classes, and our research and extension programs.

The Department of Nutrition and Food Science needs to exploit the exciting discoveries and change

taking place in nutrition, food science, immunology, microbiology, nanomaterials, as well as in

education. We need to stay abreast and stay ahead of the global changes in teaching, research

funding, and outreach methods. For the Department to remain relevant and globally competitive there

needs to be a strong emphasis on education, discovery, outreach, and commercialization. We can also

no longer afford to view nutrition and food science as disparate scientific fields. The emerging

relationships between health, human behavior, nutrition, microbiomes, foods, food ingredients, food

processing, and processing methods all point out to a pivotal role that our Department can play in the

future. The 21st century solutions for global health and nutrition can only be solved with a strong

integration of the fields of nutrition and food science. One of my key goals and vision for the

Department of Nutrition and Food Science is to cultivate and foster strong integration of the

disciplines of nutrition and food science at the teaching, research, and extension levels. The

Department has to be involved in making profound and paradigm-shifting discoveries in food

science, nutrition, and global health. For this Department to become the global leader, we need to be

bold and innovative in adjusting to shifting changes in discovery, education and outreach. This is

why it is imperative that we have empowered faculty, staff and students. I am confident that I can

provide the leadership to foster this integration as well as support acquiring the necessary funding for

the new initiatives. My vision for funding research, teaching, and extension programs is to develop

novel partnerships and linkages with government agencies and private industry so that funding is

sustainable and expanding. My strategy to be an active advocate for the department is to use

quantifiable metrics in documenting how the department is leveraging its resources to help Texas, the

nation and the world, and making a strong case for the need to significantly expand the investment in

the Department. I am confident that these activities can be executed within the context of the College

of Agriculture and Life Sciences priorities in high-impact learning, diversity, accountability, and the

Grand Challenges initiatives.

List of References

Doug Archer, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Research, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Professor, Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition

University of Florida, Gainesville

1022 McCarty Hall

Tel: (352) 392-1784

Email: dlarcher@ufl.edu

Fuller Bazer, Ph.D.

Regents Fellow, Distinguished Professor & O.D. Butler Chair

Department of Animal Science

Texas A&M University

Room 442, Kleberg

Tel: (979) 845-5929

Email: fbazer@cvm.tamu.edu

Michael Sadowsky, Ph.D.

McKnight Professor

Director, BioTechnology Institute

University of Minnesota

Tel (612) 624-6774 or (612) 624-2706

Email: sadowsky@umn.edu

1

Suresh D. Pillai

EDUCATION

1989 Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology, University of Arizona, Tucson.

1985 M.Sc. Industrial Microbiology, University of Madras, India.

1983 B.Sc. Botany, University of Madras, India.

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

2004-present Professor and Texas A&M AgriLife Research Fellow, Texas A&M University

& Director, National Center for E-Beam Research, Texas A&M University

Member, Graduate Faculties of Food Science & Technology, Poultry Science,

Biotechnology, Veterinary Pathobiology, Toxicology, Soil & Crop Sciences, and

Water Program, Texas A&M University

2004-2010 Chair, Graduate Interdisciplinary Faculty of Biotechnology Texas A&M University

2004-2010 Director, Professional Program in Biotechnology, Texas A&M University

2000-2005 Assoc. Director, Institute of Food Science & Engineering, Texas A&M University

2000-2004 Associate Professor & TAES Faculty Fellow, Texas A&M University

1998-1999 Associate Professor, Texas A&M Univ. Research Center, at El Paso, Texas

1992- 1998 Assistant Professor, Texas A&M Univ. Research Center at El Paso, Texas

1992 -1999 Member, Graduate Faculties of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces,

New Mexico

1992-1999 Member, Graduate Faculty of Biology, University of Texas at El Paso, Texas

1991-1992 Research Scientist - Accelerated Products Development Program, Naval Medical

Research Institute, Bethesda, MD.

1991-1992 Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Uniformed

Services University of the Health Sciences, National Naval Medical Center,

Bethesda, MD.

1989-1991 Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Soil & Water Science, University of

Arizona, Tucson.

1986-1989 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Microbiology & Immunology,

University of Arizona, Tucson.

PROFESSIONAL HONORS & AWARDS

2014- Member, FDA Science Advisory Board. National Center for Toxicology Research

2013 Member, Microbiology Review Team, FDA-National Center for Toxicology

Research

2012 Society for Applied Microbiology (SFAM)- President’s Travel Award

2011 Elected Fellow, International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses

2010-present Member, Committee on Environmental Microbiology, American Society for

Microbiology

2010-present Member, Science Advisory Board, BCR Environmental, Jacksonville, FL

2008 Society for Applied Microbiology (SFAM)- President’s Travel Award

2007-2010 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)- Distinguished Lecturer

2007 State of Texas Environmental Excellence Award (Team-member)

2006-2011 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Department of Homeland Security Center for

Advanced Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA)

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2006-present Expert Panel Member, Govt. Accountability Office (GAO), Washington, DC.

2004-2010 Elected Member, Council of Principal Investigators, Texas A&M University

2003-2007 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Warnex, Inc.

2002 TAES Faculty Fellow, Agriculture Program, Texas A&M University

2001 Appointed Member, National Academy of Science/National Research Council

Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids.

2001 Nominee, Texas A&M University Faculty Fellows Program

2000 Member, Faculty Senate, Texas A&M University

1988 Graduate Tuition Scholarship, University of Arizona, Tucson.

1986 Graduate Academic Scholarship, University of Arizona, Tucson.

1988 University of Arizona Foundation Award as a Graduate Teaching Assistant

1986-1989 Kate C. Lewis Academic Scholarship, University of Arizona, Tucson.

SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION

2013 Plenary Speaker, IAEA Scientific Forum “The Blue Planet-Nuclear Applications for a

Sustainable Marine Environment”. Vienna, Austria. September

2013 Member, Sub-Committee, Science Advisory Board, FDA-NCTR Division of

Microbiology, Jefferson, Arkansas, July

2013 Invited Participant, IAEA Technical meeting on Radiation processed materials in products

from polymers for agricultural applications, Vienna, Austria, July

2013 Invited Participant, IAEA technical meeting on “Radiation Treatment of Pollutants,

Wastewater and Sludges “. Vienna, Austria, March

2013 Member, IAEA Coordinated Research Project team on “Application of Radiation

Technology in Development of Advanced Packaging Materials for Food Products”

Vienna, Austria, April

2012 Scientific Expert mission to China on behalf of IAEA regarding food irradiation

technologies, Beijing, China, December

2012 Member, IAEA Coordinated Research Project team, “Radiation treatment of organic

pollutants in wastewater. Jeongup, S. Korea. October.

2012 Plenary Speaker, IAEA Scientific Forum “Food for the Future”, Vienna, Austria.

September

2011 Member, International Evaluation Committee Obihiro University of Agriculture &

Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan. January

2011 Invited Speaker and Panel Member, Consumer Goods Forum, Global Food Safety

Initiative (GFSI). London, UK. February

2011 Meeting Co-Chair, IAEA Coordinated Research Group Meeting on development of

generic doses for phytosanitary applications. College Station, TX April

2010 Meeting Chair, IAEA Coordinated Research Group Meeting on the use of food

irradiation for immuno-compromised patients. Vienna, Austria. August

2009 Chair, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Expert Panel on the use of food

irradiation for immuno-compromised patients. Vienna, Austria. November

2009 Member, External Advisory Board, Department of Homeland Security Center for

Advanced Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA), Philadelphia, April

2009 Member, Government Accountability Office (GAO) Expert Panel on risks posed by BSL-

3 and BSL-4 laboratories in the United States, Washington DC, March

3

2008 Member, International Review Committee, Obihiro University of Agriculture and

Veterinary Medicine, Obhihiro, Japan, January

2007- Member International Advisory Committee, Kalasalingam University, India

2007 Member, International Organizing Committee, New Horizons in Biotechnology

Conference NHBT-2007, Trivandrum, India, November.

2007 Member, International Scientific Committee, International Food Irradiation Conferences,

New Delhi and Hyderabad, India, February

2006 Chair, International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) Professional Development

Group on Fruits and Vegetables. (August, 2006- July 2008)

2006 Member, International Organizing Committee, 2nd

International Congress on

Bioprocessing in Food Industries, Patras, Greece. June

2006 Invited Participant, USEPA Candidate Contaminant List Workshop, Washington DC.

June

2006 Invited Participant, USEPA Workshop on Large Sample Volume Concentration Methods,

Cincinnati, OH. April

2005 Invited Participant, USEPA Candidate Contaminant List Workshop, Washington DC,

Dec.

2005 Invited Participant, WERF Directed Research Program Workshop, Washington DC, Nov

2005 Invited Participant, US EPA Pathogen Equivalency Committee Retreat, Hueston Woods,

OH, September

2005 Invited Participant, DoD-DoE-EPA Molecular Biological Tools Workshop,

Charlottesville, VA, August

2005 Invited Participant, American Society for Microbiology’s Biodefense Research Meeting,

Baltimore, MD, March

2004 Invited Participant, USEPA Workshop on Virulence-Factor-Activity Relationships,

Baltimore, MD, October.

2004 Member, Board of Directors, National Alliance for Food Safety & Security

2004 Invited Participant, NASA-JPL Workshop on Microbial monitoring of the International

Space Station Drinking Water. June

2004 Invited Participant, USEPA International Workshop on coliphages. Washington DC.

April

2004 Organizer, International Workshop, “Food Irradiation: Discussing the International

Research and Policy Agenda”. College Station, Texas

2004 Invited Participant, NASA Workshop on developing a Research Roadmap for the

International Space Station, Kennedy Space Center.

2004 Vice Chairperson, Fruit and Vegetable Safety and Quality Professional Development

Group, International Association of Food Protection

2003 Reviewer, Korea Science Prize, Korea Science & Engineering Foundation

2003 Invited Participant, WERF-USEPA Biosolids Research Summit, VA. August

2003 Convener, IFT Symposium. “E-beam technology: where are we in terms of the science?”

2003 Member, Joint IAEA-FAO Coordinated Research Project on use of irradiation to ensure

quality/safety of fresh fruits and vegetables

2003 Member, USEPA expert panel on molecular detection of viruses in water

2003 Chair, Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) - Project Committee,

“Real-Time PCR detection of human viruses and indicators in water”

2003 Chair, Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) - Project Committee,

4

“Molecular alternatives to indicator and pathogen detection”

2003 Member, Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) –Project Advisory

Committee, “Biosolids Microbial Health Risk Investigations”

2000 Member, Scientific Organizing Committee for the “Microbiology of Composting”

conference in Innsbruck, Austria.

2000 Technical Expert - USAID/Kenan Institute-Asia to address pathogen contamination of

imported raw hide products.

2000 Member, National Water Research Institute (NWRI) panel to review studies related to

urban-runoff influencing beach closures in Southern California

2000 Member, Expert panel for USEPA to discuss microbial pathogen exposure routes.

1999 Member-City of El Paso/FBI Task Force to prepare for Biological and Chemical Weapons

of Mass Destruction.

1999 Member- Expert panel for the USEPA to discuss the choice of microbial indicators in

groundwater for monitoring purposes for the Groundwater Rule.

1999- Member, American Water Works Research Foundation Research (AWWARF) Project

Advisory Committee. “Development of a molecular method to detect infective viruses”

1997 Member, Expert panel for the US-Mexico Foundation for Science meeting, “Environment

and Public Health along the Mexico/US border. Tijuana, Baja California

1996- Steering Committee Member- Clean Rivers Program. (Upper Rio Grande Basin) Texas

Natural Resources Conservation Commission.

1994 Co-Chair, Hazardous and Solid Waste Group. Rio Grande Council of Government's

Environmental Research Group

EDITORIAL ACTIVITIES

Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Food Protection, American Society of Microbiology Spectrum,

Indian Journal of Biotechnology

Editorial Board Member: Bioresource Technology (1995-2003)

Reviewer for :Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Canadian Journal of Microbiology,

Journal of Environmental Quality, Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, The

Quarterly Review of Biology, Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, The Journal of Water and Health,

Journal of the American Water Works Association, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Journal of

Virological Methods, Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Food Science, etc.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP

American Society for Microbiology

International Association of Food Protection

Institute of Food Technologists

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Society for Applied Microbiology

International Water Association

5

PUBLICATIONS

Patents

1. Combined chemical oxidant and E-Beam irradiation for biosolid disinfection and stabilization

Suresh D. Pillai and Robert S. Reimers (US patent pending)

2. High energy electron beam irradiation for the production of immuno-modulators in poultry.

Jack McReynolds, Suresh D. Pillai, Palmy Jesudhasan and Martha Cepeda (2012) (US patent

8,173,139)

3. Removal of biological pathogens using surfactant-modified zeolites. Dirk Schulze-Makuch,

Robert S. Bowman and Suresh D. Pillai.(2007) (U.S. Patent 7,311,839)

Books

4. Yates MV, Miller RV, Nakatsu CH, Pillai S, D. (Editors) (2015), Manual of Environmental

Microbiology, 4th ed. ASM Press, Washington, DC. (in preparation)

5. Pillai, S.D. and S.Shayanfar (Editors) (2014) Electron Beam Pasteurization and

Complementary Food Processing Technologies, Woodhead Publishing, UK (in preparation)

6. R.C. Bier, S.D. Pillai, T.D. Phillips and R.L. Ziprin (Editors) (2004). Pre-harvest and Post-

harvest Food Safety; Contemporary Issues and Future Directions. Institute of Food

Technologists/Iowa State University Press

7. Pillai, S.D. (Editor) (1998) Microbial Pathogens within Aquifers-Principles &Protocols.

Springer-Verlag.

Book Chapters

8. Pillai, S.D. (2013). New opportunities for eBeam technologies in one health. In: IAEA-

Radiation Processing Technology Series. IAEA, Vienna Austria (in press)

9. Pillai, S.D., C. Blackburn, and C. Bogran, (2013). Applications of ionizing irradiation for

phytosanitary treatment and food safety for fresh produce. In: Global safety of fresh

produce: A handbook of best-practice examples, innovative commercial solutions and case

studies. Edited by J. Hoorfar. Woodhead Publishing, Oxford, UK.

10. Pillai, S.D. (2012). Source tracing in Thailand following contamination of dog-chew toys

with Salmonella. In: Case studies in food safety and quality. Edited by J. Hoorfar.

Woodhead Publishing, Oxford, U.K.

11. Skaggs, B., Srisawat, P., Reimers, R.S., and Pillai, S.D. (2012) Innovative wastewater

disinfection technologies. In: The Praeger Handbook of Environmental Health. Edited by

R.H. Friis. ABC-CLIO

12. Pillai, S.D. (2011) Empowering billions with food safety and food security In: In Food &

Agriculture, Thematic Volume- International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy-

2009 (Eds. Arun Sharma & S.F. D’Souza), Published by Bhaba Atomic Research Centre,

Department of Atomic Energy, India

13. Reed, A.L., and S.D. Pillai (2011). E-Beam based ionizing radiation technology for municipal

biosolid treatment. In: Solids Processing Design and Management Manual. (ed J. Smith).

Water Environment Federation

14. Rambo, C., and S.D. Pillai (2011). Pathogen testing in fresh produce and irrigation water. In:

Rapid Detection, Characterization and Enumeration of Foodborne Pathogens. (Ed, J. Hoorfar).

ASM Press, Washington DC

6

15. Nair, C., D. Prince, C. Rambo, and S.D. Pillai (2010). Contemporary Issues in Food Safety. In:

Comprehensive Food Fermentation Food Biotechnology. A. Pandey, , C. Larroche, R. Soccol,

E. Gnansounou, and P. Nigam (eds). AsiaTech Publishers, New Delhi.

16. Sivakumar, K.K., P.Jesudhasan and S.D. Pillai (2011) Detection of Autoinducer (AI-2) like

Activity in Food Samples In: Quorum Sensing: Methods and Protocols (ed. K. Rumbaugh).

