Team Members
Vikas Kumar Galipothu Ph.D. Student
Vikas Kumar Galipothu Ph.D. Student
Vikas Kumar Galipothu Ph.D. Student
Vikas received a bachelor’s degree and Masters in Horticulture from Dr. Y.S.R. Horticultural University, India. His master's research focused on the post-harvest physiology of flower crops. His interest in Horticulture, emphasizing post-harvest technology and fresh produce safety, led him to Dr. Bhullar in the fall of 2023. While pursuing a Ph.D. in Horticulture, his research focuses on developing novel sanitation strategies to control Listeria biofilms in the organic produce industry.
Markanna Moore Ph.D. Student
Vikas Kumar Galipothu Ph.D. Student
Vikas Kumar Galipothu Ph.D. Student
Markanna received a bachelor's degree in agribusiness economics & management and a M.S. in agriculture and resource economics from the University of Arizona. She has worked with global supply chain standards and agribusiness companies, where she was introduced to the great potential of urban and controlled environment agriculture. Her interest in efficient and sustainable food production led her to Dr. Bhullar and Dr. Yang's lab in the fall of 2022, while pursuing an M.S. in horticulture with an emphasis on urban food systems. Her research focuses on investigating the microbial food safety risks in hydroponic systems and the impact of ultraviolet light on postharvest quality outcomes in those systems.
Comfort Kafui Afra Kwamikorkor, MS Student
Comfort Kafui Afra Kwamikorkor, MS Student
Comfort Kafui Afra Kwamikorkor, MS Student
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Kafui obtained her bachelor’s degree in food science and technology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. She worked with Nestle Ghana, Tema factory, as a Material Requirement Planner where she was responsible for purchasing quality and safe raw materials for Nestlé’s production. Her interest in food safety led her path into Dr. Bhullar’s lab in the Fall of 2023. Currently, her research focuses on evaluating the antimicrobial efficacy of electrostatic spraying to enhance food-contact surface disinfection, produce safety and quality.
Durga Khadka, MS Student
Comfort Kafui Afra Kwamikorkor, MS Student
Comfort Kafui Afra Kwamikorkor, MS Student
Durga received a bachelor’s degree in public health and a master’s in sociology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She worked in the non-profit sector related to nutrition and food security in rural areas of Nepal. She joined Dr. Bhullar and Dr. Pliakoni’s lab to pursue an M.S. program in horticulture, emphasizing urban food systems in fall 2021. Her research is focused on investigating the effect of innovative produce-labeling technology on the quality and safety of horticultural produce. Additionally, her research will evaluate the consumer acceptability of such produce-labeling technology.
Recent GraDUAtes
Olivia Haley, Ph.D. Student (graduated in 2023)
Olivia Haley, Ph.D. Student (graduated in 2023)
Olivia Haley, Ph.D. Student (graduated in 2023)
Olivia obtained a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences from the University of South Carolina and an MSc. in Plant Sciences from McGill University. Before joining the Bhullar Lab, Olivia worked as a Laboratory Lead for a food microbiology testing laboratory, where she gained insight into critical food safety needs in the produce industry. She joined the Bhullar lab in Fall 2020 as a Ph.D. student and served as the Lab Manager. Olivia’s work focused on investigating ultraviolet radiation for the disinfection of agricultural water and fresh produce surfaces and UV-induced hormesis for the post-harvest quality enhancement of fresh produce. On a personal note, she is passionate about food safety and loved the Bhullar lab’s outdoor sampling adventures! Currently, she is working as a post-doctoral fellow at USDA ARS.
Yeqi Zhao, MS Student (graduated in 2022)
Olivia Haley, Ph.D. Student (graduated in 2023)
Olivia Haley, Ph.D. Student (graduated in 2023)
Yeqi received a B.A. in Horticulture from Iowa State University and joined the Bhullar lab in Fall 2020 as an M.S. student in Horticulture, emphasizing Urban Food Systems. Yeqi’s work focused on the microbial quality of agricultural source water. Her projects involved identifying the critical needs of Kansas and Missouri produce growers for extension education purposes to improve agricultural water quality and microbial source tracking studies to identify the source(s) of fecal contamination of surface waters. Yeqi is working as a technical expert at Novogene, a company based in Beijing, China.