Jasna Kovac

Lester Earl and Veronica Casida Career Development Professor of Food Safety; Associate Professor of Food Science

Jasna Kovac

Research Summary

Integrating epidemiological, microbiological, molecular and omics methods to better understand microbial pathogenic potential, antimicrobial resistance, and epidemiology of foodborne pathogens.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

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Publication Tags

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Bacillus Cereus Genome Genes Food Phylogeny Food Microbiology Dairies Ethiopia Bacteriology Dairy Products Anthrax Milk Emetics Nucleotides Cytotoxicity Phenotype Campylobacter Genomics Whole Genome Sequencing Gene Microbiota Campylobacter Jejuni Farms Hygiene Alpha Pinene

Most Recent Publications

The composition of environmental microbiota in three tree fruit packing facilities changed over seasons and contained taxa indicative of L. monocytogenes contamination

M. Laura Rolon, Xiaoqing Tan, Taejung Chung, Narjol Gonzalez-Escalona, Yi Chen, Dumitru Macarisin, Luke F. LaBorde, Jasna Kovac, 2023, Microbiome

Prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance and associated genetic determinants differed among Campylobacter isolated from human and poultry meat sources in Pennsylvania

Runan Yan, Nkuchia M. M'ikanatha, Irving Nachamkin, Lauren K. Hudson, Thomas G. Denes, Jasna Kovac, 2023, Food Microbiology

Prevalence and associated risk factors for Salmonella enterica contamination of cow milk and cottage cheese in Ethiopia

Abdi Bedassa, Henok Nahusenay, Zerihun Asefa, Tesfaye Sisay, Gebrerufael Girmay, Jasna Kovac, Jessie L. Vipham, Ashagrie Zewdu, 2023, International Journal of Food Contamination

Conditional Forest Models Built Using Metagenomic Data Accurately Predicted Salmonella Contamination in Northeastern Streams

Taejung Chung, Runan Yan, Daniel L. Weller, Jasna Kovac, 2023, Microbiology spectrum

Prevalence of Campylobacter species and associated risk factors for contamination of dairy products collected in a dry season from major milk sheds in Ethiopia

Abera Admasie, Adane Eshetu, Tesfaye Sisay Tessema, Jessie Vipham, Jasna Kovac, Ashagrie Zewdu, 2023, Food Microbiology

Evaluation of microbial hygiene indicators in raw milk, pasteurised milk and cottage cheese collected across the dairy value chain in Ethiopia

Betelhem Mengstu, Alganesh Tola, Henok Nahusenay, Tesfaye Sisay, Jasna Kovac, Jessie Vipham, Ashagrie Zewdu, 2023, International Dairy Journal

Evidence for the efficacy of pre-harvest agricultural practices in mitigating food-safety risks to fresh produce in North America

Naresh Devarajan, Daniel L. Weller, Matthew Jones, Aiko D. Adell, Achyut Adhikari, Ana Allende, Nicole L. Arnold, Patrick Baur, Sarah M. Beno, Donna Clements, Elissa M. Olimpi, Faith Critzer, Hyatt Green, Lisa Gorski, Angela Ferelli Gruber, Jasna Kovac, Jeffery McGarvey, Claire M. Murphy, Sarah I. Murphy, Nora Navarro-Gonzalez, Jeb P. Owen, Alda F.A. Pires, Nicole Richard, Sandipan Samaddar, Radomir Schmidt, Kate Scow, Nikki W. Shariat, Olivia M. Smith, Austin R. Spence, Don Stoeckel, Thao D.H. Tran, Gretchen Wall, Daniel S. Karp, 2023, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

Short-Term Tomato Consumption Alters the Pig Gut Microbiome toward a More Favorable Profile

Mallory L. Goggans, Emma A. Bilbrey, Cristian D. Quiroz-Moreno, David M. Francis, Sheila K. Jacobi, Jasna Kovac, Jessica L. Cooperstone, 2022, Microbiology spectrum

Laboratory Misidentifications Resulting from Taxonomic Changes to Bacillus cereus Group Species, 2018–2022

Laura M. Carroll, Itumeleng Matle, Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Cheng, Martin Wiedmann, 2022, Emerging Infectious Diseases on p. 1877-1881

Strains Associated with Two 2020 Welder Anthrax Cases in the United States Belong to Separate Lineages within Bacillus cereus sensu lato

Laura M. Carroll, Chung K. Marston, Cari B. Kolton, Christopher A. Gulvik, Jay E. Gee, Zachary P. Weiner, Jasna Kovac, 2022, Pathogens

Most-Cited Papers

Bacillus wiedmannii sp. nov., a psychrotolerant and cytotoxic bacillus cereus group species isolated from dairy foods and dairy environments