Humana Press

17. Pillai, S.D., D. H. D’Souza, G.D. Giovanni, A. Sharma, M. Patterson (2008). Microbiological

safety of foods: contemporary challenges and solutions. In: Biotechnology. A. Pandey, C.

Larroche, C. R. Soccol, and C-G Dussap, (eds) . AsiaTech Publishers

18. Jesudhasan, P.R., K. Widmer, K. Soni, A. Vikram, and S.D. Pillai. (2007). Microbial cell

signaling and its potential applications in bioprocessing. In: Advances on Bioprocessing in

Food Industry. A.A.Koutinas and A. Pandey (eds)

19. Pillai, S.D., and L.A. Braby. (2007) Electronic pasteurization of foods. In: Advances in

Thermal and Non-Thermal Food Preservation. G.Tewari and V. Juneja (eds). Blackwell

Publishing, Ames, IA.

20. Pillai, S.D. L. Braby, and J. Maxim. (2006). Technical Challenges and Research Directions

in Electronic Food Pasteurization. In: Food Irradiation Research and Technology. C.H.

Sommers and X. Fan (eds). Blackwell Publishing.

21. Pillai, S.D. and E. Vega (2007) Molecular Detection and Characterization Tools. In: Microbial

Source Tracking. P 65-91. (ed. J.W. Santo Domingo and M.J. Sadowsky) American Society

for Microbiology Press, Washington, DC

22. Beier, R.C., and S.D. Pillai (2007) Future directions in food safety. In: Foodborne Diseases,

S. Simjee (ed.). Humana Press, Totowa, NJ .

23. Pillai, S.D. (2006) Food Irradiation: A solution to combat worldwide food-borne illnesses.

In: Current Topics in Bioprocesses in Food Industries. Christian Larroche, Ashok Pandey,

and Claude-Gilles Dussap (eds). AsiaTechPublishers, Inc. New Delhi.

24. Pillai S.D. (2006) Bacteriophages as Indicators. In: Food Virology (ed. Sagar Goyal). Kluwer

Publishers.

25. Pillai, S.D. (2004) Molecular Methods for Microbial Detection. In: Pre-harvest and Post-

harvest Food Safety: Contemporary Issues and Future Directions. (eds. R.C.Bier, S.D. Pillai.

T.D. Phillips, and R.L. Ziprin). Institute of Food Technologists/Iowa State Press.

26. Pillai, S.D. (2004). Food Irradiation. In: Pre-harvest and Post-harvest Food Safety:

Contemporary Issues and Future Directions. (eds. R.C.Bier, S.D. Pillai. T.D. Phillips, and R.L.

Ziprin). Institute of Food Technologists/Iowa State Press. 375-387.

27. Pillai, S.D.,and J. Totten (2003). Molecular Methods for Microbial Detection and

Characterization. In: Concise Encyclopedia of Bioresource Technology (ed: A. Pandey). The

Harworth Press, Inc. NY.

28. Pillai, S.D., and N. Nwachuku (2002). Bacteriophage Methodologies. In: Encyclopedia of

Microbiology. G. Bitton (ed). Wiley & Sons 374-384

29. Pillai,S.D. (2002). Bioaerosols and Public Health. In: Microbiology of Composting. (eds H.

Insam, N. Riddech, and S. Klammer) Springer-Verlag. p 595-606

30. Pillai, S.D. ,and G. Di Giovanni (2003). Microbial Sampling. In: Encyclopedia of Water

Science (eds. B.A. Stewart and T.A. Howell) Marcel Dekker Press, Inc. NY.

31. Pillai, S.D., and D. Makuch. (2002) Subsurface hydrobiology. In Groundwater, edited by L.

Silveria, In: Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) EOLSS Publishers, Oxford, U.K.

7

32. Pillai, S.D. (1998) Future advances in subsurface microbiology. In Microbial pathogens within

aquifers- Principles &Protocols. (ed. S.D. Pillai) p 133-136. Springer-Verlag.

33. Dowd, S.E. and S.D. Pillai. (1998) Groundwater sampling for microbial analysis. In S.D.

Pillai (ed.) Ch. 2. Microbial pathogens within aquifers-Principles & Protocols. Springer-Verlag.

34. Pepper, I.L., and S.D. Pillai. ( 1995) PCR Amplification of DNA from root nodules. In: J.T.

Trevors and J.D. Van Elsas (eds.) Ch.8. Nucleic Acids in the Environment: Methods and

Applications. Springer Verlag. pp141-151.

35. Pepper, I.L., and S.D. Pillai. (1994) Detection of specific sequences in environmental samples

via Polymerase Chain Reaction. In: R.W. Weaver, J.S. Angle and P.S. Bottomley (eds.) Ch. 43.

Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2: Microbiological and Biochemical properties. SSA Book

series No. 5 pp. 707-726.

Review Articles

36. Pillai, S.D., and K. McElhany (2011). Status of irradiated foods in the USA. SafeFood, 6: 1-10.

37. Sobsey, M.D., and S.D. Pillai (2009) Where future emerging pathogens will come from and

what approaches can be used to find them besides VFARs? Journal of Water and Health 7:

S75-S 93

38. Pillai, S.D. and P. Jesudhasan (2006) Quorum sensing: how bacteria communicate. Food

Technology. 60: 42-47.

39. Maciorowski, K.G., P. Herrera, F.T. Jones, S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke (2006). Cultural and

immunological methods for Salmonella spp in animal feeds. – a review. Veterinary Research

Communications 30: 127-137.

40. Pillai, S.D., L. A. Braby, and C. B. Lavergne. (2005). Electron beam technology for food

irradiation. International Review of Food Science and Technology 96-101

41. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai, F.T. Jones and S.C. Ricke (2005) Polymerase chain reaction

detection of foodborne Salmonella spp. in animal feeds. Critical Reviews in Microbiology 31:

45-53.

42. Sobsey, M.D., and S.D. Pillai (2009) Where future emerging pathogens will come from and

what approaches can be used to find them besides VFARs? Journal of Water and Health 7:

S75-S 93

43. Pillai, S.D. and P. Jesudhasan (2006) Quorum sensing: how bacteria communicate. Food

Technology. 60: 42-47.

44. Maciorowski, K.G., P. Herrera, F.T. Jones, S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke (2006). Cultural and

immunological methods for Salmonella spp in animal feeds. – a review. Veterinary Research

Communications 30: 127-137.

45. Pillai, S.D., L. A. Braby, and C. B. Lavergne. (2005). Electron beam technology for food

irradiation. International Review of Food Science and Technology 96-101

46. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai, F.T. Jones and S.C. Ricke (2005) Polymerase chain reaction

detection of foodborne Salmonella spp. in animal feeds. Critical Reviews in Microbiology 31:

45-53.

47. Smith, J.S., and S.D. Pillai (2004). Irradiation and Food Safety. Science Status Summary.

FoodTechnology 58: 48-55.

48. Maciorowski, K.G., F.T. Jones, S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke (2004) Incidence, sources and

control of food-borne Salmonella spp. in poultry feeds. World Poultry Science Journal 60:

446-457.

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49. Roe, M.T., and S.D. Pillai. (2003) Monitoring and identifying antibiotic resistance mechanisms

in bacteria. Poultry Science (suppl). 82: 622-626

50. Pillai, S.D., and S.C. Ricke (2002) Bioaerosols from municipal and animal wastes: background

and contemporary issues. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 48: 681-696.

51. Ricke, S.C., S.D. Pillai, R.A. Norton, K.G. Maciorowski, and F.T. Jones. (1998) Applicability

of rapid methods for detection of Salmonella spp. in poultry feeds: a review Journal of Rapid

Methods and Automation in Microbiology 6: 239-258

52. Ricke, S.C., and S.D. Pillai. (1999) Conventional and molecular methods for understanding

probiotic bacteria functionality in gastrointestinal tracts. CRC Critical Reviews in Microbiology

(25)(1): 19-38.

53. Pillai, S.D. (1997) Molecular detection of microbial pathogens: breakthroughs and challenges.

Archives in Virology (suppl). 13: 67-82.

54. Pillai, S.D., and S.C. Ricke. (1995) Strategies to improve the applicability of gene

amplification protocols for pathogen detection in meat and meat products. CRC Critical

Reviews in Microbiology 21(4): 239-261

55. Pillai, S.D. (1994) Improving microbial detection in water treatment. Natl. Environ, J. 4: 62-

63.

Original Research Articles

56. Garcia, T.P., Muller, S., Carroll, R.J., Dunn, T.N., Thomas, A.P., Adams, S.H., Pillai, S.D. and

Walzem, R.L. (2013). Structured variable selection with q-values. Biostatistics

DOI:10.1093/biostatistics/kxt012

57. Praveen, C., P.R. Jesudhasan, R. Reimers and S.D. Pillai (2013). Electron beam inactivation of

selected microbial pathogens and indicator organisms in aerobically and anaerobically digested

sewage sludge. Bioresources Technology 144: 652-657

58. Praveen, C., Dancho, B.A., Kingsley, D.H., Calci, K.R., Meade, G.K., Mena, K.D. and Pillai,

S.D. (2013). Susceptibility of Murine Norovirus and Hepatitis A Virus to Electron Beam

Irradiation in Oysters and Quantifying the Reduction in Potential Infection Risks. Applied and

Environmental Microbiology 79: 3796-3801

59. Bordin, A.I., Suchodolski, J.S., Markel, M.E., Weaver, K.B., Steiner, J.M., Dowd, S.E., Pillai,

S., and Cohen, N.D. (2013) Effects of administration of live or inactivated virulent

Rhodococccus equi and age on the fecal microbiome of neonatal foals. PlosOne 8: e66640

60. Murthi, P., Praveen, C., Jesudhasan, P. R., & Pillai, S. D. (2012). Comparing extraction buffers

to identify optimal method to extract somatic coliphages from sewage sludges. Bioresource

Technology, 118, 407-411.

61. Espinosa, A. C., Jesudhasan, P., Arredondo, R., Cepeda, M., Mazari-Hiriart, M., Mena, K.

D., and Pillai, S. D. (2012). Quantifying the reduction in potential health risks by

determining the sensitivity of poliovirus type 1 chat strain and rotavirus SA-11 to electron

beam irradiation of iceberg lettuce and spinach. Applied and Environmental Microbiology,

78(4), 988-993.

62. Kakani, G., Jesudhasan, P. R., & Pillai, S. D. (2012). Different biocides elicit differential

responses in bacteria. IEEE Aerospace.

63. Kogut, M. H., McReynolds, J. L., He, H., Genovese, K. J., Jesudhasan, P. R., Davidson, M.

A. Cepeda, M.A., & Pillai, S. D. (2012). Electron-beam irradiation inactivation of

salmonella: Effects on innate immunity and induction of protection against salmonella

enterica serovar typhimurium challenge of chickens. Procedia in Vaccinology, 6, 47-63.

9

64. Murthi, P., Praveen, C., Jesudhasan, P. R., & Pillai, S. D. (2012). Comparing extraction

buffers to identify optimal method to extract somatic coliphages from sewage sludges.

Bioresource Technology, 118, 407-411.

65. Sooresh, A., Zeng, Z., Chandrasekharan, J., Pillai, S. D., & Sayes, C. M. (2012). A

physiologically relevant approach to characterize the microbial response to colloidal

particles in food matrices within a simulated gastrointestinal tract. Food and Chemical

Toxicology, 50(9), 2971-2977.

66. Vikram, A., Jayaprakasha, G. K., Jesudhasan, P. R., Pillai, S. D., & Patil, B. S. (2012).

Limonin 7-methoxime interferes with Escherichia coli biofilm formation and attachment in

type 1 pili and antigen 43 dependent manner. Food Control, 26(2), 427-438.

67. Vikram, A., Jayaprakasha, G. K., Jesudhasan, P. R., Pillai, S. D., & Patil, B. S. (2012).

Obacunone represses salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2 in an envz-dependent

fashion. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78(19), 7012-7022.

68. Vikram, A., Jesudhasan, P. R., Pillai, S. D., & Patil, B. S. (2012). Isolimonic acid interferes

with Escherichia coli O157:H7 biofilm and TTSS in QseBC and QseA dependent fashion.

BMC Microbiology, , 261-263

69. Widmer, K. W., Jesudhasan, P., & Pillai, S. D. (2012). Fatty acid modulation of autoinducer

(AI-2) influenced growth and macrophage invasion by salmonella typhimurium. Foodborne

Pathogens and Disease, 9(3), 211-217.

70. Vikram, A., P.R. Jesudhasan, G.K. Jayaprakasha, S.D. Pillai and B.S. Patil. 2011 Citrus

limonoids interfere with Vibrio harveyi cell-cell signaling and biofilm formation by

modulating the response regulator LuxO Microbiology. 157: 99-110

71. Vikram A, P.R. Jesudhasan, G.K. Jayaprakasha S.D. Pillai, A. Jayaraman A, and B.S. Patil

2011.Citrus flavonoid represses Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and motility in S.

Typhimurium LT2. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 145:28-36.

72. Vikram, A., G.K. Jayaprakasha, P. Jesudhasan, S. D. Pillai, and B. Patil (2010). Suppression of

bacterial cell-cell signaling, biofilm formation and type III secretion system by citrus

flavonoids. Journal of Applied Microbiology 109: 515-527

73. Koklu, M., S. Park, S.D. Pillai, and A. Beskok (2010). Negative dielectrophoresis capture of

bacterial spores in food matrices. Biomicrofluidics 4:

74. Ágoston, R, C.M. Farkas and S.D. Pillai (2010) Exposure to sub-lethal temperatures induces

enhanced heat resistance in Listeria monocytogenes. Acta Alimentaria 39: 327-336

75. Pillai, S.D., A. Smitherman, C.Call, M. Cepeda, C. Schwartz and M. Grunlan (2010). E-Beam

Sterilization of Aerospace Materials: Microbiological & Mechanical Property Evaluations.

Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference

76. Jesudhasan, P.R., M.L. Cepeda, K. Widmer, S.E. Dowd, K.A. Soni, M.E. Hume, J. Zhu, and

S.D. Pillai (2010) . Transcriptome Analysis of Genes Controlled by luxS/Autoinducer-2 in

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 7: 399-410

77. Sobsey, M.D., and S.D. Pillai (2009) Where future emerging pathogens will come from and

what approaches can be used to find them besides VFARs? Journal of Water and Health 7:

S75-S 93

78. Clancy, J.L., R.S. Salter, G.W. Durbin, E. Conklin, J. Olstadt, R. McCuin, L. Sifuentes, K.

Bright, F. Houle, P. Jesudhasan and S. Pillai (2009) Performance-based method systems

(PBMS) validation of a method 1601 same day detection of coliphage in water. Water Quality

Technology Conference and Exposition. Seattle, WA 185-187.

10

79. Jesudhasan, P.R., M.L. Cepeda, K. Widmer, S.E. Dowd, K.A. Soni, M.E. Hume, J. Zhu, and

S.D. Pillai (2009) . Transcriptome Analysis of Genes Controlled by luxS/Autoinducer-2 in

Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease

80. Ágoston, R., K.A. Soni, P. Jesudhasan, W.Russell, C.M. Farkas, and S.D. Pillai (2009)

Differential Expression of Proteins in Listeria monocytogenes under Thermo Tolerance-

Inducing, Heat Shock, and Prolonged Heat Shock Conditions. Foodborne Pathogens and

Disease 6: 1133-1140.

