Jasna Kovac

Lester Earl and Veronica Casida Career Development Professor of Food Safety; Assistant 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 Genes Genome Phenotype Food Genotype Phylogeny Gene Food Microbiology Dairies Ethiopia Bacteriology Anthrax Dairy Products Antibiotics Virulence Milk Cytotoxicity Enterotoxins Microbiota Emetics Nucleotides Anti Bacterial Agents Listeria Monocytogenes Microbiome

Most Recent Publications

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

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

Recent paradigm shifts in the perception of the role of Bacillus thuringiensis in foodborne disease

Michael Biggel, Nadja Jessberger, Jasna Kovac, Sophia Johler, 2022, Food Microbiology

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

Ability of Two Strains of Lactic Acid Bacteria to Inhibit Listeria monocytogenes by Spot Inoculation and in an Environmental Microbiome Context

Priscilla Sinclair, M. Laura Rolon, Jingzhang Feng, A Padín-López, Adrian Lopez, Luke LaBorde, Jasna Kovac, 2022, Microbiology spectrum on p. 20

Regulation of Enterotoxins Associated with Bacillus cereus Sensu Lato Toxicoinfection

Cassidy Prince, Jasna Kovac, 2022, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Editorial: Functional Diversity of Aquatic Microorganisms and Their Roles in Water Quality

Jingqiu Liao, Daniel L. Weller, Jasna Kovac, Yi Huang, 2022, Frontiers in Water

Comparative Analysis of Bacillus cereus Group Isolates' Resistance Using Disk Diffusion and Broth Microdilution and the Correlation between Antimicrobial Resistance Phenotypes and Genotypes

Emma Mills, Erin Sullivan, Jasna Kovac, 2022, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

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 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

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

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

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

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

News Articles Featuring Jasna Kovac

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.

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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.

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Sep 24, 2020

Penn State Microbiome Center elects new executive committee

The Penn State Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences recently elected six new members to join its executive committee. The new members, along with 11 others who remained on the committee, started their two-year term in July.

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Jun 03, 2020

Huck graduate students among NSF award recipients

Five graduate students in Huck programs or involved with Huck centers, advised by faculty members in the College of Agricultural Sciences, were recipients or honorable mentions of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

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Aug 21, 2019

Foodborne pathogen sheltered by harmless bacteria that support biofilm formation

Pathogenic bacteria that stubbornly lurk in some apple-packing facilities may be sheltered and protected by harmless bacteria that are known for their ability to form biofilms, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest the discovery could lead to development of alternative foodborne-pathogen-control strategies.

Full Article

May 07, 2019

Institutes of Energy and the Environment announces seed grant recipients

Several Huck researchers are among the recipients of 2018-19 IEE seed grants.

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