Matthew Jon Stasiewicz

Biography

He has done his Ph.D., Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, May 2015, M.S., Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, January 2011, B.S., Biosystems Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, May 2007.

Research Interest

Broadly, the Stasiewicz lab will focus on applying engineering and statistical approaches to applied food safety problems. While big-data and next-generation genomics tools are rapidly transforming biology, including food safety microbiology, it is by no means a given they will be appropriately utilized to address applied food safety problems; that appropriate application of modern tools is precisely the niche we will research and work in. Domestically, we will initially focus our efforts on improved methods for environmental monitoring of Salmonella and L. monocytogenes, the top two most burdensome bacterial foodborne pathogens in terms of costs of foodborne illness and deaths in the US. Specifically, we will seek to improve the use of whole genome sequencing approaches in conjunction with improved data analysis to elevate environmental monitoring from the outmoded model of a subordinate prerequisite in a HACCP program to a cornerstone of risk-based preventative control in modern, FMSA-sensitive world. Internationally, we will work on reducing mycotoxin in maize in developing world supply chains, as these largely under-studied, chronic food safety risks impact both cancer prevalence and likely childhood stunting among at-risk populations. Here context appropriate technology adaptation, such as the optical sorting technology we are working on, may have both large public health impacts, as well as high-profile opportunities for funding. Finally, we will regularly seek opportunities to apply a systems-approach to food safety, where there are still some low-hanging fruits for research work, such as in food waste.