Mary Anne Amalaradjou, Ph.D. University of Connecticut

Mary Anne Amalaradjou, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

  • Storrs CT UNITED STATES
  • George White Building 212B
  • Animal Science

Mary Anne Amalaradjou is a microbiologist with laboratory work focused on food safety and gut health

Contact More Open options

Biography

Dr. Amalaradjou's research primarily focuses on food safety and gut health. Specifically, her research is targeted toward understanding pathogen survival and persistence along the food chain, their virulence attributes, and the application of probiotics to control foodborne pathogens. She also studies the efficacy of currently applied intervention (hurdle) technologies to reduce pathogen transmission during pre- and post-harvest processing of fresh produce, meat, and dairy products. Beyond controlling pathogens in food systems, her research also investigates the potential application of probiotics and functional foods in the prevention and treatment of gut pathologies.

Through all aspects of her research, Dr. Amalaradjou's main objective is to improve food safety and promote public health. Her research program is funded by intramural (UConn Research Excellence Program and Storrs Agricultural Experimental Stations- USDA NIFA HATCH) and extramural funding agencies including the Center for Produce Safety, USDA, NSF, and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture.

Areas of Expertise

Inflammation
Microbiome
Gut Health
Probiotics
Food Safety
Virulence
Diet
Pathogens

Education

University of Connecticut

Ph.D.

Animal Science

2010

Area of Concentration: Food Microbiology

University of Connecticut

M.S.

Animal Science

2009

Indian Veterinary Research Institute

M.S.

Animal Biochemistry

2004

Pondicherry University

D.V.M.

Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry

2002

Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Veterinary Education and Research (RIVER)

Accomplishments

2016 FFAR New Innovator Award Winner

New Innovator in Nutrition and Healthy Food Choices - Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research 2016

Social

Media

Media Appearances

Here’s How Long Shelf-Stable Pantry Items Actually Last

Self  online

2023-02-24

“[The date] can help the consumer know the time limit to purchase the product or use by for its peak quality,” Mary Anne Amalaradjou, PhD, an associate professor of food microbiology at the University of Connecticut, tells SELF. After that date passes, she says, an unopened product should still be safe to consume if stored and handled properly—it just might not taste as good as it did within the date’s time frame. Once you open the package, it’s a different story: The life span of many ingredients falls drastically, sometimes to just a few days.

View More

Peaches Recalled Nationwide After 101 Sickened, 17 Hospitalized Across North America

iGrow  online

2020-08-25

There are numerous points along any supply chain where fruits and vegetables can be infected with illness-causing bacteria. This can happen anywhere from farm fields, where animal feces can spread disease to produce; to processing plants that fail to properly sanitize equipment; to one’s own home, where raw meat or eggs can cross-contaminate with other groceries, said Mary Anne Amalaradjou, an associate professor of food microbiology at the University of Connecticut “All of these factors can play a role in how salmonella can get into food and how it gets into us,” she said. In the past, Amalardjou has studied this particular outbreak strain and its ability to survive in mangos, finding that Salmonella Enteritidis can stay alive inside fruit for multiple days, and can remain on surfaces even after washing.

View More

Cinnamon for Urinary Tract Infections

Live Strong  online

2018-11-28

A 2010 study in the "Journal of Urology" looked at trans-cinnamaldehyde as a possible antibacterial agent against hospital urinary catheter infections. The bacteria most responsible to urinary tract infections, E. coli, was the infective agent used for the laboratory test. According to lead author Mary Anne Amalaradjou, graduate student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Connecticut, cinnamaldehyde prevented the growth of E. coli and had no toxic effects on bladder cells. A 1996 study reported in the "American Journal of Chinese Medicine" conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Brooklyn tested cinnamon against fluconazole-resistant candida...

View More

RESEARCH PROJECT: UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION THROUGH BIOMICS

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research  print

2017-07-01

Take a peek inside the lab of microbiologist Mary Anne Roshni Amalaradjou, Ph.D., an assistant professor at University of Connecticut and 2016 FFAR New Innovator Award Winner. We set out to discover what Dr. Amalaradjou is working on and how her work will impact food science. What are your research interests? I’m a microbiologist and I’m really into bugs – not the creepy crawly ones, but the ones you can’t see. I’m especially interested in addressing foodborne illnesses and how probiotics can improve gut health. There is a complex relationship between our bodies, disease, and foodborne illnesses. Microbiology is a fascinating area where you can study how the body responds to different pathogens and how gut health can impact overall health...

View More

US: Trials aim to shed light on wash-water disinfectants for mangoes

Fresh Produce Safety Centre  online

2016-04-01

But there’s little, if any, published literature that examines those same interactions in a mango packing facility, said Mary Anne Amalaradjou, DVM, PhD, and an assistant professor of animal science at the University of Connecticut in Storrs...

View More

Mango study evaluates wash water disinfectants

The Packer  online

2015-12-21

The research by Mary Anne Amalaradjou, assistant professor of animal science at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, is funded by the National Mango Board and the Center for Produce Safety. Amalaradjou is examining the impact of disinfectants on salmonella transfer...

View More

A Closer Look - Trials aim to shed light on wash-water

Center for Produce Safety  online

2015-12-17

Several studies have been published that examine the interactions among water, disinfectants, organic matter and pathogens with various types of produce in packinghouse wash water. But there’s little, if any, published literature that examines those same interactions in a mango packing facility, said Mary Anne Amalaradjou, DVM, PhD, and an assistant professor of animal science at the University of Connecticut in Storrs...