81. Ágoston, R, C.M. Farkas and S.D. Pillai (2009) Exposure to sub-lethal temperatures induces

enhanced heat resistance in Listeria monocytogenes. Acta Alimentaria (in press)

82. Brahmakshatriya, V., B. Lupiani, J.L. Brinlee, M. Cepeda, S.D. Pillai, and S.M. Reddy (2009)

Preliminary study for evaluation of avian influenza virus inactivation in contaminated poultry

products using electron beam irradiation. Avian Pathology. 38:245-50

83. Ágoston, R., K.A. Soni, K. McElhany, M.L. Cepeda, U. Zuckerman, S. Tzipori, C.M. Farkas,

and S.D. Pillai (2009) Rapid Concentration of Bacillus and Clostridium Spores from Large

Volumes of Milk using Continuous Flow Centrifugation. Journal of Food Protection72: 666-

669.

84. Girennavar B, Cepeda ML, Soni KA, Vikram A, Jesudhasan P, Jayaprakasha GK, Pillai SD,

Patil BS. (2008). Grapefruit juice and its furocoumarins inhibits autoinducer signaling and

biofilm formation in bacteria. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 125:204-208.

85. Alali WQ, Scott HM, Harvey RB, Norby B, Lawhorn DB, Pillai SD. 2008. Longitudinal

study of antimicrobial resistance among Escherichia coli isolates from integrated multisite

cohorts of humans and swine.Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 74: 3672-3681

86. Mackay, W.A., B. Pemberton, J. Maxim and S.D. Pillai. (2008). Ionizing Irradiation Using

E-Beam to Control Importation of Biothreat Agents in Geranium Cuttings Inhibits Rooting.

HortScience 43:955-956.

87. Mena, K., and S.D. Pillai (2008). An Approach for Developing Quantitative Risk-based

Microbial Standards for Fresh Produce. Journal of Water Health 6: 359-364

88. Soni, K., P.R. Jesudhasan, M.L.Cepeda, B. Williams, M. Hume, W.K. Russell, A.

Jayaraman, and S.D. Pillai. (2008). Autoinducer AI-2 is involved in regulating a variety of

cellular processes in Salmonella Typhimurium. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 5:147-

153.

89. Bansal, T., P. Jesudhasan, S. Pillai, T.K. Wood, and A. Jayaraman. (2008). Temporal

regulation of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli virulence mediated by autoinducer-2.

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 78: 811-819

90. Soni, K.A., L. Lingeng, P.R. Jesudhasan, M.E. Hume and S.D. Pillai (2008). Influence of

Autoinducer-2 (AI-2) and Beef Sample Extracts on E. coli O157:H7 Survival and Gene

Expression of Virulence Genes yadK and hhA. Journal of Food Science 73: M135-139.

91. Vega, E., J. Garland and S.D. Pillai (2008) . Electrostatic forces control non-specific

attachment of viruses to lettuce. Journal of Food Protection 71: 522-529

92. Soni, K.A*., A.K. Balasubramanian, S.D. Pillai, and A.Beskok (2008). Zeta potentials of

environmentally relevant states of bacteria in drinking water. Current Microbiology 56: 93-

97.

93. Olvera, M., A.. Eguia, O. Rodriguez, E. Chong, S.D. Pillai, and I. Kuppusamy (2008).

Inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in water using ultrasonic treatment.

Bioresource Technology 99: 2046-2049

11

94. Soni KA, Jesudhasan P, Cepeda M, Widmer K, Jayaprakasha GK, Patil BS, Hume ME,

Pillai SD.2008. Identification of ground beef-derived fatty acid inhibitors of autoinducer-2-

based cell signaling. Journal of Food Protection. 71:134-138.

95. Balasubramanian, A.K., K. Soni, A. Beskok and S.D. Pillai. (2007) A microfluidic device

for continuous capture and concentration of microorganisms from potable water. Lab on a

Chip. 7: 1315-1321.

96. Soni, K., P.R. Jesudhasan, M.L.Cepeda, B. Williams, M. Hume, W.K. Russell, A.

Jayaraman, and S.D. Pillai. (2007). Proteomic Analysis to Identify the Role of LuxS/AI-2

mediated Protein Expression in Escherichia coli O157:H7. Foodborne Pathogens and

Disease 4:463-471

97. Widmer, K.W., K. Soni, M. Hume, R.C. Beier, P. Jesudhasan and S.D. Pillai. (2007).

Identification of Poultry Meat-derived Fatty Acids Functioning as Quorum Sensing Signal

Inhibitors to Autoinducer-2 (AI-2). Journal of Food Science (72: M363-368.

98. Balasubramanian, A.K., A. Beskok, and S.D. Pillai (2007). In situ analysis of bacterial

capture in a microfluidic channel. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. 17:

1467-1478.

99. Urgiles, E., J. Wilcox, O. Montes, S. Osman, K. Venkateswaran, M. Cepeda, J. Maxim, L.

Braby and S.D. Pillai (2007) Electron beam irradiation for microbial reduction on spacecraft

components. Proceedings of the IEEE Aerospace Conference.

100. Pillai, S.D. (2007) Bioaerosols from land-applied biosolids: issues and needs. Water

Environment Research 79: 270-278

101. Casarez, E.A., S.D. Pillai and G.DiGiovanni. (2007). Genotype diversity of Escherichia coli

isolates in natural waters determined by PFGE and ERIC-PCR. Water Research 41: 3643-

3648.

102. Casarez, E., S.D. Pillai, J. Mott, M. Vargas, K. Den and G. DiGiovanni (2007). Direct

comparison of four bacterial source tracking methods and use of composite data sets.

Journal of Applied Microbiology 103: 350-364.

103. Ic, E., B. Kottapalli, J. Maxim, and S.D. Pillai (2007). Electron beam irradiation of dried

fruits and nuts to reduce yeast and mold bioburden. Journal of Food Protection 70: 981-985

104. Widmer, K.W., P. Jesudhasan, S.E. Dowd and S.D. Pillai (2007). Virulence –Related Gene

Expression in a Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium LuxS Mutant in Response to

AI-2, and a Poultry Meat -derived AI-2 Inhibitor using Microarray-based Analysis.

Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 4: 5-15.

105. Pillai, S.D., K. Venkateswaran, M. Cepeda, K. Soni, S. Mittasch* J. Maxim, and S. Osman

(2006) High energy (10 MeV) electron beam ionizing irradiation to decontaminate

spacecraft components and materials for planetary protection. Proceedings of the IEEE

Aerospace Conference. March. 9 pp.

106. Corapcioglu, M.Y., J.R. Vogel, C.L. Munster, S.D. Pillai, S. Dowd, and S.Wang. (2006)

Virus transport experiments in a sandy aquifer. Water, Air, Soil, Pollution 169: 47-65.

107. Vega, E., J. Smith, J. Garland, A. Matos and S.D. Pillai (2005). Variability of Virus

Attachment Patterns to Butterhead Lettuce. Journal of Food Protection. 68: 2112-2117

108. Lu, L., M. Hume, and S.D. Pillai (2005) Autoinducer 2-like Activity on Vegetable Produce

and its Potential Involvement in Bacterial Biofilm Formation on Tomatoes. Foodborne

Pathogens and Disease 2: 242-249.

12

109. Duffy, E.A. L. Cisneros-Zevallos, A. Castillo, S. D. Pillai, S. C. Ricke, and G. R. Acuff

(2005). Survival of Salmonella Transformed to Express Green Fluorescent Protein on Italian

Parsley as Affected by Processing and Storage. Journal of Food Protection 68: 87-95

110. Lu, L., M. Hume, and S.D. Pillai (2005) Autoinducer 2-like activity in poultry-associated

enteric bacteria in response to subtherapeutic antibiotic exposure. Avian Diseases 2005

9(1):74-80

111. E. A. Duffy, L. M. Lucia, J. M. Kells, A. Castillo, S. D. Pillai, and G. R. Acuff (2005).

Concentrations of E.coli and genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance profiling of

Salmonella Isolated from Irrigation Water, Packing Shed Equipment, and Fresh Produce in

Texas. Journal of Food Protection 68: 70-79.

112. Widmer, K.W., D. Srikumar and S.D. Pillai (2005). Artificial Neural Networks to

Accurately Identify Cryptosporidium Oocysts and Giardia Cysts Images. Applied and

Environmental Microbiology. 71:80-84

113. Lu, L., M.E. Hume, K.L. Sternes, and S.D. Pillai (2004) Genetic diversity of Escherichia

coli isolates in irrigation water and associated sediments: implications for source tracking.

Water Research. 38: 3899-3908.

114. Paul, S., P. K. Haan, M. D. Matlock, S. Mukhtar, and S. D. Pillai (2004). Analysis of the

HSPF water quality parameter uncertainty in predicting peak in-stream fecal coliform

concentrations. Transactions of the ASAE.47: 69-78.

115. Sobsey, M.D., M.V. Yates FC, Hsu, G, Lovelace, D. Battigelli, A. Margolin, , S.D. Pillai,

and N. Nwachuku (2004) Development and evaluation of methods to detect coliphages in

large volumes of water. Water Sci Technol. 50:211-217.

116. Shen, S., W. Berry, S. Jaques, S. Pillai, and J. Zhu. 2004. Differential expression of

iodothyronine deiodinase type 2 in growth plates of chickens divergently selected for

incidence of tibial dyschondroplasia. Animal Genetics 35:114-118

117. Lu, L., M.E. Hume and S.D. Pillai (2004) Autoinducer-2-like compounds and activity on

selected produce, processed foods, and food additives. Journal of Food Protection 67:

1457-146

118. Makuch-Schulze, D., Bowman, R., Pillai, S.D., and Guan, H. (2003). Field evaluation of the

effectiveness of surfactant modified zeolites and iron-oxide coated sands for removing

viruses and bacteria from groundwater. Groundwater Monitoring and Remediation:23:68-

75.

119. Guan, H., Schu1ze-Makuch, D., Schaffer, S., and Pillai, S.D. (2003). The effect of critical

pH on virus fate and transport in saturated porous medium. Groundwater. 41: 701-708.

120. Roe, M.T*., J.A. Byrd, D.P. Smith, and S.D. Pillai. 2003. Class 1 and Class 2 integron in

poultry carcasses from broiler houses and poultry processing environments. Journal of Food

Protection. 66(8): 1426-1431

121. Roe, M.T., E. Vega and S.D. Pillai. 2003. Antimicrobial resistance markers of Class1 and

Class 2 integron-bearing Escherichia coli from irrigation water and associated sediments.

Emerging Infectious Diseases 9 (7): 822-826.

122. Endley, S*., E. Johnson, and S.D. Pillai. 2003. A simple method to screen cilantro and

parsley for fecal indicator viruses. Journal of Food Protection 66(8): 1506-1509

123. Nutt, J.D., S.D. Pillai, C.L. Woodward, K.L. Sternes, I.B. Zabala-Diaz, Y.M. Kwon and

S.C. Ricke. 2003. Use of a Salmonella Typhimurium hilA fusion strain to assess effects of

environmental fresh water sources on virulence gene expression. Water Research 37: 3319-

3326.

13

124. Vega, E., B. Lesikar and S.D. Pillai (2003). Transport and survival of bacterial and viral

tracers through submerged-flow constructed wetland and sand-filter system. Bioresources

Technology. 89: 49-56

125. Schulze-Makuch, D., H. Guan and S.D. Pillai. (2003) Effects of pH and geological medium

on bacteriophages MS2 transport in a model aquifer. Geomicrobiology Journal. 20: 73-84

126. Endley, S,E., E. Vega, L. Lingeng, M. Hume and S.D. Pillai (2003). Male-specific

coliphages as an additional fecal contamination indicator for screening fresh carrots. Journal

of Food Protection. 66: 88-93.

127. Espinosa, I. Y., and S.D. Pillai. (2002). Impaction-based sampler for detecting male-specific

bacteriophages in bioaerosols. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology

10: 117-127

128. Nutt, J.D., K.L. Medvedev., C.L. Woodward, S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. 2002. Assessment

of laboratory media controls for determining Salmonella virulence potential of poultry water

sources using HilA::lacZY fusion strain. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in

Microbiology 10: 173-184.

129. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai, and S.C. Ricke. (2002). Polymerase chain reaction detection

of bacterial ribosomal genes from animal feeds. Journal of the Science of Food and

Agriculture. 82: 1398-1404

130. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. (2002). Comparison of media and a liquid

extraction step on bacterial recovery from animal feeds. Journal of Environmental Science

& Health. B37(3): 255-264

131. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai, and S.C. Ricke. (2002). Rapid assessment of poultry feed

microbial quality using polymerase chain reaction detection of microbial ribosomal gene

sequences. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology 10: 9-18

132. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai, F.T. Jones, and S.C. Ricke. (2002). Low nutrient R2A

culture medium for bacterial enumeration from poultry feeds. Journal of Rapid Methods and

Automation in Microbiology 10: 59-68

133. McGilloway, R.W. Weaver, D.W Ming and S.D. Pillai. (2002). A PCR-MPN based

quantitative approach to enumerate nitrifying bacteria in zeoponic substrates. Journal of

Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology. 10:49-58

134. Schulze-Makuch, D., S.D. Pillai, H. Guan, R. Bowman, E. Couroux, F.Hielscher, S.

Emmert, J. Totten, I. Y. Espinosa, and T. Kretzchmar. (2002). Surfactant modified zeolite

can protect drinking water wells from viruses and bacteria. EOS-Transactions American

Geophysical Union. 83: No.18.

135. Widmer, K.W., K.H. Oshima, and S.D. Pillai (2002). Identification of C .parvum oocysts

using an artificial neural network approach. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 68:

1115-1121

136. McDaniel, J., and S.D. Pillai. (2002). Gel Alignment and band scoring for DNA

fingerprinting purposes using Adobe Photoshop. Biotechniques 32: 120-123.

137. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke (2002). Adaptation of nucleic acid extraction

methods for animal feeds. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology 9:

217-227.

138. McElroy, W., E. Cabello and S.D. Pillai. (2001). Efficacy of an immuno-magnetic system for

recovering Cryptosporidium oocyts from differently textured soils. Journal of Rapid Methods

and Automation in Microbiology 9: 63-70

14

139. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. (2001). Presence of bacteriophages in animal

feed as indicators of fecal contamination. Journal of Environmental Science and Health

B36(5): 699-708

140. Endley, S., J. Pena, S.C. Ricke, and S.D. Pillai. (2001) The applicability of hns and fimA

primers for detecting Salmonella spp. in bioaerosols associated with animal and municipal

wastes. World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology.17:363-379

141. Schijven, J.F., S.M. Hassanizadeh, S.E. Dowd, and S.D. Pillai. (2001). Modeling virus

adsorption in batch and column experiments. Quantitative Microbiology 2: 5-20

142. Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. (2000). Efficacy of a commercial PCR-based

assay for detection of Salmonella spp. in animal feeds. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 89:

710-718.

143. Kwon, Y.M., C. L. Woodward, S.D. Pillai, J. Pena, D.E. Corrier, J.A. Byrd, and S.C. Ricke.

(2000). Litter and aerosol sampling of chicken houses for rapid detection of Salmonella

typhimurium contamination using gene amplification. Journal of Industrial Microbiology &.

Biotechnology. 24: 379-382.

144. Kwon, Y.M., C.L. Woodward, D.E. Corrier, J.A. Byrd, S.D. Pillai, and S.C. Ricke. (2000).

Recovery of a marker strain of Salmonella typhimurium in litter and aerosols from isolation

rooms containing infected chickens. Journal of Environmental Science & Health. B35(4)

517:525.

145. Pillai, S.D., K.W. Widmer, L.J. Ivey, K.C. Coker, E. Newman, S. Lingsweiler, D. Baca, M.

Kelley, D. S. Davis, N. J. Silvy, and L. G. Adams.(2000). Failure to identify non-bovine

reservoirs of Mycobacterium bovis in a region with a history of infected dairy-herds. Preventive

Veterinary Medicine 43:53-62.

