Core Faculty

Dr. Arias is a microbiologist who researches oyster safety. She has designed a new oyster-purification system that aims to eliminate Vibrio vulnificus by using a provisionally patented, novel cleansing system—making Gulf oysters safe year-round.

Dr. Brunner heads the public relations program and is an expert on crisis management.

Dr. William Daniels is an associate professor of marine and freshwater aquaculture for the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences. Dr. Daniels’ research focuses on catfish aquaculture and alternative production systems

Dr. Duran researches new products for treating diseases in food animals and works with veterinarians to study proper dosages and withdrawal times to ensure meat and milk safety. Her areas of interest are antimicrobial stewardship, novel dosage forms to include transdermals PLO’s and ocular hydrogels as well as other sustained release formulation to improve compliance and ease of delivery for animal owners.

Dr. Misty Edmondson is an assistant professor in the food animal section of the College of Veterinary Medicine, where her duties include management of clinical hospital cases, didactic teaching, research, and outreach. Her major research interest is theriogenology of cattle, small ruminants, and camelids.

Dr. Kevin Keener is director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research and the BioCentury Research Farm at Iowa State University. He has experience providing technical assistance on food safety, food technology, food regulations, and food labeling to small businesses as well as major food companies.

Dr. Emefa Monu comes to Auburn from the University of Tennessee, where she was completing post-doctoral studies. Her goal as a researcher is to improve food security through increasing the microbiological safety and shelf life of food.

Dr. Newton is the dietitian in the AU Pharmaceutical Care Center. She is also an assistant professor at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and has been a registered dietitian nutritionist for five years. Annie’s current research interests include preventative lifestyle behaviors, with specific interest in identifying and intervening with at-risk populations (e.g., pre-diabetic individuals, children with developmental disabilities, and geriatric patients) in order to prevent obesity and disease progression, thereby improving their overall quality of life.

Dr. Ostrowski is an associate professor of public health in the Department of Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. She serves as lead faculty coordinator for DVM+MPH combined degree program options with Auburn’s partner programs at the University of Minnesota (Veterinary MPH program) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also provides public health career counseling to undergraduates, veterinary students, and post-graduate DVMs. Stephanie’s research interests include public health/one health, herd health; food animal medicine and surgery; agricultural sustainability; epidemiology; emerging infectious diseases; equine sports medicine; CBRNE preparedness and response; and food safety, including antimicrobial resistance.

Elizabeth Schwartz is an assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Sciences and Mathematics. Schwartz has a longstanding interest in the foodborne bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and in the innate immune responses elicited by this organism.

Dr. Starkey is an assistant professor in the Department of Poultry Science and chair of the Animal Food Manufacturing, Quality, and Safety Working Group at AUFSI. He previously served as director of technical services at American Proteins, Inc. in Cumming, Georgia. Charles was named American Feed Industry Association’s Member of the Year in 2015. His research focuses on connecting all aspects of animal food ingredient characteristics, dietary formulations, animal food manufacturing techniques, live animal performance, and gastrointestinal tract physiology and health.

Dr. Wang is a professor in the Department of Pathobiology.  He previously worked at Yangzhou University College of Veterinary Medicine of China as a Jiangsu specially appointed professor (2012-2016). His research interests include molecular diagnostics, pathogenesis of Chlamydia, and transmission mechanisms of vector-borne agents with zoonotic importance.

Dr. Wang is an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences. Her specialties are food safety and microbiology, and her particular interests include isolation and identification of zoonotic pathogens as well as rapid detection methods for identifying zoonotic pathogens in animal products.

Dr. Weese researches food safety issues in the food processing and food service industries. A food safety specialist for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, she also helps aspiring entrepreneurs navigate a maze of regulations. She has worked with school lunch programs to add more fresh fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains to the menu.

Dr. James E. Witte is the program coordinator for adult education programs in the College of Education. His academic areas of interest include training program development and evaluation as well as how learning is assessed. He is an avid world traveler, having lived and worked in places such as Pakistan, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan. His multicultural, multilingual background brings a unique perspective to examining how people acquire skills and information.