Vishal Manjunatha
Ph.D. Candidate
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences Department
Office: 222 Graduate Station, Life Sciences Facility
Phone:
Email: vmanjun@clemson.edu
Educational Background
Educational Background
Ph.D. Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences
Clemson University 2023
M.S. Food Science
Drexel University 2018
B.E. Biotechnology
Visvesvaraya Technological University 2015
Courses Taught
MICR 4071 - Food and Dairy Microbiology Laboratory
MICR 2051 - Introductory Microbiology Laboratory
Profile
I am originally from Bengaluru, India and got my Undergraduate degree from Visvesvaraya Technological University in India. I moved to the United States in 2016 to pursue my Master’s degree in Food Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. My Master’s thesis was titled ‘Effect of cold plasma treatment on microbial load and quality of baby carrots’. My passion and strong desire for higher learning in Food Safety brought me to Clemson University. Under the guidance of Dr. Xiuping Jiang, I’m currently working on my dissertation titled ‘Exploring natural products for antibiotic free birds’. I also mentor Undergraduate students in my lab and serve as the lead Graduate Teaching Assistant for Introductory Microbiology, and Food and Dairy Microbiology laboratories in the Biological Sciences department. In addition to research and teaching, I’m actively involved with several professional associations such as Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Professional Manufacturing Confectioners Association (PMCA), American Society for Microbiology (ASM), United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA), and International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). Further, I serve as the President of the Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences Graduate Student Association and represent the Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences department as a Senator at the Graduate Student Government.
Research Interests
My research explores the use of Nigella sativa (black cumin), kefir, and bacteriophages alone or in combination in poultry feed or drinking water as alternatives to antibiotics in mitigating Necrotic Enteritis in the poultry industry and studying the impact of chicken diets containing rendered animal co-products vs. all-vegetarian feedstuffs. Further, my research also investigates how these natural treatments induce changes in intestinal microbiota of chickens infected with necrotic enteritis by high-throughput metagenomics analyses.
Publications
1. Bangar, S.P., Sandhu, K.S., Trif, M., Manjunatha, V. and Lorenzo, J.M., 2022. Germinated Barley Cultivars: Effect on Physicochemical and Bioactive Properties. Food Analytical Methods, pp.1-8.
2. Bangar, S.P., Purewal, S.S., Trif, M., Maqsood, S., Kumar, M., Manjunatha, V. and Rusu, A.V., 2021. Functionality and applicability of starch-based films: An eco-friendly approach. Foods, 10(9), p.2181.
3. Skariyachan, S., Manjunatha, V., Sultana, S., Jois, C., Bai, V. and Vasist, K.S., 2016. Novel bacterial consortia isolated from plastic garbage processing areas demonstrated enhanced degradation for low density polyethylene. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(18), pp.18307-18319.
Links
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