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

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437 Rodney A. Erickson Food Science
University Park, PA - She/Her
- jzk303@psu.edu
- 814-865-2883
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
- One Health Microbiome Center
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
- Bioinformatics and Genomics
Links
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 PineneMost 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