It's all for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

Current food production is facing a significant challenge as the global population is projected to grow by 2 billion over the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion today to 9.7 billion by 2050. While expanding farmland and boosting crop and livestock yields can help increase food production, it is not sufficient to meet the demands of a growing global population. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption, around 1.3 billion tons annually, is lost or wasted. In addition, foodborne outbreaks and recalls have occurred frequently over the past decade, raising concerns about food safety among consumers, retailers, and industry. To feed the growing global population, there is an urgent need to increase food production, reduce food waste, and improve food safety from farm to fork.

As a researcher specializing in biological engineering, my academic footprint is firmly rooted in the future of agriculture and food systems. With a focus on improving food production and food safety, my research group is to develop bioengineering and biosensing approaches that can be applied to treat and detect emerging pathogens in agricultural and food systems. The developed innovative technologies are important in solving the critical and emerging issues in sustainable agriculture and food systems, providing sufficient, safe, and high-quality food for human consumption. The innovative tools I develop and use include CRISPR, phages, yeasts, and enzymes.