UCC Microbiology Student Meghana Srinivas Scoops SuperValu Award for Excellence in Food

UCC Microbiology Student Meghana Srinivas Scoops SuperValu Award for Excellence in Food

UCC Microbiology Student Meghana Srinivas Scoops SuperValu Award for Excellence in Food.

UCC Masters Microbiology student Meghana Srinivas recently won the SuperValu Award for Excellence in Food Microbiology for her work in isolating bacteria from food that may have useful roles in food and health.

The SuperValu Award for Excellence in Food Microbiology was presented by Ruth Dalton in UCC recently. Launched in 2015, the Award is presented to the highest performing student in the Masters in Food Microbiology Programme which is delivered through the School of Microbiology UCC.  The programme has students from all over the world, including the US, China and India, who come to Ireland every year to participate in this programme. Safe and nutritious food is of vital importance to all consumers and research on microorganisms and their relationship with foods and the human host is essential in providing  the platform for the developing the knowledge required to provide foods that are safe, healthy and nutritious. UCC has a long tradition in these field which was the principle reason for the original partnership between SuperValu and UCC.

Ruth Dalton commented: “The leading edge research conducted by the team at UCC is recognised globally and we are delighted to honour this endeavour. The SuperValu Excellence in Food Microbiology Award is now in its sixth year and reflects the continuing positive association between UCC, Musgrave and the SuperValu Food Safety Team. The Masters research undertaken by Meghana Srinivas was to isolate and characterise bacteria from food that have potentially useful roles in food and health. We wish Meghana every success in her future career”.

“We are delighted to acknowledge the ongoing support of SuperValu for this important postgraduate programme”, added Professor Colin Hill, Director of the MSc in Food Microbiology at UCC.  “Training the next generation of food microbiologists to ensure that we have a nutritious and safe food supply is a globally important issue and we appreciate the support of SuperValu in the form of this prize.  Congratulations to Meghana who is a really deserving winner”.