146. Dowd, S.E., C.P. Gerba, I.L. Pepper and S.D. Pillai. (2000). Bioaerosol transport modeling and

risk assessment in relation to the land placement of biosolids. Journal of Environmental

Quality. 29:343-348

147. Kwon, Y.M., C.L. Woodward, J. Pena, D.E. Corrier, S.D. Pillai, and S.C. Ricke. 1999.

Comparison of methods for processing litter and air filter matrices from poultry houses to

optimize polymerase chain reaction detection of Salmonella typhimurium. Journal of Rapid

Methods and Automation in Microbiology 7: 103-111.

148. Mazari-Hiriat, M., B. Torres-Beristain, E. Velazquez, J.J. Clava, and S.D. Pillai. 1999.

Bacterial and viral indicators of fecal pollution in Mexico City’s southern aquifer. Journal of

Environmental Science &. Health. A34(9): 1715-1735.

149. Bader, J.L., G. Gonzalez, P.C. Goodell, A.S. Ali, and S.D. Pillai.(1999) Aerobic reduction of

hexavalent chromium in soil by indigenous microorganisms. Bioremediation Journal. 3(3):

201-211.

150. Dowd, S.E. and S.D. Pillai. (1999) Identifying the sources of biosolid derived pathogen

indicator organisms in aerosols by ribosomal DNA fingerprinting. Journal of Environmental

Science & Health (34A):1061-1074.

151. Pena, J. S.C. Ricke, C.L. Shermer, T. Gibbs, and S.D. Pillai. (1999) A gene amplification-

hybridization sensor based methodology to rapidly screen aerosol samples for specific bacterial

gene sequences. Journal of Environmental Science & Health. 34(A): 529-556.

152. Maciorowski, K.G., J. Pena, S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. (1998) Application of gene

amplification in conjunction with a hybridization sensor for rapid detection of Salmonella

typhimurium in animal feeds. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology 6:

225-238.

15

153. Bader, J.L., G. Gonzalez, P.C. Goodell, A.S. Ali, and S.D. Pillai. (1999) Chromium-resistant

bacterial populations from a site heavily contaminated with hexavalent chromium. Water, Air

and Soil Pollution. 109: 263-276

154. Dowd, S.E., S.D. Pillai, S. Wang, And Y.M. Corapcioglu. (1998) Delineating the specific

influence of viral isoelectric point and size on viral adsorption and transport through sandy

soils. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 64: 405-410.

155. Dowd, S.E. and S.D. Pillai. (1997) Survival and transport of selected bacterial pathogens and

indicator viruses under sandy aquifer conditions. Journal of Environmental Science & Health

32(A): 2245-2258

156. Dowd, S.E., and S.D. Pillai. (1997) A rapid viability assay for Cryptosporidium oocysts and

Giardia cysts for use in conjunction with indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) detection.

Canadian Journal of Microbiol. 43: 658-662.

157. Pillai, S.D., K.W. Widmer, K.G. Maciorowski, and S.C. Ricke. (1997) Antibiotic resistance

profilesof Escherichia coli isolated from rural and urban environments. Journal of

Environmental Science & Health. 32(A):1665-1657

158. Dowd, S.E., K.W. Widmer, and S. D. Pillai. (1997) Thermotolerant clostridia as an airborne

pathogen indicator during land application of biosolids. Journal of Environmental Quality. 26:

194-199.

159. Pillai, S.D., E. Rubio, and S.C. Ricke. (1996) Prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistant

Escherichia coli in agricultural and municipal waste streams. Bioresources Technology. 58: 57-

60.

160. Pillai, S.D., K.W. Widmer, S, Dowd and S.C. Ricke. (1996) Characterization of airborne

microbial populations during land application of sewage sludge on arid lands. Applied and

Environmental Microbiology.62: 296-299.

161. Pillai, S.D., and R.C. Mroz. (1995) Characterization of bacterial isolates from a shallow aquifer

suspected to be contaminated by urban wastes. Journal of Environmental Science & Health.

30(A): 2159-2184.

162. Ricke, S.C., S.D. Pillai, K.W. Widmer and S.D. Ha. (1995) Clinoptilolite compounds as a

retardant of bacterial pathogen survival in agricultural soils and water. Bioresources

Technology.53:1-6.

163. Ha, S.D., S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. (1995) Growth response of Salmonella spp. to

cycloheximide amendment in media. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in

Microbiology. 4:77-85.

164. Ha, S.D., S.D. Pillai K.G. Macioroski, and S.C. Ricke. (1995) Cycloheximide as a media

amendment for enumerating bacterial populations in animal feeds. Journal of Rapid Methods

and Automation in Microbiology 4:95-105

165. Pillai, S.D., S.C. Ricke, D.J. Nisbet, D.E. Corrier and J.R. Deloach. (1994) A rapid method for

screening Salmonella spp. in a chicken cecal background using gene amplification. Avian

Diseases 38: 598-604.

166. Mroz, R.C., and S.D. Pillai. (1994) Bacterial populations in the groundwater on the US-

Mexico border in El Paso County, Texas. Southern Medical Journal 102: 1214-1218.

167. Reif, T.C., M. Johns, S.D. Pillai, and M. Carl. (1994) Identification of virulent Bacillus

anthracis spores using the polymerase chain reaction and a novel dual probe hybridization

format. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 60: 1622-1625.

16

168. Pillai, S.D., K.L. Josephson, and I.L. Pepper. (1994) Comparison of three probe labeling

methods to detect PCR amplification products. Journal of Rapid Methods and Automation in

Microbiology 2: 299-309.

169. Pepper, I.L., K.L . Josephson, R.L. Bailey, M.D. Burr, S.D. Pillai, D. Tolliver, and S. Pulido.

(1994) Measuring bacterial contaminants in ultrapure water: a rapid analytical method.

Microcontamination. 12: 52-57.

170. Way, J., K.L. Josephson, S.D. Pillai, M. Abbaszadegan, C.P. Gerba, and I.L. Pepper.(1993)

Specific detection of Salmonella by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Applied and

Environmental Microbiology. 59: 1473-1479.

171. Pillai, S.D., K.L. Josephson, R.L. Bailey and I.L. Pepper. (1992) Specific detection of rhizobia

in root nodules and soil using the polymerase chain reaction. Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 24:

885-891.

172. Neilsen, J.W., K.L. Josephson, S.D. Pillai, and I.L. Pepper. (1992) Polymerase chain reaction

and gene probe detection of the 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid degradation plasmid, pJP4.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 58: 1271-1275.

173. Josephson, K.L., S.D. Pillai, J. Way, C.P. Gerba, and I.L. Pepper. (1991) Fecal coliforms in

soil detected by polymerase chain reaction and DNA:DNA hybridizations. Soil Science of

America Journal 55: 1326-1332.

174. Pillai, S.D., K. L. Josephson, R.L. Bailey, C.P. Gerba, and I.L. Pepper. (1991) Rapid method

for processing soil samples for polymerase chain reaction amplification of specific gene

sequences. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 57: 2283-2286.

175. Pillai, S.D., and I.L. Pepper. (1990) Transposon Tn5 as an identifiable marker in rhizobia:

survival and genetic stability of Tn5 mutant bean rhizobia under temperature stressed

conditions in desert soils. Microbial. Ecology. 21: 21-33.

176. Pillai, S.D., and I.L. Pepper. (1989) Survival of Tn5 mutant bean rhizobia in desert soils:

phenotypic expression of Tn5 under moisture stress. Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 22: 265-270.

Meeting Proceedings

177. Kari B. Fitzmorris, Robert S. Reimers, Suresh D. Pillai, Jan A. Oleszkiewicz

and James E.

Smith. . Production of safe biosolids from agricultural and municipal residuals: emerging

physical-chemical processes. Moving Forward: Wastewater Biosolids Sustainability.

Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. June

178. Robert S. Reimers, Kari B. Fitzmorris, Suresh D. Pillai, Jan A. Oleszkiewicz and James E.

Smith. Emerging Chemical Processes to produce Value-Added Products (VAPs) from

Manure and Municipal Residuals. Joint Residuals and Biosolids Management Conference

2007, WEF, Denver, CO. April.

179. Acquston, B.A., Reimers, R.S., Smith, J.E. and Pillai, S.D., 2006. “Factors Affecting

Disinfection and Stabilization of Sewage Sludge,” Symposium on Biosolids, WEFTEC,

Dallas, Texas, WEF, Alexandria, Virginia, CD-ROM

180. Reimers, R.S., Pillai, S.D., Bowman, D.D., Fitzmorris, K.B. and Pratt, L.S. “Stressors

Influencing Disinfection in Residuals”. Disinfection 2005 – Sharing Disinfection

Technologies: Water, Wastewater, and Biosolids. Water Environment Federation, Alexandria,

VA, CD-ROM.

181. Reimers, R.S., Sharma, V.K., Pillai, S.D., Reinhart, D.R., Boyd, G.G., and Fitzmorris, K.B.,

“Application of Ferrates in Biosolids and Manures Management with respect to Disinfection

17

and Stabilization,” Joint Residuals and Biosolids Management Conference 2005 –

Advancing the State of Technology, Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA, CD-

ROM.

182. Pillai, S.D. Drinking Water and Infectious Diseases: Control Strategies. Food Protection 2003-

International Conference. Lisbon, Portugal. May.

183. Schulze-Makuch, D., Pillai, S.D., Bowman, R., Guan, H., Couroux, E., Hielscher, F., Totten,

J., Espinosa, I.Y. and Kretzchmar, T.G. Virus removal using permeable barriers in a

constructed wetland. Conference Proceedings of the 3rd

Annual Rio Bravo/Rio Grande

Environmental Conference. S. Padre Island, Texas. February, 2002

184. Schulze-Makuch, D., Pillai, S.D., and Kretzschmar, T.G. Removal of viruses using

constructed wetlands. Conference of the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and

Policy; Mexicali, Mexico, Oct. 17-19, 2001

185. Pillai, S.D. and N. Nwachuku (2000). Field testing of coliphage methods for screening

groundwater for fecal contamination. Proc. Am. Water Quality and Technology Conf. Salt

Lake City, UT.

186. Pillai, S.D., and E. Vega. Pathogen removal with on-site wastewater treatment technologies.

Proceedings of the, “Alliance for environmental stewardship: a comprehensive approach”.

187. Pillai, S.D., and J.L. Bader. Removal of hexavalent chromium from soil slurries under aerobic

conditions by indigenous soil microorganisms. NIEHS SuperFund Symposium on Risk

considerations for Environmental Health and Safety. Tucson, AZ. January.

188. Vogel, J.R., S.E. Dowd, C.l. Munster, S.D. Pillai, and M.Y. Corapcioglu. Large scale virus

transport through a sandy aquifer. ASCE Meetings.

189. Pillai, S.D. Monitoring airborne microbial pathogens and indicators. “Effects of land

application of biosolids in arid and semi-arid environments, Colorado State University, Ft.

Collins, CO.

190. Pillai, S.D. Recent Advances in DNA based detection of food borne pathogens. Texas ASM

Food Safety Symposium. College Station, December.

191. Pillai, S.D., Microbiological research on transboundary water quality problems at El Paso.

Proceedings of the Workshop on Enviromental issues of the US-Mexico border region.

Sponsored by Texas Water Resources Institute.

192. Pillai, S.D. The fate of microbial pathogens in soils and water. Proc. Primer Minisimposium

internacional sobre remocion de contaminantes de aguas y suelos. (eds.) Kuppusamy I.,

and De Bazua, C.D. Mexico City. June.

193. Pillai, S.D. Molecular techniques for the sanitary and environmental engineering

industries Proc. I Congreso Internacional de Aidis de Norte America Y Del Caribe. Mexico

City. October.

194. Pepper I.L., K.L. Josephson, R.L. Bailey, M.D. Burr, S.D. Pillai, D. Tolliver, and S. Pulido. A

rapid and systematic analytical method for measuring bacterial contaminants in ultrapure

water. Proc. Microcont. Cont. Conf. p. 60-62. Santa Clara. March.

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

2013 Opportunities for eBeam technologies in One-Health. IAEA, Vienna, Austria, July

2013 Reduction of public health risks from enteric viruses in fresh produce and shellfish using

electron beam pasteurization. European meeting of the International Association of Food

Protection (IAFP) Marseilles, France May

2013 Electron beam opportunities in Mexico. Consulate of Canada, Mexico City April.

18

2013 National Center for Electron Beam Research @ Texas A&M university- a campus resource

for the polymer industry. College Station, Texas. April

2013 Modified atmosphere packaging and polymer integrity under electron beam irradiation

conditions: mechanical and bioactive stability studies. IAEA, Vienna, Austria, April.

2012 Electron beam business opportunities for Mexico and Latin America. International Finance

Corporation. World Bank Group. Washington, D.C. January.

2012 High energy electron beam irradiation for sludge disinfection. Concordia University.

Montreal, Canada. January

2012 Monitoring irrigation and packing shed water for microbial pathogens and indicator

organisms. East Texas Commercial Fruit & Vegetable Conference, February Tyler, Texas.

February

2012 Biotechnology applications using biosolids. Water Environment Federation Conference.

Raleigh, N. Carolina. March

2012 Ensuring fruit and vegetable safety for Texans and Americans in the 21st century: the

compelling need to think outside the box! Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center,

TAMU. March

2012 Electron beam food processing: moving from complaining to empowering. Kusadasi,

Turkey. May

2012 Electron beam processing of space foods. Annual Meetings of the IFT. Las Vegas. June

2012 Peeling away the fresh produce hysteria using contemporary tools and technologies.

International workshop on innovative solutions to the global safety of fresh produce.

Copenhagen. Denmark. August

2012 Food for the future: enhancing food safety. IAEA Scientific Forum-Food for the future.

Vienna, Austria. September

2012 Introduction to ionizing irradiation using electron beam (e-beam) and its applications. 2012

Korean Society of Plant Pathology International Conference. Seoul. S. Korea. October

2012 Combined E-beam chemical oxidant technologies for treating organic pollutants in

municipal wastewater: cost-benefit and business model development. IAEA Coordinated

Research Group Meeting. Jeongeup. S. Korea. October.

2012 Municipal biosolids for bioenergy. 5th International Forum on Industrial Bioprocesses.

Taipei, Taiwan. October

2012 Electron beam processing of space foods. TAMU chapter of Students for the exploration

and development of space (SEDS). October.

2012 Non-thermal food processing technologies for food safety applications. Chinese Academy

of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. December

2012 Comparison of e-beam and gamma irradiation. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,

Beijing, China. December

2012 Sensitivity of murine norovirus and hepatitis A virus to ebeam irradiation in whole

oysters and oyster homogenates. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing,

China. December

2012 Research and clearance of using 7.5 MeV x-ray facilities for food irradiation. Tianjin

Institute of Technical Physics, Tianjin, China. December

2012 Quantifying the reduction in potential health risks from poliovirus and rotavirus after

ebeam irradiation. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. December

2011 Pathogen indicators and the search for the perfect indicator organism. WEFTEC 2011. Los

Angeles, CA. October

19

2011 Identifying pathogens and pathogen surrogates in sewage using deep sequencing. 9th UNU

& GIST Joint Programme Symposium, “Urban Water Quality – Challenges and Emerging

Issues for Sustainable Cities. Gwangju, S. Korea. October

2011 Deep sequencing of microbial populations: applications for food safety and human health.

Kongkuk University. Seoul, S. Korea. October

2011 Deep sequencing of microbial populations: applications for food safety and human health,

Sookmyung Women’s University. Seoul, S. Korea. October

2011 Electron Beam Technology. World Bank-International Finance Corporation, Mexico City.

October

2011 Trends and new technologies for sterilization processes. Tijuana Medical Cluster, Tijuana,

Mexico. October

2011 Combined E-Beam-Chemical Oxidant (EChO) technology for treating organic pollutants in

municipal wastewater: cost-benefit and business model development. International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research program Group meeting. Vienna, Austria.

May.

2011 Water issues: separating reality from fantasy. Food Safety Conference, Austin, Texas. May

2011 Building on the CONACYT-Texas A&M University agreement to advance research

collaboration and development. Texas A&M University-CONACYT Research Symposium.

