![[Dept. of Food Science]](http://njaes.rutgers.edu/_common/images/subheads/foodscience.gif "[Dept. of Food Science]"){kind=small}
Kristin Jackson - Editorial Assistant and Technician
I have been working for Dr. Schaffner since May 1999. I started out as the technician on a hand-washing project, and have since taken over managing the lab’s two databases and the secretarial duties. I also edit and proof read all manuscripts that are generated in the lab. I am now the lead technician on the Dining Services Food Microbiology Risk Reduction Project, and also manage a new hand-washing project.
| Silvia Dominguez - Graduate Student: I am originally from Peru and joined Dr. Schaffner’s lab in September 2004. I got my M.S. degree in 2006 with a poultry spoilage project, specifically developing a model for Pseudomonas spp. growth on raw poultry over a variety of temperatures. I am currently a PhD candidate and the senior student in the lab, which involves a lot of responsibilities. My research now is related to the growth of Salmonella spp. in raw poultry and includes modeling and risk assessment stages. I really enjoy being a part of this lab! |  |
| Karla Mendoza-Morales - Graduate Student: I started working in Dr. Schaffner’s Lab in May 2004. My research project is focused on the validation of existing mathematical models to predict the growth of Clostridium botulinum in ground beef. Working with such pathogenic microorganism hasn’t been easy since it is a strict anaerobe, spore-forming, and capable to produce the most potent neurotoxin but luckily we have the appropriate facilities and equipment to handle it. It has been definitely a great learning experience throughout all these years. |  |
| Wenjing Pan - Graduate Student: I joined Dr Schaffner’s lab in April, 2007. I am a Chinese graduate student from Molecular Biosciences Program. I will be working on the dining hall services and the growth model of Salmonella in cut tomato in the future. Although I do not have enough background in food science, I am very interested in the lab research and happy to be a lab member. | picture coming soon |
| Alyssa Cocchiara - Undergraduate Student: I began working in Dr. Schaffner's Lab in the spring 2007 semester. I was introduced to the lab by the Douglass Project class, Introduction to Scientific Research. Throughout the semester I investigated the holding time and temperatures effect on the microbial quality of dining hall waffle batter. I am very grateful that Dr. Schaffner has given me an opportunity to learn hands-on about microbiology and work one-on-one with such great graduate students to design my experiments. |  |
| David Sworkin - Undergraduate Student: I'm currently a rising sophomore here at Cook College, majoring in Food Science Research and on the pre-medicine track. I've had an amazing first year and made a lot of new friends here at Rutgers, and I'm excited to experience in Dr. Schaffner's lab what food science research is really like. I'm currently working helping on a project with Alyssa and Mansi to test the rates of bacterial growth in the dining halls' waffle batter at different temperatures and different stages of preparation. I enjoy working in this lab and I hope to continue during the Fall 2007 semester. |  |
| Mansi Shah - Undergraduate Student: I was introduced to Dr. Schaffner’s research through participating in a research mixture. In the lab, I am involved with testing the micro bacterial activity of the dinning hall waffle batter at various temperatures and holding times. I want to thank Dr. Schaffner for giving me this opportunity to learn and gain valuable hands on experience. I also want to thank all the graduate students and the staff members for helping me in developing my experiments. In future, I hope to use the skills gained through working at this lab to create my own experiments and further explore the field of microbiology. |  |