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Tuskegee University Research Team Awarded $750,000 Grant to Identify Salmonella in Poultry Plants
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Tuskegee University Research Team Awarded $750,000 Grant to Identify Salmonella in Poultry Plants
Anissa Riley17 March 2026
2 minute read
Contact: Anissa Riley, College of Veterinary Medicine
Abebe, Samuel, and Oranye
A team of Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members have been awarded a three-year, $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to help poultry processors identify contamination risks earlier and improve food safety management across the production continuum.
Dr. Woubit Abebe, the principal investigator for the grant, is a Professor of Pathobiology and Director of the Center for Food Animal Health, Food Safety, and Food Defense in the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM). Her laboratory’s research within the Center focuses on improving food animal health, food safety, and food defense in the State of Alabama, while also supporting the broader agricultural industry.
“Our project aims to strengthen TUCVM’s research capacity while developing innovative, rapid, and highly sensitive tools for detecting and characterizing Salmonella across the food production continuum,” said Dr. Abebe, who serves as project director. Dr. Temesgen Samuel, Associate Dean for Research and Advanced Studies and Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Dr. Nelson Oranye, an Associate Professor in the Department of Graduate Public Health are co-project directors.
The project will deploy GenoPATHx, a rapid molecular detection platform with machine learning–based predictive tools to enable detection and forecasting of Salmonella in poultry processing plants.
A portion of the grant, $560,000, will support research at Tuskegee University, with remaining shared to support researchers from five additional universities and federal partners, including:
Renata Ivanek, Cornell University
Ilias Tagkopoulos, University of California, Davis
Evangelyn Alocilija, Michigan State University
Matthew Stasiewicz, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Stephen Brown, USDA-NIFA/NSF AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems, University of California, Davis
“Dr. Abebe and her team are to be commended for the scientific contributions they are making to improve food safety, animal health, and human health,” said Dr. Ebony Gilbreath, Dean of the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine. “We are proud of the innovative and meaningful work being conducted by Dr. Abebe and other researchers in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Their laboratories focus on diseases and preventative strategies that support the well-being of both animal and human populations.”
“Our researchers embody the One Health triad, which highlights the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health,” Dean Gilbreath added. “They consistently demonstrate that the research conducted at Tuskegee University makes a significant impact on the world.”