March

2011 Electron Beam & X-Ray Irradiation Technologies. Sanaria Corp. Rockville, MD. March

2011 Global Food Safety Reality-Today. Global Food Safety Conference. London, UK. February

2011 Eavesdropping on microbial chatter. Institute of Food Technologists. Louisville Chapter.

February

2011 Electron beam technology for the development of irradiated vaccines for animal protection.

Obihiro Agricultural University, Obihiro, Japan. January

2010 What pathogens are present in sludge? WEFTEC, 2010. New Orleans, October

2010 Introducing irradiated foods into hospitals: logistical, business, and technology

considerations. The Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition, October

2010 Food irradiation: Moving from complaining to empowering.Annual Meeting- CIRMS.

Gaithersburg, MD, October

2010 Developing better indicators for pathogen presence in municipal sludges, WEFTEC, New

Orleans, September

2010 Septic tanks to the Space station: Microbes and Humans. Kansas Environmental Health

Association, Kansas City, September

2010 Electron beam irradiation: Why now? Why here? Advanced Med Clear-Sedeco Conference,

Tijuana, Mexico. August

2010 Microbial Indicators in Muncipal wastewaters. Water Environment Federation Conference,

Savannah, GA

2010 Integrated monitoring and control of foodborne viruses in the United States food supply

chains. IAFP meetings, Anaheim, CA July

2010 Food Irradiation in the United States: Empowering Food Industry Decision Makers.

American Nuclear Society Meeting, San Diego, CA June

20

2010 Pathogens on produce: peeling away the hysteria. IFT Distinguished Lecturer presentation.

IFT-Southeast branch meeting, Atlanta, GA. April

2009 Electron Beam Technology for the Development of Irradiated Vaccines for Animal

Protection. Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. Obihiro, Japan,

December

2009 Development of sterilized foods for hospital patients. Experts panel meeting. IAEA, Vienna,

Nov

2009 Development of generic irradiation doses for quarantine treatment using E-Beam, X-rays

and Gamma Irradiation. IAEA Coordinated Research Project. Vienna, Austria. October

2009 Empowering Billions with Food Safety and Food Security. International Conference on

Peaceful uses of Atomic Energy. New Delhi Sept 29-Oct 1, 2009

2009 Electron Beam Irradiation Technology- A sustainable clean/green technology for

developing nations to ensure food safety and food security. International Conference on

Electron Beam Irradiation. New Delhi, India. July 30-31, 2009

2009 Technologies to Identify Potential Foodborne Pathogens: The Use of Metagenomics and

Pyrosequencing in Food Matrices. Annual Meetings of the International Association of

Food Protection. Grapevine, TX. July 12-15.

2009 Irradiation of Produce. Annual Meetings of the North East Food and Drug Officials

Association. Burlington, VT, May

2009 Foods, Microbial Metagenomics, and Human Health: Unraveling the Unknowns. IFT

Distinguished Lecture Series Baton Rouge, LA March

2008 Microbial cell-signaling and its implications in foods. Institute of Food

Technologists Distinguished Lecturer presentation. Portland Branch Meeting. Portland, OR

December

2008 E-Beam irradiation of fresh lettuce and spinach. Texas Growers Meetings San Antonio.

December

2008 Microbial transport under riverbank filtration. Joint Annual Meeting of the SSA-GSA-CSA.

Houston, Texas October

2008 E-Beam disinfection and stabilization of municipal biosolids. Workshop on Selecting a

Class A Physical/Chemical Treatment for Biosolids. WEFTEC 2008. Chicago. October

2008 Microbiological quality of irrigation water: separating fantasies from realities. International

Association of Food Protection Annual Meetings. Columbus, OH. July

2008 Electronic Pasteurization of Foods. Institute of Food Technologists Distinguished Lecturer

presentation, New Jersey Branch Meeting. Princeton, NJ May.

2008 Bioaerosols and the transmission of pathogens. Institute of Food Technologists

Distinguished Lecturer presentation, Portland Branch Meeting. Portland, OR. February.

2008 Road-map for developing and sustaining international cooperation in science education and

training. Obihiro University. January

2007 A call to action for ensuring food safety and security. International Conference on New

Horizons in Biotechnology. Biotech Research Society of India and National Institute for

Interdisciplinary Science & Technology . Trivandrum, November.

2007 Monitoring Bioaerosols; Why can’t we get it right. WEFTEC. San Diego. CA October

2007 Molecular detection of pathogens. Jiangsu Center for Disease Control. Nanjing, China.

August 2007

21

2007 Electron Beam irradiation of foods and ingredients. Institute for Application of Atomic

Energy in Agriculture , Jiangsu Agricultural Science Academy. Nanjing, China August

2007

2007 Produce Safety: Peeling away the hysteria. American Society for Microbiology. Toronto,

Canada. June

2007 Addressing food safety and food security: technological and human resource needs. Obihiro

University of Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine. Obihiro, Japan. March

2007 A call to action for ensuring food safety and food security. International Conference of

Radiation Processing of Agro and Allied Products. New Delhi, India. February.

2007 Food safety and food irradiation: global necessities for the 21st century. International

Conference of Radiation Processing of Agro and Allied Products. Hyderabd, India. February

2007 Eavesdropping on microbial chatter: Understanding cell signaling in Salmonella.

International Conference on Recent Trends in Biotechnology. Kalasalingam University,

India. January.

2006 Factors influencing bioaerosol transport. Water Environment Research Foundation-

WebSeminar. August.

2006 Molecular detection and characterization of pathogenic microorganisms for a sustainable

environment. 4th IERC Workshop on Environment and Sustainable Development,

Gwangju, Korea, November .

2006 Molecular detection and characterization of microorganisms. 2006 Int’l Symposium and

Annual Meeting of the Korean Society for Applied Biological and Environmental

Chemistry. Gyeongju, Korea, October

2006 Solving global food safety issues using electronic pasteurization. 50th Anniversary meeting

of the Mexico Institute of Food Technologists. Mexico City. September

2006 Microbial cell signaling. Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary, June

2006 Microbial Cell Signaling and its Potential Applications in Bioprocesses. International

Congress on Bioprocesses in the Food Industries. Patras, Greece. June

2006 Microbial chatter to forward contamination: microbiology in the 21st century. Poultry

Science Department-USDA-ARS Seminar Series, Texas A&M University, February

2006 Food safety and food irradiation: global necessities for the 21st century. Bhabha Atomic

Research Center, Mumbai, India. February

2006 Food safety and food irradiation: global necessities for the 21st century. Kerala Agricultural

University, Kerala, India

2005 Ultrasonic technology for waste water disinfection. Texas A&M University-Conacyt

Research Symposium. Mexico City. October

2005 Microbial detection methods: Can we move from fantasy to reality? USEPA – Pathogen

Equivalency Committee Retreat, Hueston Woods, OH, September

2005 Molecular methods for microbial detection and characterization. DoD-DoE-EPA

(SERDP/ESTCP) Molecular Biological Tools Workshop. Charlotesville, August

2005 Protecting humans from microbial pathogens. USEPA. Office of Water, Washington DC.

August.

2005 Microbiology of Food Irradiation. Where do we go from here? Biotechnology Conference.

Dallas. August .

2005 Eavesdropping on microbial chatter. Institute of Food Technologists annual Meetings, New

Orleans, LA, July

22

2005 Crop and pre-harvest threats to food security. American Society for Microbiology

Conference on Biodefense Research. Baltimore, MD. March

2005 Food safety and environmental biotechnology opportunities. Tecnologico de Monterrey,

(ITESM), Mexico City. March

2005 Eavesdropping into microbial chatter: Institute of Food Technologists. Longhorn Chapter

meeting. February

2004 Bacterial Quorum Sensing: Shouldn’t we harness it for biotechnological applications?

Biotechnology Division, Center of Scientific and Industrial Research, Trivandrum, India,

November.

2004 Bacterial quorum sensing. University of Madras, India, November

2004 Bacterial populations in and around poultry processing plants. National Poultry Waste

Management Symposium. Memphis, TN. October

2004 Microbiology of food Irradiation. International Congress of Food Safety-2004. Reynosa

(Mexico). October

2004 Microbial detection methods: Can we move from fantasy to reality? Pathogen Workshop.

WEFTEC, New Orleans, LA. October

2004 Microbial quorum sensing on foods: interpreting language from noise. Annual Meetings of

the International Association of Food Protection. Phoeniz, AZ. August

2004 Antibiotic resistant organisms in food, environment and poultry. Annual Meetings of the

Poultry Science Association Meetings. St. Louis, MO. July

2004 Critical factors affecting the dairy industry development: supply chain food safety and

quality assurance systems. Harbin Institute of Technology. China, July.

2004 Food Irradiation: a solution to combat worldwide food-borne illnesses. International

Congress of Bioprocessing in the Food Industry. Clermont-Ferrand, France, July

2004 Detection of viruses in bioaerosols: sampling, sample processing and detection strategies.

Microbial monitoring of the International Space Station Drinking Water Workshop. NASA-

JPL. Pasadena, June

2004 Molecular methods for microbial detection and characterization. Kansas State University.

February

2004 Bacterial quorum sensing and its role in antibiotic resistance development. University of

Minnesota. November.

2003 Viral contamination of drinking water: detection and control strategies. Food Protection-

International Conference. Lisbon, Portugal. May

2003 Surfactant –modified zeolites as microbial barriers. Bangalore, India. May

2003 E-beam inactivation of viruses. Research Coordination Meeting. FAO-IAEA. Belfast, UK.

April

2003 Stability of viral nucleic acids in natural and man-made conditions. USEPA Expert Panel

Workshop on Genetic Methods. Cincinnati, OH. January.

2002 Microbial Pathogens and Drinking Water- USEPA Quality Assurance Workshop.

Dallas. September.

2002 E-beam based inactivation of viruses- Innovative Approaches to Ground Water

Disinfection: Coliforms, Pathogens, and Contaminants. National Ground Water Associaton.

September.

2002 Monitoring and Identifying antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in bacteria. Annual

Meetings of the Poultry Science Society of America. Delaware, August

23

2002 Detection of E. coli 0157:H7 from environmental and food samples. Jiangsu

Province Center for Disease Prevention and Control. China. July

2002 Molecular pathogen detection tools. Jiangsu Province Center for Disease Prevention

and Control. China. July

2002 Microbial Source Tracking. Shanghai Medical University. China. July

2002 Microbial pathogens and the aging municipal water infrastructure. International

Food Safety Conference, Lisbon, Portugal. Feburary.

2002 Bioaerosols from biosolids: the knowns and the unknowns. Environmental Air quality

Workshop. Manhattan, Kansas. January

2001 Microbial pathogens and the aging municipal water infrastructure. Food Microbiology

Research Conference XVIII. Chicago, Ill. November

2001 Microbiology of fruits and vegetables. Fresh Produce Food Safety Conference. Weslaco,

February.

1999 Rapid Detection Methodologies. Texas Poultry Processesors Workshop. Nacogdoches,

Texas. April.

2000 Removal and fate of specific microbial pathogens within onsite sewage systems. Texas On-

site Wastewater Treatment Research Council. Waco, Texas. February.

2000 Diarrhea, probes and integrons. Texas Science Partnership Program, Institute for Food

Science & Engineering. Texas A&M University. October

1999 Microbial pathogens. The environment conference. Ansan city, S. Korea. November.

1999 Structural integrity of naked viral RNA molecules: environmental and biological

significance. Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate. University of Minnesota, St. Paul. January

1999 Virus transport in the subsurface: an elusive puzzle. Department of Geological Sciences.

University of Texas at El Paso. September.

1998 Removal of hexavalent chromium from soil slurries under aerobic conditions by indigenous

soil microorganisms. NIEHS SuperFund Symposium on Risk considerations for

Environmental Health and Safety. Tucson, AZ. January.

1997 The fate and transport of microbial pathogens in the subsurface. Dept. of Soil Chemistry &

Plant Nutrition. The Volcani Center. Bet-Dagan, Israel. August.

1997 Microbial Pathogens in the Environment. Southern Region Water Quality Conference-

Tulsa, Oklahoma, April

1997 New (?) Threats to Drinking Water Quality. Southern Region Water Quality Conference-

Tulsa, Oklahoma, April

1996 Molecular detection of microbial pathogens:breakthroughs and challenges. 9th Munich

Symposium. Viral zoonoses and foods of animal origin-a reevaluation of public health

implications. Munich, Germany. September.

1996 Molecular detection of microbial pathogens in the environment. Centro de Ecologia.

Universidad Nacional de Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City. August.

1996 The utility of molecular assays for understanding microbial gene expression in gastro-

intestinal tracts. International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitation

(IAMFES) Symposium, Seattle, July

1996 Microbial contamination along the border: separating facts from fiction. Quality of Life on

the Border Conference. El Paso, March.

1996 Field Experiments and modeling of virus transport in the groundwater. NWRI-EPA

Symposium. Washington, DC. March

24

1995 New Mexico Border Health Office. Las Cruces, September

1995 Microbial pathogens and environmental pollution along the Rio Grande. Old Questions

needing new answers? Dept. of Soil and Water and Environmental Science. University of

Arizona, Tucson. September

1995 Monitoring airborne microbial pathogens and indicators. EPA Sponsored Symposium

“Effects of land application of biosolids in arid and semi-arid environments. Ft. Collins,CO.

May.

1994 Recent Advances in DNA based detection of food borne pathogens. Texas Branch ASM-

Food Safety Symposium. College Station, TX. December.

1994 Microbiological research on transboundary water quality problems at El Paso. Workshop on

Enviromental issues of the US-Mexico border region. Sponsored by Texas Water

Resources Institute.

1994 Improving microbial risk assessment using molecular methodologies. Environmental

Toxicology Seminar Series, Biology Dept., Univ. of Texas at El Paso. September.

1994 Amplification and detection of specific gene sequences associated with microbial

pollution. Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Weslaco. July.

1993 Understanding the microbiology of bioremediation. Sigma Xi Seminar Series.

University of Texas at El Paso. October.

1993 Gene amplification and gene probe detection of specific and conserved genetic sequences in

environmental samples. Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso. Sept.

1993 Molecular approaches to study microbial distribution and function in the environment. Dept.

of Geological Sciences. University of Texas at El Paso. August.

1993 Microbial biomarkers and their role in bioremediation studies. Faculty of Toxicology

Seminar Series. Texas A&M University, College Station. July.

1993 The fate of microbial pathogens in soils and water. Primer minisimposio internacional sobre

remocion de contaminantes de aguas y suelos. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,

Mexico City. June.

1993 Monitoring microbial pathogens in the environment. New Mexico State Univ. Mol. Biol.

Seminar Series, Las Cruces, NM. Feb.

SELECTED ABSTRACTS

2008 Pillai, S.D. Interactions between Food Matrices and Microbial Gene and Protein.

FoodMicro 2008, Aberdeen, Scotland. September

2008 Agoston, R., K. Soni, P. Jesudhasan, C.Farkas, S.D. Pillai. Proteomic analyses of the

differential expression of proteins in Listeria monocytogenes during 48C heat shock and

60C temperature exposure. FoodMicro 2008, Aberdeen, Scotland. September

2008 Pillai, S.D. Food matrices and microbial responses: the importance of delineating the

substract-activity-function-virulence relationships (SAFVR) of food-associated

microorganisms. 2008 Annual Meetings of the International Society for Microbial Ecology,

Cairns, Australia. August

2008 Lingeng, L., R. Bowman, J. Totten and S. D. Pillai. Surfactant-modified zeolites (SMZ)

as a low-cost microbial pathogen barrier technology. Summer conference of the Society

for Applied Microbiology. Belfast, UK July

2008 Widmer, K.W., P.R. Jesudhasan, T.A. Hans, M.L. Cepeda, S.D. Pillai. Influence of

autoinducer-2 (AI-2) and poultry meat-derived fatty acids on the on the growth and

25

virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Annual Meetings of the

International Association of Food Protection. Columbus, Ohio. July

2008 Lingeng, L., and S.D. Pillai. Cell signaling molecule AI-2 influences the transfer of

tetracycline resistance gene in E. coli during sub-therapeutic antibiotic resistance

exposure. ASM Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance in Zoonotic Bacteria and

Foodborne Pathogens. Copenhagen, Denmark. June

2007 Agoston, R., K.Soni, K. Mcelhany, M.L. Cepeda, U. Zuckerman, S.Tzipori and S.D.

Pillai. Continuous Flow Centrifugation (CFC) Technology for Pre-Analytical Sample

Processing to Separate and Concentrate Bio-Threat Agents from Large Volumes of Milk.

