Jianghong Meng

RESEARCH FOCUS

• Food safety microbiology
• Molecular identification
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Pathogenicity of major foodborne pathogens including Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes

Curriculum Vitae

Education:

• Ph.D. in Comparative Pathology. University of California, Davis
• MPVM Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine. University of California, Davis
• DVM. Sichuan Agricultural University, China

Research Interests: Our research focuses on food safety microbiology. We are interested in molecular identification, antimicrobial resistance, and pathogenicity of major foodborne pathogens, including Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes.

Fellowships, Prizes, Awards and Honors:

• Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
• Fellow, International Association for Food Protection
• Commissioner’s Special Citation Award, the US Food & Drug Administration
• Outstanding Service Award, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food, US Department of Agriculture
• FDA/CFSAN Director’s Special Citation Award on Aquacultural Foods
• FDA/CFSAN Exceptional Achievement Award on Food Safety Practices at Retail
• The Dean Gordon Cairns Award for Distinguished Creative Work and Teaching in Agriculture, the UM College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• FDA/CFSAN Recognition Award on iRisk Development
• Fellow, Food Systems Leadership Institute, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities

Professional Service:

National and International committees/panels

• Steering Committee, Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance
• Microbiology Expert Committee, United States Pharmacopeia
• Steering Group, Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN), Asia Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC)
• National Research Council (NRC) Standing Committee of the National Academies on Use of Public Health Data in FSIS Food Safety Programs, 2008-2010 
• National Research Council (NRC) Committee of the National Academies for Review of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Risk-Based Approach to Public Health Attribution
• National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) of USDA, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, and the Department of Commerce
• National Program 108 Food Safety Postharvest – Molecular Biology and Methodology Panel/USDA Scientific Quality Review
• National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) of USDA, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, and the Department of Commerce
• Institute for Food Technologists (IFT) Expert Panel on Public Health Impact of Agricultural Uses of Antibiotics - Implications for the Food Industry
• National Program 108 Food Safety Program/USDA Scientific Quality Review
• Chair, International Expert Committee, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA)

Professional Societies

• American Society for Microbiology
• International Association of Food Protection           

Recent Publications:

