Kovacevic Food Safety Outreach & Research Program

Principal Investigator

Jovana Kovacevic, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist

Jovana grew up in Alberta, Canada.  She graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.S. in Food Science (2005) and M.S. in Food Science-Food Microbiology (2007).  She earned her Ph.D. in Food Science with a specialization in food microbiology from the University of British Columbia (2014) and joined OSU’s Food Innovation Center (FIC) in 2016. At the FIC, Jovana directs the Food Safety Program, focusing on Listeria research, and FSMA-related food safety training, education and outreach activities.

Prior to joining OSU, Jovana worked as a lecturer at the University of British Columbia (Canada), a food safety consultant with the B.C. Ministry of Health, and a Food Safety Scientist at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. 

She is actively involved in extension efforts, leading OSU’s Farm Food Safety Team, conducting Listeria and FSMA-related trainings across the Pacific Northwest, and directing the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety.

Staff

Ragini Reddyvari, Ph.D., Food Safety Specialist and Lab Manager (2025-present)

Ragini was born and raised in India, where she earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University. Her passion for animal health and food safety led her to the United States, where she completed her M.S. in Poultry Sciences at the University of Georgia, studying the role of Bacillus subtilis and mannan oligosaccharides in reducing necrotic enteritis and improving gut health in broilers. She then pursued her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences with a specialization in Food Microbiology and Safety at the University of Connecticut, where her dissertation focused on promoting layer performance, health, and egg safety through probiotic and postbiotic strategies.

With experience spanning veterinary medicine, poultry science, and food microbiology, Ragini has worked on a broad range of applied research projects, including controlling Salmonella in shell eggs and layer production systems using novel probiotics and postbiotics, evaluating natural antimicrobial strategies against Listeria monocytogenes on cheese, and investigating microbial cross-contamination during blueberry harvest operations. At the Food Innovation Center, Ragini manages Kovacevic Lab and contributes to food safety research and outreach, and serves as the coordinator for the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety.

Outside of work, Ragini loves exploring the Pacific Northwest on hiking trails!

Current Graduate Students

Hayeon An (M.S. Expected in 2028)

Jenna Krawchuck (M.S. Expected in 2028)

Former Graduate Students and Staff

Sam Kilgore, B.S., Faculty Research Assistant and Lab Manager (2024-2025)

Sam was born and raised in Lebanon, Oregon and received her bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Technology from Oregon State. She started working in Dr. Joy Waite-Cusic’s food safety systems lab in September 2018 at the beginning of her senior year and decided to keep working there after graduating. In 2024 she briefly relocated to Portland, OR, where she worked in Kovacevic Lab at the Food Innovation Center as a lab manager and supporting shelf life studies. In 2025, Sam returned to Corvallis and Waite-Cusic lab, where she works on process validations for food companies and supports other activities in the lab. Her hobbies include watching football, hiking and traveling.

Zoe Andersen, M.S. (2023-2025)

Stephanie Brown, Ph.D., Food Safety Specialist and Lab Manager (2019-2024)

With more than 14 years of food microbiology laboratory experience, Stephanie has worked on a diverse array of basic and applied research projects. Some of these projects have included determining viable antimicrobial and clean label strategies to reduce Listeria growth in Queso Fresco, evaluating sanitizer efficacy against Listeria and Salmonella on fresh produce, and determining the impact of sugar on Salmonella survival in low water activity foods. 

At the Food Innovation Center, Stephanie assisted with various projects in the Kovacevic Lab and served as the coordinator for the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety. In 2024, Stephanie left OSU to pursue an extension position at the University of Florida as State Specialized Extension Agent II.

Taylor Johnson, M.S. (2021-2023)

Taylor grew up in Tacoma, WA and transferred to OSU in 2019. She has since earned her B.S. in Food Science and Technology and M.S. in the same area, working under the guidance of Dr. Joy Waite-Cusic and Dr. Jovana Kovacevic (Fall 2023). Taylor became interested in dairy science after working in the Arbuthnot Dairy Center making cheese as her job during her undergrad. She considers herself a lifelong learner, and in her free time, you can find her gardening, cooking, baking, reading, or spending time with her family.

Taylor is currently Director of Quality and R&D at Meduri Farms, Inc. in Dallas, OR.