Rachel A. Miller, Sarah M. Beno, David J. Kent, Laura M. Carroll, Nicole H. Martin, Kathryn J. Boor, Jasna Kovac, 2016, International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology on p. 4744-4753

Antibiotic resistance modulation and modes of action of (-)-α-Pinene in Campylobacter jejuni

Jasna Kovač, Katarina Šimunović, Zuowei Wu, Anja Klančnik, Franz Bucar, Qijing Zhang, Sonja Smole Možina, 2015, PLoS One on p. e0122871

Proposal of a taxonomic nomenclature for the bacillus cereus group which reconciles genomic definitions of bacterial species with clinical and industrial phenotypes

Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2020, mBio

Characterization of emetic and diarrheal Bacillus cereus strains from a 2016 foodborne outbreak using whole-genome sequencing: Addressing the microbiological, epidemiological, and bioinformatic challenges

Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Manjari Mukherjee, David C. Nicholas, Lisa A. Mingle, Nellie B. Dumas, Jocelyn A. Cole, Jasna Kovac, 2019, Frontiers in Microbiology

Characterization of egg laying hen and broiler fecal microbiota in poultry farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia

Petra Videnska, Md Masudur Rahman, Marcela Faldynova, Vladimir Babak, Marta Elsheimer Matulova, Estella Prukner-Radovcic, Ivan Krizek, Sonja Smole-Mozina, Jasna Kovac, Ama Szmolka, Bela Nagy, Karel Sedlar, Darina Cejkova, Ivan Rychlik, 2014, PLoS One

Rapid, high-throughput identification of anthrax-causing and emetic Bacillus cereus group genome assemblies via BTyper, a computational tool for virulencebased classification of Bacillus cereus group isolates by using nucleotide sequencing data

Laura M. Carroll, Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Miller, Martin Wiedmann, 2017, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Precision food safety: A systems approach to food safety facilitated by genomics tools

Jasna Kovac, Henk den Bakker, Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, 2017, TrAC - Trends in Analytical Chemistry on p. 52-61

The occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes is associated with built environment microbiota in three tree fruit processing facilities

Xiaoqing Tan, Taejung Chung, Yi Chen, Dumitru Macarisin, Luke LaBorde, Jasna Kovac, 2019, Microbiome on p. 115

Intraclade variability in toxin production and cytotoxicity of Bacillus cereus group type strains and dairy-associated isolates

Rachel A. Miller, Jiahui Jian, Sarah M. Beno, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2018, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Production of hemolysin BL by Bacillus cereus group isolates of dairy origin is associated with whole-genome phylogenetic clade

Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Miller, Laura M. Carroll, David J. Kent, Jiahui Jian, Sarah M. Beno, Martin Wiedmann, 2016, BMC Genomics

News Articles Featuring Jasna Kovac

Dec 07, 2023

Penn State researchers announce new comprehensive -Omics database

A group of Penn State scientists have announced kmerDB, an extensive catalogue of sequence information representing all domains of life.

Full Article

Nov 21, 2023

College of Ag Sciences recognizes faculty, staff for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the 2023 Research Awards Ceremony, held Nov. 1 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Aug 23, 2023

Animal microbiome researcher awarded $1.3M to study pathogenic threats

Erika Ganda was recently awarded two grants totaling $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to lead teams of scientists in studies of pathogenic threats to livestock and people.

Full Article

Jun 12, 2023

Penn State announces tenure-line faculty promotions, effective July 1, 2023

The following is a list of academic promotions for tenured and tenure-line faculty members at Penn State, effective July 1, 2023.

Full Article

May 15, 2023

Penn State's renamed One Health Microbiome Center affirms broad expertise

The Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has announced its renaming to the One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC), the first center in the world to integrate "One Health" with the microbiome sciences.

Full Article

Apr 07, 2023

Penn State Global announces 2022-23 faculty, staff, student awards

Penn State Global has announced the 2022-23 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have helped to advance the University’s global engagement goals.

Full Article

Feb 24, 2023

Processing, like fermentation and roasting, doesn’t cut cocoa’s health benefits

It is widely believed that when foods undergo processing, their health benefits are reduced. But that is not true for cocoa, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers, who conducted a new study using a mouse model.

Full Article

Dec 22, 2022

2022 Top 10 Most Popular Microbiome Center News Articles

The stories that made the year in 2022 for the Penn State Microbiome Center

Full Article

Nov 08, 2022

Faculty in College of Ag Sciences recognized for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the college’s inaugural Research Awards Ceremony, held Oct. 25 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Apr 29, 2022

Microbiologists get grant to study biofilms guarding foodborne pathogen Listeria

Microbiologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $605,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how microbial biofilms protect Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium that causes the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis.

Full Article