Dr. Steven Bowden

The Bowden research group is focused on the area of food safety microbiology. The researchers study foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella enterica, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. They use genomics and functional genomics methods to identify bacterial genes that contribute to pathogen persistence in foods and food environments. In particular, they use transposon sequencing (TnSeq) as a method to identify these genes. Finally, the lab is interested in bacteriophages as natural tools to kill foodborne pathogens; this includes studying bacteriophage genomes.