Texas branch meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Hunstville. November

2007 Davidson, M., M.L. Cepeda, P.R. Jesudhasan, J.L. McReynolds and S.D. Pillai. 2007.

Utilization of High Energy Electron-beam Irradiation for the Production of Immuno-

Modulators against Salmonella Enteritidis in Commercial Poultry. Texas branch meeting

of the American Society for Microbiology. Hunstville. November

2007 Cepeda, M.L., K.A. Soni, P.R. Jesudhasan, B. Williams, M.E. Hume, W.K. Russell, A.

Jayaraman, S.D. Pillai. Proteomic analysis of luxS/AI-2 mediated cellular response in

Salmonella Typhimurium. ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria.

Austin. October

2007 Jesudhasan, P.R., M.L. Cepeda, K.W. Widmer, S.E. Dowd, K.A. Soni, M.E. Hume, J. Zhu

and S.D. Pillai. Autoinducer-2 controls virulence of Salmonella enteric serovar

Typhimurium ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria. Austin. October

2007 Jesudhasan, P.R., M.L. Cepeda, K.W. Widmer, S.E. Dowd, K.A. Soni, M.E. Hume, J. Zhu

and S.D. Pillai. DNA microarray analysis reveals crosstalk of Salmonella enteric serovar

Typhimurium with AI-2 of Escherichia coli. ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication

in Bacteria. Austin. October.

2007 Jesudhasan, P.R., M.L. Cepeda, K.W. Widmer, K.A. Soni, M.E. Hume, J. Zhu, J.M. Sturino

S.D. Pillai. Gene regulation of Salmonella enteric serovar Typhimurium as influenced by

LuxS/AI-2. ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria. Austin. October

2007 Widmer, K.W., P.R. Jesudhasan, T.A. Hans, M.L. Cepeda, S.D. Pillai. Influence of

autoinducer-2 (AI-2) on the growth and virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar

Typhimurium and modulation of these effects by poultry meat-derived fatty acids having

AI-2 inhibitory properties. ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in Bacteria.

Austin. October

2007 Soni, K.A., P.R. Jesudhasan, M.L. Cepeda, B. Williams, M.E. Hume, W.K. Russell, A.

Jayaraman, S.D. Pillai. Proteomic analysis to identify the role of luxS/AI-2 mediated protein

expression in Escherichia coli O157:H7. ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in

Bacteria. Austin. October

2007 K.A. Soni, P.R. Jesudhasan, M.L. Cepeda, K.W. Widmer, G.K. Jayaprakasha, B.S. Patil,

M.E. Hume, S.D. Pillai. Identification of ground beef-derived fatty acid inhibitors of

autoinducer-2 (AI-2) based cell signaling. ASM Conference on Cell-Cell Communication in

Bacteria. Austin. October

2007 Vikram, A., P.R. Jesudhasan P.R.,S.D. Pillai, G.K. Jayaprakasha, and B.S. Patil

Inhibition of Bacterial Cell-Cell Communication and Biofilm formation by Citrus

Bioactive Compounds. Rio Grande Valley Hort. Society; 61st Annual Meeting January

30th

at the University of Texas - Pan American, Edinburg

26

2006 Lu, L., M.E. Hume and S.D. Pillai. A Non-Indole-based Airborne Quorum Sensing

Molecule Can Confer Tetracycline Tolerance in Physically Separated Escherichia coli and

Salmonella Newport strains. International Conference on Food Bioprocessing. Patras,

Greece. June.

2006 Pillai, S.D. Microbial Cell Signaling and its Potential Applications in Bioprocesses.

International Congress on Bioprocesses in the Food Industries. Patras, Greece. June

2006 Pillai, S.D. Molecular detection and characterization of pathogenic microorganisms for a

sustainable environment. 4th IERC Workshop on Environment and Sustainable

Development, Gwangju, Korea, November .

2006 Pillai, S.D. Molecular detection and characterization of microorganisms. 2006 Int’l

Symposium and Annual Meeting of the Korean Society for Applied Biological and

Environmental Chemistry. Gyeongju, Korea, October

2006 Pillai, S.D. Factors affecting bioaerosols transport. . Annual Meetings of the American

Society for Microbiology. Orlando. May

2006 Widmer, K.W., P. Jesudhasan, S.E. Dowd, and S.D. Pillai. Gene expression in Salmonella

enterica serotype Typhimurium luxS mutant in response to quorum sensing signals and a

poultry meat-derived quorum sensing inhibitor using microarray based studies. . Annual

Meetings of the American Society for Microbiology. Orlando. May

2006 Venkateswaran, D., M.L. Cepeda, K. Soni and S.D. Pillai. Reliable detection of low levels

of Listeria monocytogenes and E.coli O157:H7 in Ready to Eat (RTE) food using the

Warnex molecular beacon assay. Annual Meetings of the American Society for

Microbiology. Orlando. May

2006 Cepeda, M., and S.D. Pillai. Detection of Listeria monocytogenes and E.coli O157:H7 in

wastewater effluent and aerobically digested sludges using the Warnex molecular beacon

based assay. Annual Meetings of the American Society for Microbiology. Orlando. May

2005 Balasubramaniam, A., K. Soni, K. Venkateswaran, A. Beskok and S.D. Pillai. Microfluidic

capture and concentration of bacteria from drinking water . Annual Meetings of the

American Society for Microbiology. Atlanta. June

2005 Beskok, A., and S.D. Pillai. Microfluidic capture and concentration of bacteria from

drinking water. Environmental Monitoring Conference. Baltimore. January

2004 Soni, K., P. Jesudhasan, L. Lu, M. Hume and S.D. Pillai 2005 AI-2 like activity mediated

gene expression of virulence genes in E.coli 0157:H7 on ground beef. Texas branch

meetings of the American Society for Microbiology, Houston, November.

2004 Pillai, S.D. Monitoring microbial pathogens using microfluidic devices: what are we

missing? TEX-MEMS meeting. College Station, October

2004 Singh, R., and S.D. Pillai. Survival, attachment, and internalization of Salmonella Gaminara

and Salmonella Agona on oranges. Annual Meetings, International Assn of Food Protection.

Phoenix, AZ. August

2004 Pillai, S.D., R. Langford., D. S-Makuch., A.A. Fattah, and K. Widmer Tracer tests to

understand microbial transport under riverbank filtration conditions. International Society

for Microbial Ecology. Cancun, Mexico

2004 Lu, L., M. Hume and S.D. Pillai. Role of AI-2 like activity on antibiotic resistance

development in E.coli under sub-therapeutic antibiotic exposure. International Society for

Microbial Ecology. Cancun, Mexico

27

2004 Widmer, KW., D. Srikumar, and S.D. Pillai. Artificial Neural Networks to detect

Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts and Giardia lamblia cysts. Annual Meetings, American

Society for Microbiology. New Orleans, May.

2003 Sobsey, M.D. S.D. Pillai, A. Margolin, D. Batigelli, S. Goyal, M.V. Yates, F-C, Hsu, , G.

Lovelace and N. Nwachuku. Development and evaluation of methods to detect coliphages

in large volumes of water. Int’l Assn of Water Quality meetings. Cape Town, S. Africa,

September

2003 Lu, L, M. Hume and S.D. Pillai. Quorum sensing in Escherichia coli in response to

subtherapeutic antibiotic exposure. Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for

Microbiology. Washington, D.C. May

2003 Pillai, S.D. and I.Y. Espinosa. E-beam inactivation of RNA and DNA containing viruses.

Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for Microbiology. Washington, D.C.

May

2003 Mena, K. D., and S.D. Pillai. Quantitative risk-based microbial standards for irrigation water

quality. Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for Microbiology. Washington,

D.C. May

2003 Sternes, K.L., E. Sublasky and S.D. Pillai. Vancomycin resistant enterococci in irrigation

water and sediments. Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for

Microbiology. Washington, D.C. May

2002 Sobsey, M., S.D. Pillai, A. Margolin, D. Battigelli, and N. Nwachuku. Optimization

of coliphages methods. Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for

Microbiology. Salt Lake City, UT. May

2002 Espinosa, I.Y., and S.D. Pillai. Concentration and detection of bioaerosolized viruses.

Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for Microbiology. Salt Lake City, UT.

May

2002 Endley, S.E. I.Y. Espinosa, and S.D. Pillai. Male specific coliphages as an indicator

of fecal contamination of cilantro and parsley. Abstract. Annual Meetings of the

American Society for Microbiology. Salt Lake City, UT. May

2002 Roe, M., C.M. Haas, and S.D. Pillai. Integron gene sequences on retail chicken

products. International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Atlanta, GA, March

2002 Lu, L., S. Endley, M. Hume, K. Williams, M. Garcia and S.D. Pillai. Genetic

diversity of Salmonella and E. coli in irrigation water and sediments along the Texas-

Mexico border. International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases. Atlanta,

GA, March

2002 Vega, E., M.T. Roe and S.D. Pillai. Irrigation water and sediments as a source of

integron-bearing bacteria. Abstract. International Conference of Emerging Infectious

Diseases. Atlanta, GA, March

2002 Espinosa, I.Y., S.D. Pillai. Concentration and detection of bioaerosolized viruses.

Abstract. Annual Meetings of the American Society for Microbiology, Texas Branch

Meetings. San Antonio, TX. February

2002 Haas, C.M., J. Totten, M. Lorenz, and S.D. Pillai. Specificity and sensitivity of a 5’

nuclease assay to detect Salmonella spp. Annual Meetings of the American Society

for Microbiology, Texas Branch meetings. San Antonio, TX. February

28

2001 Kempf, M.J., F. Chen, M.S. Quigley, S. Pillai, R. Kern and K. Venkateswaran. Developing

planetary protection technology: recurrence of hydrogen peroxide resistant microbes from

spacecraft assembly facilities. Am. Geophysical Union. Ann. Meetings. San Francisco, Nov

2001 McGilloway, R.L., R.W. Weaver and S.D. Pillai. A molecular approach to enumerate

nitrifying bacteria in ammonium saturated clinoptilolite. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs.

Orlando, FL, May.

2001 Roe, M., A. Byrd, D. Smith and S.D. Pillai. Integron gene sequences within poultry farms

and processing plants. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Orlando, FL, May.

2001 Rayburn, E.L., K.L. Sternes, R.P. Weidenfeld, and S.D. Pillai. Microbial pathogens in

irrigation canals and associated sediments. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Orlando, FL,

May.

2001 McDaniel, J.M., E.L. Rayburn, K.L. Sternes, R.P. Wiedenfeld and S.D. Pillai. Fecal

contamination and genetic relatedness of E.coli strains in irrigation canals and sediments.

Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Orlando, FL, May.

2001 Sublasky, E., S.D. Pillai, R.P. Wiedenfeld, and K.L. Sterne. Antibiotic resistant enterococci

in irrigation canals and sediments along the Rio Grande. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs.

Orlando, FL, May.

2001 Endley, S., K.L. Sternes, B. Wiedenfeld, and S.D. Pillai. The presence of male specific

coliphages in irrigation water along the Texas-Mexico border. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann.

Mtgs. Orlando, FL, May.

2001 McElroy, W.E., S. Pillai, E. Cabello, and S. Hernandez. Variations in pathogenic and

indicator organisms within drainage canals and the middle Rio GrandeRiver along the

United States-Mexico border. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Orlando, FL, May.

2000 McGilloway, R.L., R.W. Weaver, S.D. Pillai, and D.W. Ming. A molecular approach to

enumerate nitrifying bacteria in ammonium-saturated clinoptilolite. Soil Sci. Soc. Am.

Migs. Minneapolis, Nov

2000 Pillai, S.D., A. Herseim, A. Obenhaus, and A. Byrd. Male specific coliphages in poultry

litter and on chick box trayliners. Poultry Science Assn. Ann. Mtgs. Montreal, Canada

2000 Widmer, K.W., K. Oshima, R. Hartley and S.D. Pillai. An artificial neural network approach

to identify Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Los Angeles,

May.

2000 Vega, E., E. Cabello, S. Hernandez, B. Lesikar, and S.D. Pillai. On-site wastewater

treatment technologies to remove microbial pathogens. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Los

Angeles, May.

2000 McElroy, W.E., S.D. Pillai, E. Cabello, and S.Hernandez. Identifying the impact of drainage

canal water quality on the Middle Rio Grande river along the United States-Mexico border.

Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Los Angeles, May.

2000 Pillai, S.D., S.Y. Park, D.R. Jackson, S.G. Birkhold, and S.C. Ricke. Advantages and

limitations of a surface air system based sampler for monitoring and characterizing

bioaerosols. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Los Angeles, May.

2000 Pena, J., K.W Widmer, L. Ivey and S.D Pillai. Avian species as transmission agents of

Salmonella spp among dairy herds: genetic fingerprinting of Salmonella spp. isolates to

identify probable reservoirs. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Ann. Mtgs. Atlanta, May.

1998 Valenzuela, R.B., and S.D. Pillai. Persistence of naked viral RNA molecules in

groundwater.8th Intl symposium on Microbial Ecology. Nova Scotia. August.

29

1998 Valenzuela, R.B., and S.D. Pillai. Stability of naked viral RNA molecules under chlorine

disinfection conditions. Water Quality Int'l. Vancouver. June.

1997 Ficht, T.A., V.S. Perumaalla, L. G. Adams, F. Suárez, D. Baca, J. Hernandez, H. Whitford,

S. Pillai, K. Coker, E. Newman, N. Silvy, L. Ivey, D. Davis, and M. Kelley. RFLP Patterns

in Mycobacterium bovis isolates from Texas and Mexico Suggest a Broad and Active

Distribution. ASM Conference on Tuberculosis: Past, Present and Future. Copper

Mountain, CO, July. 1997 Dowd, S.E., C. Munster, M. Corapcioglu, J. Vogel and S.D. Pillai. Novel laboratory

approaches for delineating critical factors influencing subsurface viral transport. . Ann.

Meetings. Am. Soc. for Microbiol. Miami Beach, May.

1997 Pillai, S.D., S.C. Ricke, K. Borello, C.L. Shermer and T. Gibbs. Detection of pathogenic

bacterial genera in aerosols using gene amplification coupled to a novel dual probe

hybridization assay. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. for Microbiol. Miami Beach, May.

1997 Dowd, S.E., F.C. Faries, F. Mitchell, L. Wickersham, A. Kinney and S.D. Pillai. The

occurrence and fate of Cryptosporidium sp and Giardia sp. around confined animal feeding

operations. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. for Microbiol. Miami Beach, May.

1996 Dowd, S.E. and S.D. Pillai. Survival and transport of selected bacterial pathogens and

indicator viruses under sandy aquifer conditions. Int’l Assn of Water Quality Helath Related

Water Microbiology Symposium. Mallorca, Spain. October.

1996 Dowd, S.E., M.Y. Corapcioglu, C. Munster, and S.D. Pillai. Laboratory studies and

mathematical modeling of virus survival and transport in groundwater. Ann. Meetings. Am.

Soc. for Microbiol. New Orleans, May.

1996 Dowd,S.E., K.W. Widmer, and S.D. Pillai. Use of Clostridium as an alternate pathogen

indicator for monitoring airborne bacterial pathogens. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. for

Microbiol. New Orleans, May.

