Dr. Brendan A. Niemira is the Research Leader of the Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research Unit at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, PA. He leads a team of 30+ scientists, engineers, technicians, postdocs and students in developing tools to kill human pathogens - E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella, norovirus, etc. - on produce, meats, poultry, shellfish, and other foods. In addition to supervising scientific and administrative staff and setting short- and long-term research priorities, Dr. Niemira represents his team and USDA-ARS to the public and to stakeholders in domestic and international interactions. His personal research focuses on the development and validation of cold plasma, high intensity monochromatic light, irradiation and other nonthermal and precision thermal treatments for inactivation of human pathogens on fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Niemira is the co-editor and author of a well-regarded reference text and holds one patent. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed research articles, book chapters, and critical reviews. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Food Technologists and is a member of the International Association for Food Protection and the American Society for Microbiology. He is a member of the editorial boards for "Applied and Environmental Microbiology" and "Journal of Food Protection