The Food and Drug Administration’s Grand Rounds is presenting a zoom webcast on MinION Sequencing of Foodborne Pathogens with speaker Jason Neal-McKinney, Ph.D., on Thursday, April 14.

Whole genome sequencing enables the FDA and other public health laboratories to identify, characterize, and track foodborne pathogens based on their genetic sequence.

According to the FDA, this seminar will focus on bacterial genome sequencing using the MinION from Oxford Nanopore Technologies, an inexpensive and portable sequencer that can be used to complement current sequencing strategies.

Neal-McKinney is a research microbiologist in the Applied Technology Branch at the Pacific Northwest Food and Feed Laboratory. Neal-McKinney’s current research is focused on evaluating new sequencing technologies and developing assays to detect bacteria and parasites in FDA-regulated foods. Neal-McKinney’s previous work experience includes research and development for the IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group. He obtained his Ph.D. in microbiology from Washington State University.

Those interested in attending the webcast can register here.

about FDA Grand Rounds
The FDA Grand Rounds is an educational presentation that is webcast monthly to highlight cutting-edge research underway across the Agency and its impact on protecting and advancing public health. Each session features an FDA scientist presenting on a key public health challenge and how FDA is applying science to its regulatory activities. The 45-minute educational presentation is followed by questions from the audience. You can view past Grand Rounds presentations here.