1996 Alvarez, M., M. Aguilar, E. Camacho, P. Davis, T. Nardin, R. Valenzuela, and S.D. Pillai.

Effect of pH on reversible inactivation of MS2 phage. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. For

Microbiol. New Orleans, May.

1996 Gonzalez, G., J. Bader, P, Goodell, and S.D. Pillai. Relationship between chromium

resistant microbial populations and chromium bioreduction in a heavily contaminated

site.AAPG Southwest Section Meeting, El Paso, TX. March.

1996 Dowd, S.E., S.D. Pillai, and K.Widmer. The effects of commercial land application of

sewage sludge on the air quality of a neighboring population center. AAPG Southwest

Section Meeting, El Paso, TX. March.

1995 Widmer, S.C. Ricke and S.D. Pillai. Airborne microbial populations during land

application of municipal sewage sludge. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. for Microbiol.

Washington, D.C. May.

1995 Pillai, S.D., K.W. Widmer, and S.Dowd. Adsorption, survival and viability of selected

microbial pathogens and indicators in aquifer material. Ann. Meetings. Soil Sci. Soc. Am.

St. Louis, Nov.

1995 Pillai, S.D. Genetic relatedness of bacterial isolates in a shallow aquifer on the US-Mexico

border as determined by ERIC-PCR analyses. Ann. Meetings Am. Soc for Microbiology.

Washington, D.C. May.

30

1995 Pillai, S.D. Determination of groundwater contamination sources via amplification of

conserved genetic sequences in aquifer microbial populations. Water for Texas Conference,

Austin, TX. Jan.

1995 Maciorowski, K.G., S.D. Pillai and S.C. Ricke. 1995. Cycloheximide as a fungicide for

Salmonella enumeration of poultry feeds on agar media. Ann. Meetings. Poultry Sci. Assn.

Edmonton. Aug.

1995 Bader, J.L., P.C. Goodell, G. Gonzalez, S.D. Pillai and A.S. Ali. Attempts to achieve

bioreduction of hexavalent chromium in batch cultures using contaminated soil from a

Superfund site. Ann. Meetings. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. St. Louis, Nov.

1995 Alvarez, M.E., M. Aguilar, R. Macias, R. Rodriguez, and S.D. Pillai. Inactivating factors

and reversible inactivation of MS2 bacteriophages in groundwater. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc

for Microbiology. Washington, D.C. May.

1994 Pillai, S.D., S.C. Ricke, D.J. Nisbet, D.E. Corrier, and J.R. Deloach. Rapid method for

screening chicken cecal samples to detect Salmonella typhimurium using gene

amplification. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc for Microbiology. Las Vegas, NV. May.

1994 Ha, S.D., S.C. Ricke, and S.D. Pillai. Use of cycloheximide as a fungal inhibitor for

bacterial enumeration of nonsterile poultry feeds under long term storage. Ann. Meetings.

Poultry Science Association. Starkville, MS. Aug.

1994 Bader, J.L., P.C. Goodell and S.D. Pillai. Bioreduction of chromium in contaminated soils

and potential application to the bioremediation of Cr (VI) contaminated sites. Ann. Mtgs.

American Geophysical Union. Dec.

1993 Widmer, K.W., R.C. Mroz, and S.D. Pillai. Microbial contamination of groundwater on the

US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. Ann. Meetings. ASA-CSSA-SSA. Cincinnati, OH.

Nov.

1993 T. Reif, S.D. Pillai, and M. Carl. 1993. A polymerase chain reaction assay for identifying

the capB gene of Bacillus anthracis. In: ASM Abstr. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. Microbiol.

Atlanta, GA. May.

1993 Pillai, S.D. Molecular techniques for the sanitary and environmental engineering industries.

Ist. Congreso Internacional de Aidis de Norte America Y Del Caribe. Mexico City.

October.

1993 Pepper I.L., K.L. Josephson, R.L. Bailey, M.D. Burr, S.D. Pillai, D. Tolliver, and S. Pulido.

A rapid and systematic analytical method for measuring bacterial contaminants in ultrapure

water. Microcontamination Control Conference. Santa Clara. March.

1991 S.D. Pillai et al. Evaluation of three types of gene probes for detection of PCR amplified

products. In: ASM Abstr. Ann. Meetings. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Dallas, TX. May.

1990 S.D. Pillai and I.L. Pepper. Application of polymerase chain reaction using Tn5 to study

plant-microbe interactions. In: 5th Intl. Symp. on the Molecular Genetics of Plant-Microbe

Interactions. Interlaken, Switzerland. Sept.

1990 D.W. Sammons et al. Separation and detection of organisms in soil and waste streams. In:

NASA Symp. on waste processing in space for advanced life support. NASA Ames

Research Center, CA. Sept.

1988 S.D. Pillai and I.L. Pepper. The survival of Tn5 mutant bean rhizobia in desert soils. First

Intl. Conf. on the release of Genetically Engineered Microorganisms. Wales, U.K.

31

1987 I.L. Pepper et al. Use of molecular biology to improve biological nitrogen fixation in

Latin Amercia. In: Southwest Consortium of Plant & Water Resources. Tucson, AZ.

May.

1990 S.D. Pillai and I.L. Pepper. Detection of bacteria in sewage sludge and soil. ASM

Conference on Biotechnology, Chicago, IL. June.

GRANTS & CONTRACT FUNDING HISTORY

Principal Investigator: MAyNC cell-based vaccines against foodborne pathogens (2014-2015)

Elanco Animal Health $ 215,730 (pending)

Principal Investigator - Innovative applications of eBEAD process to produce value-added

products from biosolids sub-contract with Headworks, Inc. NSF-SBIR (pending)

Principal Investigator - Next Gen Technology for Capture and Concentration of Microbial

Contaminants from Source and Drinking Water US EPA $593,324 (pending)

Principal Investigator -Assessment and Development of eBeam technology for Municipal Sludge

to Produce “Class A” Disinfected/Enhanced Anaerobic Digestion/Stabilized Product

(Headworks, Inc.) (2013-2014) $ 265,984 (pending)

Principal Investigator - A Padlock Probe based Multiplex Identification Platform for Foodborne

Pathogen Detection- sub-contract with Accacia International . USDA-SBIR proposal (pending)

Principal Investigator- Electron Beam derived vaccines against Leptospira spp. (Elanco animal

Health) (2013) $ 56,061

Principal Investigator - Site-directed transformation of E.coli isolates and field testing of phage

technology (Elanco Animal Health) (2012-2014) $216,834

Co-Principal Investigator – Effects of diary ingredients on gut microbiome and gut health (Dairy

Research) (2012-2013). $ 273,220

Principal Investigator - The utilization of the National Center for Electron Beam Research

Facility and Texas A&M to produce irradiated food products. NASA-Wyle $ 21,000 (May 2011-

Sept 2012)

Principal Investigator - Immunogenicity, Potency, and Stability of Electron Beam-based

Salmonella Vaccines. USDA Formula Animal Health $19,416

Principal Investigator - Surfactant-Modified Zeolite (SMZ) Filter Technology To Control

Waterborne Pathogen Transmission n the Mekong River Basin. IERC. S. Korea. $ 9,000 (Jan

2011- Dec 2011)

Principal Investigator - National Center for Electron Beam Food Research- food Safety. (Federal

Initiative) USDA-NIFA (9/09-8/10) Total : $64,328

Principal Investigator - Integrating Microbial Target Capture with Flow Field Fractionation for

Lab on a Chip Device for Food Matrices. Dept. Homeland Security –National Center for Food

Protection and Defense- (10/2009- 9/2010) Total $154,030

Co-Principal Investigator - USDA Fellowships in Food Safety: USDA-NIFA Total $ 120,000

Principal Investigator - Package Designs for E-Beam irradiation of fresh produce TAMU-

CONACYT program total $ 24000

Co-Principal Investigator - Development of Wide Area Radiation Sources for Wastewater

Treatment –. National Science Foundation –SBIR : $42,372

Principal Investigator - E-Beam technology for developing immunomodulators Ceva-Biommune:

Total: $ 302,980

Principal Investigator - Proposal to design and build E-Beam irradiation facilities Produ-Clear:

Total: $ 104,471

32

Principal Investigator- Development of Novel Immuno-modulators Against Clostridium

perfringens to Control Necrotic Enteritis in Broilers USDA-Formula Health $40,000

Principal Investigator - Developing better indicators for pathogen presence in sewage sludge.

WERF: $20,000

Principal Investigator - Disinfecting and Stabilizing Biosolids Using E-beam and Chemical

Oxidants. Principal Investigator. Water Environment Research Foundation. $ 183,903 (4/2007-

3/2009)

Collaborator - Development and Evaluation of Flat Panel X-ray Source - Advanced Technology

Program of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) -$2,000,000 (sub-contract

$100,000) (2/2007-10/2009)

Principal Investigator - Concentrating bacterial spores from milk and juices using

dielectrophoresis based microfluidic capture systems. Principal Investigator. DHS/ National

Center for Food Protection and Defense-University of Minnesota. (9/07-12/09) $230,000

Co-Principal Investigator - State of Texas Emerging Technology Fund: Automated Pathogen

Detection System for Drinking Water Analysis $ 230,000 (subcontract 29,997) contract

negotiations being finalized

Principal Investigator Establishment of Manufactuing, Assembly, Packaging, Labeling and

Electronic Sterilization (MAPLES)facility Principal Investigator. NASA/Jacobs: $ 45,346

Principal Investigator - Electron Beam Pasteurization of Spinach, Lettuce, and Spring Mix to

Eliminate E.coli O157:H7 and Hepatitis A Virus Contamination. Principal Investigator. TAMU-

Conacyt Program $ 24,000 (9/07-8/08)

Principal Investigator - Characterizing the Role of Autoinducer Molecule AI-2 in the

Colonization and Virulence of S. Enteritidis in Chicken (9/07-12/07) $ 24,339

Co-Principal Investigator Prevention and control of Avian Influenza in the United States. Co-

Principal Investigator. USDA-CAP grants. $ 15,074 (1/07-1/08)

Principal Investigator National Center for Electron Beam Food Research. USDA-CSREES

(8/04-7/09) $ 608,080

Principal Investigator - Electron beam sterilization of spacecraft components. NASA (9/04-8/07)

$ 919,215

Principal Investigator-Quantifying health risks in Mexico associated with contaminated fruits

and vegetables via pathogens in irrigation water.. TAMU-Conacyt Program (9/05-9/06) $25,000:

Principal Investigator Microfluidic device-based capture and concentration of microbial

contaminants in recycled water NASA. (1/04-4/06) $ 89,223

Principal Investigator Microfluidic system for capture and concentration of microbial

contaminants in drinking water. State of Texas-Advanced Technology Program. (1/04-8/06) $

126,550

Principal Investigator.Validation of ultrasonic technology to inactivate microbial pathogens in

wastewater.. TAMU-Conacyt Program. $25,000 (12/04-12/05)

Biotic factors controlling calicivirus attachment and persistence on lettuce- Graduate Student

Fellowship Research Program.. NASA.( 2002- 2006) $72,000

Collaborator.Improve growth of sow-reared piglets by enhancing arginine synthesis. USDA-

NRI. 9/03- 8/06 $281,000

Project Director . Improving the safety of fruits and vegetables: a tri-state consortium proposal.

USDA/CSREES (10/00- 8/05) $4,100,000 (original Project Director: E.A. Murano)

Co-Principal Investigator-Water Quality Assessment and Library Development for Lake Waco

and Lake Belton and tributaries of Bosque and Leo Rivers.. ( 9/02- 3/05) $ 639,742.

33

Field testing the effectiveness of riverbank filtration in an arid environment. Co-PI. USEPA

(9/01-2/05) $ 437,418

Principal Investigator-Bioaerosol monitoring of space vehicle assembly facilities . JPL/NASA

(4/03) $2400

Collaborator.-Hypothyroidism and broiler health. USDA-Formula Animal Health Funding (6/03-

6/04) $ 44,082

Principal Investigator -Efficacy of antimicrobial steels. AKSteel (6/02-11/02) $ 8,000

Principal Investigator -Development of rapid pathogen detection and characterization methods

for assessing poultry house bioaerosols impact on worker exposure and environment. PI Applied

Biosystems and MesoSystems, Inc $ 15,000 (1/2001-12/2002) (in kind support).

Principal Investigator - Efficacy of E-beam irradiation to inactivate enteric viruses and protozoa.

SureBeam Corp. (10/01 - 9/02) $24,037

Co-Principal Investigator -Transport and removal of viruses. SCERP/EPA. (8/00-12/02) $75,000

Principal Investigator -Coliphage method optimization and field testing. PI. EPA/Gram (1/2001-

9/2002) $80,000

Principal Investigator - Bioaerosol monitoring of space vehicle assembly facilities . JPL/NASA

(10/02) $2400

Principal Investigator - Differentiating human and non-human sources of fecal contamination.

PI. Faculty Mini-grant program TAMU (9/00-8/01). $1,000

Principal Investigator- Genosensor based approaches for characterizing microbial populations

and identifying horizontal gene transfer events in natural and man-made environments. PI. Texas

Water Resources Institute ( 8/00-8/01) $15,000

Principal Investigator - Occurrence of microbial pathogens and antibiotic resistant microbial

populations in irrigation waters and vegetables along the US-Mexico border.. ATP/ARP program

(1/00-12/01) $233,000

Principal Investigator -Fecal Indicator study along the US/Mexico border for the US

EPA/GRAM (10/99-12/99) $ 18,381

Principal Investigator - Potential aerosolization of microbial pathogens and fecal indicator

organisms from biosolid application on agricultural lands. PI (2/99-3/99) El Paso Water Utilities..

$15,000

Co-Principal Investigator - Survivability and retention of microbial pathogens and indicator

organisms within on-site wastewter treatment systems. (8/98-7/99). Texas On-site Wastewater

Treatment Research Council $58,800

Principal Investigator - A neural network based expert system for the identification of Giardia spp.

and Cryptosporidium spp. in environmental samples. TAES-FRD Program.. (9/96-6/99) $45,070

Co-Principal Investigator -Bioaerosol screening for Salmonella spp. in and around poultry houses.

State of Texas-Advanced Technology Program. (1/98-12/99)$109,346

Co-Principal Investigator -Reversible inactivation of viruses in groundwater. USEPA (9/96-

12/98)$176,000

Co-Principal Investigator -Three dimensional field experiments and modeling of viral transport in

groundwater. NWRI/USEPA (5/95 -12/97)$174,000

Co-Principal Investigator - Fate of microbial pathogens during land application of waste effluents..

Texas Dept. of Agriculture-Texas-IsraelExchange Program.(9/95-8/99) $48,148

Co-Principal Investigator Epidemiologic biosurvey for reservoirs of Mycobacterium bovis in El

Paso County chronic tuberculosis affected dairy herds.. Texas Animal Health Commission. (2/96-

2/98)$40,000

34

Principal Investigator Assessing and controlling the impacts of confined animal feeding operations

(CAFO’s) on infectious Cryptosporidium spp. loading to watersheds. Texas Agricultural

Experiment Station.-Research Enhancement Program. (1/96-8/97)$ 42,200

Co-Principal Investigator -Reliable and rapid detection system for Salmonella. Texas Agricultural

Experiemnt Station.-Research Enhancement Program. (1/96-8/97)$ 36,400

Principal Investigator -Virus Sampling and Microbial Analysis at the US/Mexico border. PI.

USEPA/CADMUS. (1/97-8/97)$16,265

Principal Investigator Dual probe hybridization assay to confirm nucleotide sequence of amplicons.

