Yuwei Zhang receives NZ-China Food Protection Network PhD Scholarship

The Centre congratulates hardworking Lincoln intern, Yuwei Zhang, on her successful application for a NZ-China Food Protection Network for a PhD scholarship, strongly supported by Dr Stephen On at Lincoln University.  Her work will relate to work they have been doing with Prof Steve Flint at Massey University, and Dr Graham Fletcher at Plant & Food,  in an endeavour to differentiate relative biofilim-forming potential in strains of Vibrio by studying the characteristic “Elastic Light Scatter” patterns made by each when you shine laser light on cultures.  Clever stuff.  But once they have sorted which are the high risk ones, the next task is to find natural bio-controls to stop them becoming a problem for our thriving seafood industry and recreational shellfish harvesters.  Vibrio are moving south and proliferating as oceans warm.

Exemplar image of a Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli strain examined using Elastic Light Scatter analysis