Siyun Wang

University of British Columbia

Topic: Application of big data in food safety research

Time: Dec. 15, 2017, 9:00am

Place: the No.3 lecture hall on the third floor of the conference center.

Introduction to Siyun Wang

Siyun received her B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Fudan University (2005) and Ph.D. degree in Biology from the Institute for Food Safety and Health at Illinois Institute of Technology (2010). She was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University from 2010 to 2012. In 2013, Dr. Siyun Wang joined University of British Columbia as an Assistant Professor of Food Safety Engineering at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, where she conducts research on microbial safety in the Ulrich Freybe Food Safety Laboratory.Dr. Wang has published over 20 high quality papers in international peer-reviewed journals. She received various awards, such as young scientist award for American Society of Microbiology, Fundamental science research award for National Science Foundation, Distinguish research award for European Food Safety Authority. She is the editorial board member of Current Opinion in Food Science and the provincial replicative of British Columbia for International Association for Food Protection.

Abstract:

Food safety is a priority for all stakeholders associated with the food supply and consumption. Outbreaks and recalls caused by microbial pathogens are widely attributed to contaminated foods, and lead to considerable public health and economic burdens.This talk will present major current trends in food safety research, regulation and strategic development, empowered by the use of big data. While some of the technologies discussed are receiving increasing recognition around the world (e.g., Whole Genome Sequencing), others are still at their infancy in regards to their application in food safety. The establishment of relevant, valid and multi-dimensional databases is the key to effective application of many new trends in food safety.

(School of Food and Biological Engineering)