The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) is now accepting applications for its Investigative Workshop,
"Modeling Contamination of Fresh Produce," to be held April 24-25, 2014,
at NIMBioS.
*Objectives: *Food borne diseases associated with fresh produce continue
to cause serious difficulties for public health in North America. As
globalization has broadened the food supply chain and increased its
complexity, more sophisticated methods of surveillance are needed at key
links to ensure the safety of fresh produce. In particular, recent
studies have identified the sanitization juncture as well as packaging
and shipping as important players that can promote contamination or even
cross-contamination of produce. Focusing on each of these areas, our
investigative workshop will pursue four goals:
* Develop novel models that capture contamination and pathogen growth
dynamics involved in sanitization, packaging and shipping.
* Discuss and develop multi-scale models that connect these supply
chain links to form a global picture.
* Explore how these new models can aid in more relevant data
collection to test and inform model predictions at both the local
and global levels.
* Provide a venue for collaboration among mathematical modelers, food
technologists, statisticians, microbiologists, and industrial and
government agency representatives in order to synthesize knowledge
in a way that establishes modeling as an indispensable tool for
pathogen surveillance and control in the fresh produce industry.
*Location: *NIMBioS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
*Co-Organizers: *Yaguang Luo, Environmental Microbial and Food Safety
Lab, USDA, and Daniel Munther, Mathematics, Cleveland State Univ.
For more information about the workshop and a link to the online
application form, go to http://www.nimbios.org/workshops/WS_produce.html
Participation in the workshop is by application only. Individuals with a
strong interest in the topic are encouraged to apply, and successful
applicants will be notified within two weeks of the application
deadline. If needed, financial support for travel, meals, and lodging is
available for workshop attendees.
*Application deadline:* January 20, 2014
The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) (http://www.nimbios.org) brings together researchers from
around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to
investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life
sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture with additional support from The University of Tennessee,
Knoxville.
*****************************
Catherine Crawley, Ph.D.
Communications Manager
National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)
University of Tennessee
1122 Volunteer Blvd, Ste. 106
Knoxville, TN 37996
e ccrawley from nimbios.org <mailto:ccrawley from nimbios.org>
t +1 865 974 9350 <tel:%2B1%20865%20974%209350>
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