Kovac Lab

Mining (meta)genomes to improve food safety @penn_state

[Seth Bordenstein @Symbionticism]

Imagine your NIH T32 graduate fellowship beginning with professional skills and career advice from Dr. Erika Ganda. You do not have to go through five years of challenges and opportunities. You get that wisdom right here through @PSUmBiome and its new training grant for PhD'ers.

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

🚨 Big win for the OHMC @penn_state! We’ve been awarded a $2.6M NIH T32 to launch BIOMS — the first predoctoral training program in microbiome science + biotech.

Read more:

https://t.co/ZQl81Pgsz2

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

Auja Bywater is a PhD student in the Kovac Lab, studying environmental and agricultural microbiomes, with a focus on the microbes in food production – and their ability to develop resistance and adapt to their environments.

#WorldMicrobiomeDay

[Anna Dragos @Anna_Dragos]

Thrilled about our paper with @polonca_s E. Stare, @AndreaFloccari, I. MandicMulec @UL_BioTech 🇸🇮, in collab @Mikael_lenz @cemist_dtu 🇩🇰, @EvolvedBiofilm @LeidenBiology 🇳🇱, @ulisses_rocha @UFZ_de 🇩🇪 , R. Hertel & @kovac_lab 🇺🇸. Global&local Bacillus prophages🔊@ERC_Research

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

🔬 Research by @kovac_lab identifies Pseudomonadaceae as a key player in biofilms shielding #Listeria from sanitizers in food processing facilities.

Good news: A #biofilm remover effectively reduced Listeria! 🚫🦠 #FoodSafety #Microbiology

https://t.co/obAbGwdhSO

[Ashley Ohstrom @Ashley0hstrom]

An opportunity of a life time - getting to talk about my favorite things, microbes 😊, to Penn State’s President. What an honor and unforgettable experience🧫👩🏻‍🔬 #MicrobiomeScience #Sourdough #PennState #Research

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

Our Center has been awarded the 2024 WH Pierce Global Impact in Microbiology Prize from @AMIposts!
🌏 🏆
Thank you to every member of our community for your contributions and scholarship–spanning #research, #education, #art, and #outreach.
Article ->
https://t.co/W0aVPpgyfC

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

President Bendapudi @penn_state recently visited our Center to learn more about the Microbiome Sciences and the expanding impact the OHMC is having on the field. 🦠🔬💪

Read about her experience here ->
https://t.co/bVlqoVcPTq

[ADSA @ADSAorg]

How does considering genetic diversity of Bacillus cereus strains enhance exposure assessments in HTST pasteurized milk? Find out in a #JournalofDairyScience study from a @CornellCALS, @agsciences, @foodsafetyprof & @kovac_lab: https://t.co/JsOUzYH6fN

#DairyScience #SocietyPubs

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

Congratulations to our MS student Amelia Navarre for the 2nd place award in the graduate poster division at the Allegheny Branch of the American Society for Microbiology meeting! 👏🏻🎊

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

Catching up with the @USDA_NIFA #REEU program students at the annual meeting of the @ASMicrobiology Allegheny Branch where they present their summer research from @agsciences with mentors @microdudley @darr25ll @jwmc1987 @tyler_cc_ @Ashley0hstrom and Amelia Navarre

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

It was so amazing catching up with former students at the ASM NGS conference and learning about all the amazing things they are doing 🤩

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

@FDiniAndreote @huckinstitutes @agsciences @PSUPlantScience @erinlconnolly1 @PSUmBiome Congratulations!

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

🍏🧫We are pumped to hear from @penn_state #foodscience researcher Jasna Kovac @kovac_lab discussing the influence of microbiota on foodborne pathogen #Listera monocytogenes in food processing environments.

Can't make it? DM us for the zoom link! 💻

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

@icmsf @phagetype30 @michelledanyluk Congratulations, well deserved!

[Samuel Martins @samjmartins]

Excited to start on this multistate @USDA_NIFA project to investigate the impact of organic matter amendments on micro-predators & soil/plant health in collaboration w/ @triplettlr @jemersonmicro @BrahStevovo @Buckhout_Bull
@kovac_lab @dr_biogeek @whereswaldoben, Gorgo-Gourovitch

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

Research by Marysabel Mendez-Acevedo, Laura Rolon, and colleagues suggests that #Listeria monocytogenes persisted in a fruit packing facility for over five years and exhibited resistance to the concentration of sanitizer used in sanitation procedures: https://t.co/kVnrjEp7HA

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

I am deeply honored to have been selected to receive the ASM Award for Early Career Environmental Research. This recognition would not have been possible without my students and the incredible support of my family and colleagues.

[ASM @ASMicrobiology]

Congratulations to the 2025 ASM Awards and Prize recipients! We're honored to recognize your contributions to the advancement of the microbial sciences in the areas of research, education and leadership. Get acquainted with these outstanding awardees at https://t.co/6cN4dBi68a

[One Health Microbiome Center @PSUmBiome]

📢 We are Hiring!

The One Health Microbiome Center seeks a Research Project Manager to lead interdisciplinary projects, manage grants, and oversee outreach. Must have a Master’s/PhD in a related field. Apply now! #Microbiome #Research #Projectmanager 🧑‍💼

https://t.co/2bbRSXerzJ

[Kovac Lab @kovac_lab]

Join us today for a webinar on the topic of Understanding and Addressing #Biofilm Communities and Behavior in the Food Plant https://t.co/2uImgKg4aP