• Chen, Z. and Meng, J., 2024. Illumina short read-based shotgun metagenomic data sets of simulated bacterial communities derived from fresh spinach and surface water. Microbiology Resource Announcements, pp.e0037524-e0037524.  https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00375-24
• Chen, Z., Moreno-Switt, A.I., Reyes-Jara, A., Delgado Suarez, E., Adell, A.D., Oliveira, C.J.B., Bonelli, R.R., Huang, X., Brown, E., Allard, M. and Grim, C., 2024. A multicenter genomic epidemiological investigation in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico reveals the diversity and persistence of Salmonella populations in surface waters. mBio, pp.e00777 24. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00777-24
• Chen Z, Grim CJ, Ramachandran P, Meng J. 2024. Advancing metagenome-assembled genome-based pathogen identification: unraveling the power of long-read assembly algorithms in Oxford Nanopore sequencing. Microbiol Spectr 0:e00117-24.  (https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00117-24)
• Piña-Iturbe, A., C. Díaz-Gavidia, F. P. Álvarez, R. Barron-Montenegro, D. M. Álvarez-Espejo, P. García, D. Solís, R. Constenla-Albornoz, M. Toro, J. Olivares-Pacheco, A. Reyes-Jara, J. Meng, R. L. Bell, A. I. Moreno-Switt.  2024. Genomic characterisation of the population structure and antibiotic resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis in Chile, 2009–2022, The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, 32:100711 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2024.100711)
• Chen Z, Toro M, Moreno-Switt AI, Adell AD, Delgado-Suárez EJ, Bonelli RR, Oliveira CJB, Reyes-Jara A, Huang X, Albee B, Grim CJ, Allard M, Tallent SM, Brown EW, Bell RL, Meng J. 2024. Unveiling the genomic landscape of Salmonella enterica serotypes Typhimurium, Newport, and Infantis in Latin American surface waters: a comparative analysis. Microbiol Spectr 0:e00047-24 (https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00047-24)
• Cao, G., S Zhao, D Kuang, CH Hsu, L Yin, Y Luo, Z Chen, X Xu, E Strain, P. McDermott, M. Allard, E. Brown, J. Meng & J. Zheng. 2023. Geography shapes the genomics and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis isolated from humans. Scientific Reports 13 (1), 1331. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24150-4
• Huang, X., D. L., Erickson, J., Meng. 2023. PhyloPlus: a Universal Tool for Phylogenetic Interrogation of Metagenomic Communities. Mbio 14 (1), e03455-22. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03455-22
• Chen, Z, and J. Meng. 2022. Critical Assessment of Short-Read Assemblers for the Metagenomic Identification of Foodborne and Waterborne Pathogens Using Simulated Bacterial Communities.  Microorganisms 10:2416. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10122416
• Rocha ADdL, Ferrari RG, Pereira WE, Lima LAd, Givisiez PEN, Moreno-Switt AI, Toro M, Suárez EJD, Meng J and Oliveira CJBd. 2022.  Revisiting the Biological Behavior of Salmonella enterica in Hydric Resources: A Meta-Analysis Study Addressing the Critical Role of Environmental Water on Food Safety and Public Health. Front. Microbiol. 13:802625. htps://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.802625
• Toro, M., D. Weller, R. Ramos, L. Diaz, F. P. Alvarez, A. Reyes-Jara, A. I. Moreno-Switt, J. Meng, A. D. Adell. 2022. Environmental and anthropogenic factors associated with the likelihood of detecting Salmonella in agricultural watersheds. Environmental Pollution, 306: 119298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119298
• Ballesteros-Nova, N. E., S. Sánchez, J. L. Steffani, L. C. Sierra, Z. Chen, F. A. Ruíz-López, R. L. Bell, E. A. Reed, M. Balkey, M. S. Rubio-Lozano, O. Soberanis-Ramos, F. Barona-Gómez, E. W. Brown, M. W. Allard, J. Meng, E. J. Delgado-Suárez. 2022. Genomic Epidemiology of Salmonella enterica Circulating in Surface Waters Used in Agriculture and Aquaculture in Central Mexico.  Applied and Environmental Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02149-21
• Toro, M., Williams-Vergara, J., Solar, C., Quesille-Villalobos, A.M., Kwon, H.J., Navarrete, P., Meng, J., Chen, Y., Reyes-Jara, A. 2022.  Evaluation of the Persistence and Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes in Foodservice Operations. Foods, 11, 886. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11060886
• Collins, K. T., S. Karanth, P.M.K. Njage, J. Meng, A. K. Pradhan. 2022. Machine learning-based predictive modeling to identify genotypic traits associated with Salmonella enterica disease endpoints in isolates from ground chicken. LWT. 154:112701 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2021.112701
• Karanth, S., C. K. Tanui, J. Meng, A. K. Pradhan. 2022. Exploring the predictive capability of advanced machine learning in identifying severe disease phenotype in Salmonella enterica Food Research International. 151:110817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2021.110817
• Wang Z, Zhu T, Chen Z, Meng J, Simpson DJ, Gänzle MG. 2021. Genetic determinants of stress resistance in desiccated Salmonella enterica. Appl Environ Microbiol 87: e01683-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01683 -2.
• Bell, R.L., J. A. Kase, L.M. Harrison, K.V. Balan, U. Babu, Y. Chen, D. Macarisin, H. Kwon, J. Zheng, E. L. Stevens, J. Meng and E. W. Brown. 2021. The Persistence of Bacterial Pathogens in Surface Water and Its 2 Impact on Global Food Safety. Pathogens. 10:1391. https://doi.org/10.3390/ pathogens10111391.
• Díaz, L., S. Gutierrez, A. Moreno-Switt, L. Hervé, C. Hamilton-West, N. Padola, P. Navarrete, A. Reyes-Jara, J. Meng, N. González-Escalona, and M. Toro. 2021. Diversity of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Cattle from Central and Southern Chile. Animals. 11:2388. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082388
• Huang, X., X. Yang, X. Shi, D.L. Erickson, T.G. Nagaraja, and J. Meng. 2021. Whole-genome sequencing analysis of uncommon Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli from cattle: virulence gene profiles, antimicrobial resistance predictions, and identification of novel O-serogroups.  Food Microbiology.
• Chen, Z., D.J, Erickson, J. Meng. 2021.  Polishing the Oxford Nanopore Long-Read Assemblies of Bacterial Pathogens with Illumina Short Reads to Improve Genomic Analyses. Genomics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.03.018