Genomic Detective Work

People, Parasites and Plagues

According to the CDC, Salmonella bacteria cause over a million infections each year, and over 400 deaths in the US alone. While most of outbreaks are caused by contaminated food, some are linked to other sources such as wild or domestic birds, raccoons and even small turtles. But just how is an outbreak of Salmonella traced to its source? Our guest today can help us understand this process of molecular detective work. Dr. Nikki Shariat is an assistant professor in the Department of Population Health at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Her areas of research include molecular epidemiology of bacterial foodborne pathogens using metagenomics with a particular focus on Salmonella population dynamics in food animals and in the environment.