Category: Animal and Food Sciences
A taste for food science
January 15, 2025 Written by Molly Schafer | Photos by Katie Young and courtesy of Kaitlin Smith
Graduate student Kaitlin Smith combines her love of plants with a passion for food science
When opportunity knocks, food science graduate student Kaitlin Smith answers. Now pursuing her second degree, the Blue Hen takes advantage of all the 91原创 offers.聽
As an undergraduate in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), Smith completed a cheese-making internship at 91原创airy Creamery and later worked in ice cream production. She was an Ag Ambassador, a Blue Hen Ambassador, and a member of Sigma Alpha, a professional agricultural sorority, the Horticulture Club and the Food Science Club.
During her senior year, funding from the Food Science Club enabled Smith to travel to Chicago for the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) conference. She was amazed by what she experienced.
鈥淚 felt like a kid in a candy store,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淭here were hundreds of companies giving out their products. I listened to all these people talk about their products, things I could not have dreamed of.鈥
When 91原创鈥檚 Food Microbiology (ANFS 439) course with Kali Kniel, professor of microbial food safety, piqued her interest in research, Smith saw an opportunity.聽
鈥淚 decided to return to 91原创 for my master鈥檚 degree because I wanted experience in research,鈥 Smith elaborated. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do undergraduate research. Even though it was an option, I did not take that route.鈥
Kniel also served as Smith鈥檚 undergraduate academic advisor.
鈥淜aitlin wanted to continue to advance her scientific knowledge by conducting research for a master's degree in food science,鈥 said Kniel. 鈥淎ssessing food safety risks and studying new technologies that might reduce food safety risks in hydroponically grown vegetables seemed like a perfect fit for Kaitlin.鈥
Students admitted to the Thesis M.S. in Food Science program receive support via research or teaching assistantships. The position includes 12 months of competitive stipend support each year, a tuition waiver, and access to discounted health insurance. Smith accepted a research assistantship in the Kniel Lab, which explores food safety and public health issues involving the transmission of viruses, protozoa and pathogenic bacteria.聽
Now in her second year as a graduate student, Smith is in the lab every day.
鈥淥ur lab is beautiful, and it's kept clean and pristine,鈥 said Smith of the Kniel Lab in Worrilow Hall, CANR鈥檚 recently renovated, state-of-the-art laboratory facility. 鈥淲e have autoclaves to ensure sterility, which we use every day, and we run PCR [polymerase chain reaction] tests to confirm the detection of microorganisms from the environmental samples.鈥
Smith and her lab colleagues are part of an effort to improve food safety through bacterial surveillance. Every lab member works on a different aspect of the project.
鈥淲e receive confidential water, soil, and swab samples from farms in Delaware and test them for different microorganisms,鈥 Smith explained. 鈥淲e report our findings to the farmers to help ensure they are producing food safely.鈥
Smith is also busy with her own research into mitigating cross-contamination in hydroponics. In most hydroponic systems, roots from individual plants touch the same water. Smith compares this system to one in which a robotic arm waters separated individual plants.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e testing lettuce to see if robotic arm watering and individual plants will reduce cross-contamination of E.coli bacteria if it were to enter a system,鈥 Smith elaborated.聽
鈥淲e inoculate some plants with bacteria. The remaining plants are our control plants,鈥 Smith continued. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at the control plants to see if bacteria are on them when harvested.鈥
When Smith removes the plants from the system, she samples and tests for bacteria and then compares the difference between regular and robotic arm watering.聽
Smith conducts her research in 91原创鈥檚 Fischer Greenhouse, a professionally managed suite of glasshouses and growth chambers located steps away from the labs and classrooms.
鈥淚鈥檒l walk to the greenhouse to work with the lettuce plants, and then I'll bring them back to the lab to do bacterial analysis,鈥 Smith said.
Smith chose to study food science because food will always be in demand.聽
鈥淔or me, that was one of the bigger reasons to go into this field; I know there will always be jobs available,鈥 she said.
Smith also appreciates that food science is a broad field.
鈥淭here are many different things you can do in food science,鈥 Smith elaborated. 鈥淚 love plants, so I combined plant science with food science. But you could go a different route; there are a lot of fields that work with food science. I felt I could take food science in any direction I wanted.鈥
As a graduate student, Smith still finds time to socialize and add experiences to her resume. Every semester, she is a teaching assistant for an undergraduate food science class and is a member of the Graduate Student Council. The council plans events for master鈥檚 students to get out of the lab and socialize. Events range from decorating gingerbread houses to learning how to manage a professional LinkedIn page.
In July, Smith and the members of the Kniel Lab attended the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) conference in Long Beach, California. Kniel spoke and Smith presented a research poster on her hydroponics research.
鈥淪everal people took my business card and asked about collaborating with me,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淚t was amazing to see how much is going on in the world of food science and that I can be part of it.鈥
Through her research assistantship, Smith has hands-on learning opportunities in lab techniques, time management, and thinking on your feet.
鈥淭he privilege of being a faculty is watching students grow,鈥 said Kniel. 鈥淚 had the privilege of watching Kaitlin grow academically in her interests in agriculture and food product development together with her passion and love of plants.鈥
Smith says the hands-on learning opportunities gained through her research assistantship have been invaluable.
鈥淚 have appreciated learning lab techniques, different ways to use each machine, techniques with the pipettes, and time management in the lab,鈥 Smith said.
鈥淒r. Kniel taught me how to keep a level head when something goes wrong,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淭his degree has prepared me for a job in many ways.鈥
Learn more about graduate programs in the 91原创 Department of Animal and Food Sciences.