PI. Molecular Devices Corp. (6/96-12/98) $50,000(in kind as equipment loan and reagents)

Principal Investigator -Lateral gene transfer of fluoroquinolone resistance determinants in the

natural environment. PI. USDA Research Apprenticeship Program. PI (5/95-8/95) $2,500

Co-Principal Investigator Bioremediation of chromium in contaminated soils and potential

application to the bioremediation of Cr(VI) contaminated soils Co-PI. CERM/UTEP-EPA. (8/94-

7/95) $75,504

Principal Investigator -Monitoring airborne microbial populations generated during land application

of sewage sludge under significant wind conditions. Merco Joint Venture.(7/94-8/95) $40,723

Principal Investigator -Clinoptilolite compounds as a retardant of Salmonella sp. survival in

agricultural soils and water. PI. Environmental Friendly Products, Houston, Texas. (9/93-

12/93).$2,000

Principal Investigator - Enumeration and description of microbial biofilm components. PI. El Paso

Water Utilities, El Paso, Texas. PI (2/94).$2,433

Principal Investigator -Development of standard operating procedures for the detection of Giardia

spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. as part of monitoring requirements. PI. El Paso Water Utilities, El

Paso, Texas. PI (3/94-7/94).$5,800

TEACHING

Formal Courses Taught at Texas A&M University

Microbiology of Food Irradiation (POSC 489/689- FSTC 489/689).

Every other spring semester - Credits: 3 (Undergradaute/graduate-level course)

To provide students with a working knowledge of the microbiology principles underlying

irradiation based destruction of microorganisms and practical experience with dosimetry. The

course will also provide the students hands-on experience in using e-beam irradiation to irradiate

foods. This course will be a lecture and laboratory course

Molecular Methods for Microbial Characterization (POSC 689/FSTC619/AGRO619).

Every other fall Semester Credits: 3. (Graduate level course)

To provide students, the theory and laboratory experience in the molecular detection and

characterization of pathogens. The course emphasizes method application and date interpretation

and will cover pathogens and indicator organisms that are of relevance to food safety and

environmental microbiology. This is a lecture and laboratory course.

Professional Skills Development (FSTC 481)Fall semesters

Every fall semester. Crefdits: 1

To provide food science students the experience of making professional presentations, writing

technical documents and obtaining the professional skills to enter the work -force

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Research Training Courses

My laboratory also serves undergraduates obtain hands-on experience in microbiology research.

Specifically, I offer research credits (485 credits) for independent research projects as part of their

undergraduate curriculum. These research credits are offered as part of the Poultry Science

Department, Microbiology, and the Genetics Program. Many of the undergraduates who are hired

in my laboratory have started out in these courses.

Direction of Graduate Students

Ph.D. students

Shima Shayanfar – Food Science & Technology (started fall 2013)

Chandni Nair- Toxicology program (expected graduation 2013)

Charlotte Rambo -Toxicology program (expected graduation 2014)

Grihalaksmi Kakani – Food Science & Technology May 2011

Kamlesh Soni, Food Science & Technology 2008(currently at Mississippi State University)

Alexis Lazarine Nuclear Engineering. 2008 (Co-chair)

Ken Widmer: -Food Science & Technology. 2007 (currently at GIST, S. Korea)

Everardo Vega: -Food Science & Technology. 2006 (currently at CDC, Atlanta)

Lu Lingeng:–Food Science & Technology. 2004 (currently at Yale University)

Jack McReynolds; - Poultry Science. (Co-chair). 2003 (Elanco)

Janet L. Bader, Geological Sciences – UT El Paso 1997 (Co-chair)

M.S.students

James McCoy –Food Science & Technology (started fall 2013)

David Prince – Food Science & Technology – (expected graduation 2013)

Rashmi Shetti- Master of Biotechnology - (expected graduation 2013)

Geddy Hamblen-Master of Biotechnology (expected graduation 2013)

Yamini Tare-MBIOT- (expected graduation Aug 2013)

Carolina Corkill- Food Science & Technology 2013(currently at Lonza Technology)

Bianca Smith- Food Science & Technology 2013

Katherine McElhany- Food Science & Technology 2010

Karan Kohli – Master of Biotechnology 2010

Shristee Arora – Master of Biotechnology 2009

Poornima Murthi – Master of Biotechnology 2009

Oluwafunmike Owolabi Master of Biotechnology 2009

Kirthiram Sivakumar Master of Biotechnology 2009

Deepa Putuvakkat – Master of Biotechnology –2007

Taizoon Khokhar – Master of Biotechnology – 2007

Poonam Jaiswall – Master of Biotechnology – 2007

Harshawardhan Banda – Master of Biotechnology –2007

Taizoon Khokhar –Master of Biotechnology 2007

Josh Calcote – Master of Biotechnology 2006

Mukta Maan – Master of Biotechnology 2006

Kamlesh Soni, Food Science & Technology 2005

Reema Singh, Food Science & Technology (currently at Tysons foods )

Matthew Roe: Food Science & Technology. 2002 (currently at Texas Tech University)

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Chandni Nair -Food Science & Technology 2009

Wyndi McElroy: Biology UT El Paso, 2002 (Co-Chair)

Scot E. Dowd, Biology-UT El Paso 1996 (Co-Chair)

Robert E. Nze, Biology- UT El Paso, 1996 (Co-Chair)

Member of Graduate Student Committees

Joana Rocha. Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences (continuing)

Jen-Huang (Tony) Huang Ph.D. Chemical Engineering (graduated)

Jasjeet Kaur, Ph.D. Water program (continuing)

James Totten, Ph.D. Water program (continuing)

Ram Mohan Uckoo – Ph.D Horticulture 2012

Jose Perez – Ph.D. Horticulture (continuing)

Tara Price – Ph.D. Nutrition (continuing)

Sedat Cam – Ph.D. Marine biology (continuing)

Manjunath Hegde – Ph.D. Chemical Engineering

Jen-Huang (Tony) Huang Ph.D. Chemical Engineering

Ying Wang – Ph.D. Poultry Science 2012

Kelly Gamble – Poultry Science

Amit Vikram – Ph.D.- Horticulture

Derek L. Englert – M.S. Chemical Engineering

Deepthi Mikkili, Master of Biotechnology

Shazia Shaik – Master of Biotechnology

Claudia Aguillon –Master of Biotechnology

Bradley Green – Master of Biotechnology 2008

Erin Fiero . MS. Rangeland and Ecosystems Management - 2013

Vasile Hrihorisan – Ph.D. student (TAMU –Nutrition)

Sam Chiang – Ph.D. student (TAMU – Poultry Science )

Ashwin Balasubramaniam – Ph.D. student (TAMU – Mechanical Engg)

Walid Alali – Ph.D. student (TAMU Epidemiology)

Vasile Hrihorisan – M.S. Poultry Science POSC 2008

Harikishore Kandula-Master of Biotechnology 2008

David Stovall –MBIOT 2008

Srinivas Neralla – MS student (TAMU Mechanical Engg) graduated 2005

Robyn McGilloway-Ph.D. student (TAMU, Soil & Crop Science) 2002

Angie Chang: M.S. student-Program Program in Biotechnology. TAMU 2001-2002

Ken G. Maciorowski-Ph.D. student (TAMU, Poultry Science) 2000

Young Min Kwon-Ph.D. student (TAMU,Poultry Science ) 2001

Srinivasan Neralla-Ph.D. (TAMU, Soil and Crop Sciences) 1999

Jason Vogel, MS (TAMU, Agricultural Engineering) 1997

Post-Doctoral Scientists and Visiting Scientists

Dr. Hristina Spasevska – Professor and Vice Dean - Ss Cyril and Methodius University – Skopje

Republic of Macedonia (2013)

Ms. Celia Asad- Research Scientist from Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (2012)

Ms. Haydee Solomon- Research Scientist from Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (2012)

Mr. Grezegorz Guzik – Research Scientist from Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology

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Warsaw, Poland (2012)

Ms. Marie Mounie – Masters student from France (2011)

Ms. Laurie Hausswirth – Masters student from France (2011)

Ms. Ana- Cecilia Espinosa – Ph.D. student UNAM – Mexico City (2008)

Mr. Luis Jose Rene Hernandez –M.S student UNAM –Mexico City (2008)

Dr. P. Gunasekaran – Department Head, Genetics –Madurai Kamaraj Univ, India (2007)

Ms. Reka Agoston –Ph.D. student – Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary (2007)

Dr. Bob Reimers – Jan 2005-Aug 2005 –visiting professor from Tulane University

Ms. Liliana Matimoto. Aug 2004-Dec 2004 (visiting student from Brazil)

Ms. Maria Elena-Olvera. June 2004. (visiting graduate student from Monterrey Tech, Mexico)

Dr. Palmy Jesudhasan. (post-doctoral research associate) February 2004 - 2012

Dr. Erhan Ic: June 2002 – December 2002 (visiting scientist from Turkish Atomic Energy Agency

Dr. Seema Endley: May 2000- December 2002 (post-doctoral research associate)

Dr. Armando Varela : 1997-1999 (post-doctoral research associate)

Dr. Humberto Avila: 6/94- 8/94 (visiting scientist from Universidad del Estado de Durango,

Mexico)

Dr. Marisa Mazari: Nov 1995. (visiting scientist from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de

Mexico, Mexico)

Honors and Awards Received by students since 2000

2013 Chandni Praveen, Best presentation. Toxicology Graduate program competition.

2011 Ali Haselhorst, Nutrition, TAMU Undergraduate Research Scholar

2008 Katherine McElhany (undergraduate student). 1st Prize. Research Week-Texas A&m

University

2007 Suneil Mohan (Ph.D. student) 2nd

place. Research Week-Texas A&M University

2006 Ken Widmer (Ph.D. student) FSTC Travel Award. June

2006 Everardo Vega (Ph.D. student) FSTC Travel Award. June

2006 Kamlesh Soni (Ph.D. student) FSTC Academic Excellence Scholarship. June

2006 Sara Mittasch (B.S. student). Awarded American Society for Microbiology Undergraduate

Research Fellowship for work on viable but unculturable E.coli.

2006 Nick Garcia (B.S. student): First place in the undergraduate student category for work on

irradiation of viruses on cantaloupes

2006 Sara Mittasch (B.S. student); Second place in the undergraduate student categeory for work

on inactivation of spores on space craft components using electron beam technology

2005 Kamlesh Soni (M.S. student): Student travel award by the Food Science & Technology

Faculty to present his work at the American Society for Microbiology meetings in Atlanta

2005 Alejandra Klauer (undergrad student) ; 2nd

place (undergrad) Research Week –Texas A&M

University

2005 Ever Vega (Ph.D. student): 2nd

place ( graduate student) Research Week - Texas A&M

University

2005 Ken Widmer (Ph.D student): 3nd

place (graduate student) Research Week –Texas A&M

University

2004 Ken Widmer (Ph.D student): Student Travel Award by the Food Science & Technology

Faculty to present his work at the American Society for Microbiology meetings in New

Orleans

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2004 Everardo Vega (Ph.D. student): Student Travel Award by the Food Science & Technology

Faculty to present his work at the American Society for Microbiology meetings in New

Orleans

2004 Robert Spence (undergraduate student): First place Award for Undergraduate Research

poster presentation. Texas A&M University Agriculture Program Conference. January

2004 Kenneth Widmer (Ph.D. student) Honorable Mention for Graduate Research Poster. . Texas

A&M University Agriculture Program Conference. January

2003 Lu Lingeng (Ph.D. student): Student Travel Award by the American Society for

Microbiology to present his work on bacterial quorum sensing and sub-therapeutic antibiotic

exposure at the Annual Meetings

2003 Lu Lingeng (Ph.D student): Awarded the Tom Slick Graduate Fellowship by the Texas

A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

2002 Isabel Espinosa (B.S student): Awarded 1st place among undergraduate students for her

poster presentation related to “Coliphages as indicators of the impact of poultry wastes on

the environment” during the Student Research Week at Texas A&M University

2002 Everardo Vega (Ph.D. student): Awarded a Graduate Student Research Fellowship by

NASA for his doctoral research on the “Factors controlling calicivirus attachment to lettuce”

2000 Erica Rayburn (B.S. student): Awarded 2nd

place for her poster presentation related to the

microbiological quality of irrigation waters along the Texas-Mexico border at the Ag.

Program Conference at Texas A&M University

Direction of graduate students at University of Texas at El Paso

Committee Member

Guan Huade: M.S. (UTEP) 2001

Ken Widmer: M.S. (NMSU): 2000

Direction of Undergraduate Students

Whitney Brady (1/2004- 5/2004 and 9/2004-): Characterization of integron sequences in microbial

community DNA samples from poultry processing plants

Nick Garcia (9/2004-): Virus attachment to lettuce leaves

James Ripps (6/2004): Microfluidic device to capture and concentrate microorganisms

Jessica Cardenas (2003-2005 ): Biotic and abiotic factors influencing enteric virus attachment to

plant surfaces: Salmonella isolation method optimization

Robert Spence (2003-2004): Use of modified zeolites to improve drinking water quality in broiler

houses

Leroy Cortinas (2003): Antibiotic resistance development in broiler chicks during sub-therapeutic

antibiotic administration

Isabel Espinosa (2001-2003): Detection and characterization of bacteriophages in poultry house

related bioaerosols

Erin Johnson (2002-2003): Cell culture analysis for enteric viruses in groundwater samples

Humberto Villareal (2003): Groundwater transport of microbial pathogens.

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Andrea Hoffman (2002-2003): She was involved in a variety of microbiology tasks in the

laboratory ranging from making media to performing hands-on plating experiments and serial

dilutions for samples.

Patrick Connelly (2002): Genetic characterization of integron sequences in enteric bacteria

Erica Rayburn: (2002) Occurrence of pathogens in irrigation water

Crystal Haas: (2002) Development of TaqMan probe based Salmonella detection in food and

environmental samples

Anne Lang: (2002) Comparison of chemical and biological indicators of fecal contamination

Suzette Seng: (2002) Antibiotic resistance patterns of Salmonella from vegetable growing areas

Catherine Santos (2001): Antibiotic resistance profiles of E.coli isolates from vegetable growing

areas.

Alison Smith: (2000-2001):

Wendy Watson (2000-2001)

Allyson Herseim: (2000-2001) Coliphage extraction and enumeration methods

Jeff McDaniel: (2000-2001) DNA fingerprinting of bacteria

Amy Obenhaus (spring 2000): Coliphages in poultry litter and tray box liners

Rodney Saenz (summer, 2000): Salmonella isolation and fingerprinting of isolates

Randy Valenzuela (spring 1997-1998). Molecular mechanisms of viral inactivation.

Everardo Vega (1998-1999): Virus transport within constructed wetlands

Elisa Camacho (1997-1999): Stability of naked RNA molecules

Elissette Cabello (1997-1999): Cryptosporidium isolation and detection

Sandra Hernandez (1998-1999): Microbial transport and retention within onsite wastewater systems

Scot E. Dowd (fall, 1994) Detection of gene expression in viable but non culturable bacterial cells.

Gabriel Gonzalez (independent Study-Fall, 1995) Bioreduction of chromate using fungi isolated

from a SuperFund site.

Gus Zamora (Independent Study-Summer, 1997) Extraction and quantification of total RNA and

mRNA from low biomass soils.

David Lopez (Independent Study-Summer, 1997) Occurrence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in the

Rio Grande

High School/Pre-College Student Mentoring

Mentor to high school student on a 12 month environmental research internship under the El Paso

Tech-Prep program

Presentation at the Summer School program-Indian Ridge Middle School, El Paso, Texas

Served as advisor to 3 local high school students for their Prize Winning microbiology project.

1994.

Elissette Cabello (El Paso Community College) -Summer 1997

Rebecca Paniagua (El Paso Community College) - Summer 1996

Alfonso Munoz (El Paso Community College) – Summer 1995

Melissa Torres (Hanks High School) –Summer 1997

Sandra Lugo (Del Valle high School) – summer 1995

Mentor to USDA High School Student Apprentice, 1995

Carlos Hernandez (Hanks High School) –Summer 1995

Edgar Rubio (Del Valle High School) – Summer 1994

Edgar Martinez (Del Valle high School) – summer 1993

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