Dr. Indira T. Kudva is a Research Microbiologist and Lead Scientist at the National Animal Disease Center, USDA, Ames, Iowa. She received her B.Sc. in Zoology from Stella Maris College (1984), her M.Sc. in Medical Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College (1987), her Ph.D. in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry from the University of Idaho (1997), and trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Idaho, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. She has over 30 years of experience in the field of microbiology, molecular biology, and infectious diseases. She is also an Affiliate Associate Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University. She served on the Editorial Board of the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal (ASM press, 2004-2017), was the Executive Editor of the fifth edition ‘Virulence Mechanisms of Bacterial Pathogens’ book (ASM press, 2016) and is an Editor/Topic Editor for other journals (SRL Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Frontiers in Veterinary Sciences, Toxins, and Microorganisms). Her current research is molded around the USDA mission to develop preharvest (before slaughter) strategies to control STEC in cattle in order to minimize ‘farm to fork’ contamination of food.