Michelle Danyluk, Ph.D.
Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Citrus Research and Education Center
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
At the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Michelle Danyluk focuses on understanding the factors responsible for pathogens entering the food stream and utilizing that information to develop mitigation strategies for preventing foodborne disease outbreaks, which kill around 3,000 people in the United States each year.
Over nearly 20 years in her career, Danyluk has published 116 peer-reviewed articles, including 41 works published during the past five years. She ranks among the top food safety experts in the world who have published work on the subject between 2013 and 2023.
Danyluk has secured $12 million in nationally competitive grant funding for her program during the past five years. In 2020, she obtained a USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant for a project examining challenges and risks associated with new Food Safety and Modernization Act regulations. She leads the project, helming a team of 26 researchers from 11 institutions.
Also in 2020, she was invited to serve in a secretariat role on a joint United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-World Health Organization meeting for the prevention and control of microbiological hazards in produce. The results of the meeting inform a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts.
Danyluk, a member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods since 2016, has served as both treasurer and a consultant for the commission.
Danyluk has received numerous awards, including the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association’s Researcher of the Year Award in 2024 and the University of Florida’s Term Professorship Award in 2019. She served as president of the International Association for Food Protection from 2022 to 2023 and received the association’s Past Presidents Award upon culmination of her term.
“Dr. Danyluk is an outstanding researcher who is recognized globally as a leader in the area of food safety,” said Michael Rogers, the center’s director. “Her research program is an excellent model of conducting basic research and applying that research to real-world problems with tremendous impact.”