Dr. Doris D’Souza is an Associate Professor of Food Microbiology and Food Virology Sections in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture. Her research program includes rapid and sensitive molecular detection of foodborne bacterial and viral pathogens; their transmission, tracking and persistence; novel and natural control and intervention strategies and genomic approaches to understand and determine modulation of the gut microbiota by bioactives. Dr. D’Souza earned her B.S. in Microbiology/Biochemistry, St. Xavier's College, University of Mumbai, India and her Ph.D. in Food Science & Technology (Microbiology), from The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Before joining the University of Tennessee in 2006, Dr. D’Souza was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Food Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. Dr. D’Souza has authored more than 50 peer‐review articles and 13 book chapters. She serves on the editorial boards of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Journal of Food Protection, Food Analytical Methods, Food Microbiology, and International Journal of Bacteriology. She is a member of ASM, IFT, and IAFP. She has served as the Chair for the IAFP Viral and Parasitic Foodborne Disease Professional Development Group. She has been an invited speaker at various national and international meetings including those sponsored by IFT and IAFP.