Professor Séamus Fanning, UCD Centre for Food Safety

In 2002, Professor Fanning was appointed to the Chair of Food Safety & Zoonoses and set up the UCD-Centre for Food Safety. Currently, the research themes of the Centre include the application of molecular microbiology-based methods to support Food Safety and the control of zoonotic disease agents. Some of this work is related to the characterisation of the genetic mechanisms underpinning multiple drug resistance and tolerance to biocides as it emerges in a variety of food-borne pathogens (including Cronobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Campylobacter). Strain virulence and its influence on survival in the food chain, evading classical ‘hurdle-technology’, is also a feature of the research portfolio. Whole genome sequencing and deep-level RNA sequencing, metagenomics and metatranscriptomics along with bioinformatics are major platforms that support this reseaerch agenda. In 2019, Professor Fanning was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiology.

Professor Fanning is a member of the following professional/learned societies- American Society for Microbiology (ASM); Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM); the European Society of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Disease (ESCMID) & International Association of Food Protection (IAFP). He acts as an Editor for the following journals- Foodborne Pathogens & Disease (USA); Research in Microbiology (Institut Pasteur-France); Journal of Food Protection (USA); Micobial Drug Resistance (USA) & FEMS Microbiology Letters.