Andrea Domen, M.S. (2021-2023)

Originally a Texas native, Andrea was raised in Portland, Oregon. She moved to Corvallis to earn her B.S. in Chemistry, with a Biology minor, from Oregon State. From there, she earned a phlebotomist certification and worked at both hospitals and clinics for 4 years. Andrea completed her Master’s in Food Science in Kovacevic and Waite-Cusic Labs (Summer 2023). Her thesis project was entitled, “Genomic Mapping of Efflux Pumps in Listeria monocytogenes and their Contribution to Cadmium and Fluroquinolone Tolerance”.

Andrea is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree at OSU, in Dr. Joy Waite-Cusic’s lab in Corvallis, OR.

Erik Ohman, M.S. (2021- 2023)

Erik is originally from Plymouth, WI and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a B.S. in Microbiology as well as certificates in Business Management and Food Systems. In Kovacevic lab, Erik completed his Master’s in Food Science (Spring 2023) focused on addressing current cleaning and sanitizing processes in produce environments in relation to the Produce Safety Rule. Erik is currently Strategic Account Manager at Nelson-Jameson, Inc.

Stephanie Alvarado (2021-2023)

Stephanie is originally from Dayton, Ohio. She received her BS in biology from Ohio State University and after graduation, spent a year in AmeriCorps as an English tutor to the immigrant and refugee populations of Dayton. She then moved to Los Angeles where she earned a MA and a teaching credential in Secondary Science Education from California State University, Los Angeles. She taught public high school chemistry and biology in downtown Los Angeles for four years before returning to school at California State University, Northridge for a Master’s in Public Health. Outside of her studies, Stephanie is interested in coffee, traveling, cooking, sewing clothes and quilts, fiber art, reading, and spending time with her family.

Rebecca Bland, M.S. (2019-2021)

Rebecca is originally from San Diego, CA. She received her BS in Food Science from California Polytechnic State University in 2019 after which she moved up to Oregon to begin her graduate studies at Oregon State University. She completed her MS degree in Food Science in the Kovacevic Lab (Summer 2021). During this time she studied the genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes within produce handling environments.

Rebecca is currently working as a Global Food Safety and Quality Analyst at Krispy Kreme.

Cara Boucher, M.S. (2017-2019)

Cara completed her B.S. in Food Science at OSU in June 2017. Following graduation, she started an internship at OSU’s Food Innovation Center (FIC) in Portland, OR, where she worked on a project investigating the effect of temperature on the susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes to benzalkonium chloride under Dr. Kovacevic’s guidance. She expanded this work into her M.S. thesis project. She spent the first year of her studies in Corvallis, attending classes and working on various food microbiology projects in Dr. Joy Waite-Cusic’s lab before transferring back to the FIC for the second year of her program. She completed her M.S. degree in 2019.

Cara is currently working as a Quality Assurance Manager at SYSTM Foods in Bend, OR.

John Jorgensen, M.S. (2017-2019)

John grow up on a farm in rural eastern Washington, in the community focused on production of beef and wheat. Following his B.S. degree he spent a few years working for government agencies and in the food industry, where he became interested in food safety in the produce industry, specifically focusing on the contamination of the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. This made him a perfect fit for Dr. Jovana Kovacevic’s lab. Co-advised by Dr. Joy Waite-Cusic, he completed his M.S. degree in Food Science in 2019.

John is currently working as a Food Safety Inspector for the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Jingyi (Jenny) Du, M.S. (2016-2018)

Jenny got her B.S. degree in agriculture from China Agricultural University. She completed her M.S. degree in Food Science & Technology at OSU’s Seafood Lab in Astoria, under the guidance of Dr. Yi-Cheng Su, Dr. Christina DeWitt and Dr. Jovana Kovacevic.

Jenny is currently an R&D Specialist at Pacific Seafood.

Undergraduate Students – Branch Experiment Station Interns

Tillman Plotts (Summer 2026)

Ruby Rasmussen (Summer 2025)

Cara Boucher (Summer 2017)

Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) Student Interns

• Kunhui (Christine) Liang, Westview High School, OR (Summer, 2023)
• Gauri Arora, Westview High School, OR (Summer, 2022)
• Puja Pradhan, Basis Ahwatukee High School, AZ (Summer 2021)
• Jayni Ram, Henry M. Gunn High School, CA (Summer 2021)
• Colton Ramsey, Olympia High School, OR (Summer 2021)
• Laura Qin, Westview High School, OR (Summer 2020)
• Clara Szalay, Orange County School of the Arts, Irvine, CA (Summer 2019)
• Caroline Cook, Catlin Gabel School, Portland, OR (Summer 2019)
• Martin Nguyen, Madison High School, Portland, OR (Summer 2018)
• Selora (Jj) Stull, Health & Science School, Beaverton, OR (Summer 2018)