Mary Anne Amalaradjou

Associate Professor

Mary Anne Amalaradjou, PhD is an associate professor of food microbiology in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Connecticut. She received her DVM from Pondicherry University and MSc from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in India in 2002 and 2004, respectively. She then earned her PhD in food microbiology from the University of Connecticut in 2010.

Dr. Amalaradjou’s current research is targeted towards 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 hurdle technologies to reduce pathogen transmission from farm-to-fork. Beyond controlling pathogens in food systems, her research also investigates the potential application of probiotics as alternatives to antibiotics in poultry production and functional foods in the prevention of gut pathologies. Her research program is funded by intramural and extramural funding agencies including the Center for Produce Safety, USDA, NSF and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture. Through all aspects of her research, Dr. Amalaradjou’ s main objective is to improve food safety and promote public health. In the classroom, she teaches a graduate-level course on “Prebiotics and Probiotics” and undergraduate courses on “Food Microbiology and Safety” and “Scientific writing in Food Microbiology”. Besides research and teaching, she is passionate about mentoring the next generation with a strong focus on promoting equity and inclusivity in higher education. To this end, she currently serves as a UConn Connects mentor, Faculty Affiliate to the Office for Diversity and Inclusion and a Faculty Affiliate for Inclusive Excellence for the UConn Graduate School. Outside of UConn, Dr. Amalaradjou is actively involved with IAFP, IFT, ASM and PSA. Further, she also serves on expert committees including the US National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA).  In May 2023, Dr. Amalaradjou was selected to serve as the University of Connecticut Provost’s DEIJ Faculty Fellow for the 2023-2024 academic term.

Academics

Classes Taught

In the News

• Family traditions rooted in food grow into thriving microbiology career – IAFP, January 2023
• Poultry probiotic to prevent salmonella infection – Poultry World, June 2021
• UConn to get $500,000 grant from USDA to study egg safety at smaller farms – Fox61, March 2021
• Lab Identifies Way to Reduce Salmonella Outbreaks in Mangoes – UConn Today, September 2017