Research Group

I am Ph.D. Research Assistant at the School of Food Science, Washington State University, Pullman. I was born and brought up in Punjab, a northwestern state of India. I completed my bachelor’s in technology in Dairy Technology from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, India in 2018. I joined Dr. Michael’s lab group in fall 2018 as an M.S. student. My MS thesis work was focused on survival and thermal resistance of Salmonella in milk powders during extended storage. After completing my M.S. in May 2020, I started my Ph.D. with Dr. Michael in fall 2020. My Ph.D. research work is focused on hyperspectral imaging: a potential novel tool for rapid identification of pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus in food.

Besides my thesis research work, I have also worked on various other lab projects, including validation of the drying, and baking step for controlling foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus in various food matrices such as brownie batter, cranberry pomace, and hotcake batter. Furthermore, I have experience in conducting thermal inactivation studies (D-and z-values) of low water activity foods such as milk powders, hotcake batter, cornmeal flour, etc. In addition to that, I have also worked on the incorporation of gas nanobubbles to increase the efficacy of commonly used antimicrobials (PAA, lactic acid, citric acid) against Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. 

I’m Alex, a Master’s of food science student at Washington State University. I earned my B.S. in Agricultural Science from the University of Nevada – Reno. Also, I have a long history practicing culinary sciences. I’ve always been passionate about food: how it’s grown, processed, prepared, and especially consumed. I started working under the mentorship of Dr. Michael in Spring of 2022. My project is addressing the late-blow defect observed in the canned cheeses at the WSU Creamery. I aim to identify the microbe responsible and explore potential solutions to mitigate cheese spoilage.