View More

Research Grants

Early and sustained application of probiotics to promote growth, gut microbiome establishment and intestinal function in broiler chicken

USDA SAES Capacity Grant

2018-2021 PD

NE1442: Poultry production systems and well-being: sustainability for tomorrow

USDA SAES Multistate Research Project

2018-2019 Co-PD

Improving the microbiological safety of sprouts

USDA-NIFA

2017-2020 PD

Listeria monocytogenes growth and survival on peaches and nectarines as influenced by stone fruit packing house operations, storage and transportation conditions

CPS/CDFA

2017-2018 PD

Understanding nutrition through biomics

FFAR New Innovator Award

2016-2019 PD

Articles

Oral supplementation of trans‐cinnamaldehyde reduces uropathogenic Escherichia coli colonization in a mouse model

Letters in Applied Microbiology

2017 Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the United States result in more than 7 million hospital visits per year. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is responsible for more than 80% of UTIs. Although antibiotics are the drug of choice to control UTIs, their repeated use has resulted in the emergence of antibiotic‐resistant UPEC. Thus, there is a need for effective alternate strategies to control UPEC infections. This study investigated the efficacy of trans‐cinnamaldehyde (TC), a food‐grade molecule present in cinnamon, in reducing UPEC colonization and pathogenesis in the lower UTI. Female C57BL/6 mice (6–8 weeks old) were fed ad libitum with 0, 0·1, 0·2 and 0·4% TC containing mouse chow for 10 days. Following TC supplementation, animals were experimentally infected with UPEC by transurethral catheterization. Mice were euthanized on days 1, 2 and 4 postinfection, and the bladder, urethra and urine were collected for bacterial enumeration. Prophylactic TC supplementation significantly (P ≤ 0·05) reduced UPEC colonization in the urinary bladder and urethra compared to the control. Results indicate that TC could potentially be used as an oral supplement to control UPEC‐associated lower UTIs, however, follow‐up clinical trials are warranted.

view more

Chapter One - Antivirulence Properties of Probiotics in Combating Microbial Pathogenesis

Advances in Applied Microbiology

2017 Probiotics are nonpathogenic microorganisms that confer a health benefit on the host when administered in adequate amounts. Ample evidence is documented to support the potential application of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of infections. Health benefits of probiotics include prevention of diarrhea, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea and traveler's diarrhea, atopic eczema, dental carries, colorectal cancers, and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. The cumulative body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the beneficial effects of probiotics on health and disease prevention has made probiotics increasingly important as a part of human nutrition and led to a surge in the demand for probiotics in clinical applications and as functional foods.

view more

Controlling the Graphene–Bio Interface: Dispersions in Animal Sera for Enhanced Stability and Reduced Toxicity

American Chemical Society

2017 Liquid phase exfoliation of graphite in six different animal sera and evaluation of its toxicity are reported here. Previously, we reported the exfoliation of graphene using proteins, and here we extend this approach to complex animal fluids. A kitchen blender with a high-turbulence flow gave high quality and maximum exfoliation efficiency in all sera tested, when compared to the values found with shear and ultrasonication methods. Raman spectra and electron microscopy confirmed the formation of three- or four-layer, submicrometer size graphene, independent of the serum used. Graphene prepared in serum was directly transferred to cell culture media without post-treatments. Contrary to many reports, a nanotoxicity study of this graphene fully dispersed to human embryonic kidney cells, human lung cancer cells, and nematodes.

view more

Antimicrobial Food Additives and Disinfectants: Mode of Action and Microbial Resistance Mechanisms

Food Borne Pathogens and Antibiotic Resistance

2017 Beyond the need for microbial control in human and animal medicine, there exists a significant requirement for pathogen exclusion in the food industry. In this regard, the food industry has been using a variety of non‐antibiotic based antimicrobials, including additives and disinfectants for controlling foodborne spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. In fact, some of these antimicrobial additives such as salt, nitrites and sulfites have been in use for 50–100 years. Despite the long history of usage of non‐-antibiotic antimicrobials in foods, there is little information on the development of microbial resistance to these antimicrobials (Davidson and Harrison, 2002). However, increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance among pathogens and the reliance on non‐antibiotic based antimicrobials as major hurdles to microorganisms in foods raise concerns over the potential for development of microbial resistance to these non‐antibiotics.

view more

Inactivation of Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms on polystyrene, stainless steel, and urinary catheters by octenidine dihydrochloride

Frontiers in Microbiology

2016 Acinetobacter baumannii is a major nosocomial pathogen causing human infections with significant mortality rates. In most cases, infections are acquired through exposure to A. baumannii biofilms that persist on contaminated hospital equipment and surfaces. Thus, it is imperative to develop effective measures for controlling A. baumannii biofilms in nosocomial settings. This study investigated the efficacy of octenidine dihydrochloride (OH), a new generation disinfectant for reducing A. baumannii biofilms on polystyrene, stainless steel and catheters. OH at 0.3% (5 mM), 0.6% (10 mM) and 0.9% (15 mM) was effective in significantly inactivating A. baumannii biofilms on all tested surfaces (P

view more

Powered By

Discover more about what's happening at UConn