Food Safety for a Global Economy: Doctoral Training Program with a Focus on International Food Safety

Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
Food safety continues to be a significant concern in the US and worldwide. With expanding global trade, the problem of unsafe imported foods has become more acute. Finding long term solutions for the safety of imported foods requires innovative approaches, including training a cadre of experts able to tackle the unique food safety risks of a globally integrated world. In response to this need of strategic national importance, we will develop a doctoral training program focused on international food safety. The main elements of this program are: a core curriculum to provide fundamental knowledge, supplemented with appropriate electives; a multidisciplinary thesis research project; special international study periods supported by IRTA awards; experiential learning opportunities in the US including teaching and industry experience; and a comprehensive mentoring and advising program. Efforts will be made to recruit and retain outstanding doctoral fellows, with a special focus on recruitment of minorities and underrepresented groups. This multi-disciplinary graduate training program will provide fellows with a unique range of theoretical food safety knowledge and experiential learning opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. Cornell?s unique resources, world-class teaching and research expertise and facilities in food safety and international agriculture will ensure the creation of a strong graduate training program. We will train three Ph.D. scholars uniquely prepared to undertake leadership roles in the U.S. food industry, government & regulatory agencies or academia, and deal with food safety challenges in a dynamic international context.
<P>
Approach:<br/>
We will use and integrate Cornell's unique resources, the world-class teaching and research expertise and facilities in food science, food microbiology and safety, epidemiology, veterinary medicine, and international agriculture to create a strong training program for the selected National Needs (NN) fellows. This will include both research and courses, but also a range of unique experiential learning opportunities. In particular, through the IRTAs requested as part of this proposal, and with additional support from Cornell resources, the three fellows will have up to one semester of international experiential learning built into their program. We have established collaborative agreements with representatives from academia and industry in several countries that are US trade partners, including China, Mexico, India, Brazil and Thailand. In addition, existing collaborative efforts established by the program faculty will facilitate the development of a unique mentoring environment for the future fellows.