February 2026: [Members] Welcome Dr. Yuan Yuan, who is joining our lab as a postdoctoral research associate!
February 2026: [Grant] Our proposal entitled “A sustainable, substrate-independent coating for reducing microbial spoilage and extending food shelf-life” is funded by USDA-NIFA. Within the next three years, we will explore the feasibility of valorizing food processing by-products to develop new functional coating for address food spoilage issues.
January 2026: [Members] Welcome Zeyuan Zhang, who is joining our lab as a PhD student! He will be working on biobased substrate-independent coatings as multifunctional food contact materials.
December 2025: [Members] Congratulations to Morgan on successfully defending her PhD thesis. She has worked on the discovery and development of food-grade colorants for photodynamic inactivation in food systems.
October 2025: [Members] Congratulations Rishabh on passing his prelim exam, officially Ph.D. candidate.
September 2025: [Publication] Here is the fourth paper we’ve published in the past month! Congratulations to Kelly on a fresh publication in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces! In this study, we employed state-of-the-art high-speed photography to systematically investigate the impact of yeast microcarrier droplets on hydrophobic plant surfaces. Building on these insights, we proposed a novel surface engineering strategy to improve droplet retention, thereby enhancing the antimicrobial efficacy of yeast microcarriers. Read the paper.
September 2025: [Publication] A new research paper has been published in Chemical Engineering Journal. Congratulations to Shanshan for leading this excellent work! This study leverages novel nanotechnology to create an advanced phage-based delivery system through a phage-favorable one-pot biomimetic mineralization approach, offering a promising strategy for the development of phage-based biopesticides and enhancing the feasibility of phage applications in agriculture. Read the paper.
September 2025: [Grant] Our proposal entitled “Biomimetic Surrogate Interface and machine learning approaches for real-time verification of surface sanitation in food processing plants” is funded by USDA-NIFA. We will be working on this exciting project within the next three years.
August 2025: [Publication] Our new research article has been published in ACS Applied Bio Materials. Congratulations to Xiaoying and Shanshan for their excellent work. We presented a new polydopamine-based versatile and hierarchical nanoflower coating that exerts strong photo-driven antimicrobial properties against foodborne pathogens. Read the paper.
August 2025: [Publication] A new research article has been published in Chemical Engineering Journal. Congratulations to Shanshan for being the first author and leading this study. The proposed phage-based nanorobots represent a novel, effective, and sustainable antimicrobial solution, leveraging the combined effects of biological, chemical and physical mechanisms. Read the paper.
July 2025: [Award] Congratulations to Rishabh Goyal, for winning (third place) in the Food Safety and Quality Division Graduate Student Oral Competition at IFT 2025!
June 2025: [Members] Congratulations to Shanshan Liu on successfully defending her PhD dissertation! She has led the development of several phage-based antimicrobial formulations designed for use in both pre- and post-harvest settings.
June 2025: [Members] Welcome Siqi (Jason) Li, who is joining us as a REEU summer intern student.
June 2025: [Members] Welcome Mateo Howe, who is joining us as a CAHNRS summer intern student.
May 2025: [Members] Big congratulations to Kelly Tao on successfully defending her PhD dissertation!
April 2025: [Grant] Our collaborative proposal entitled “New materials and delivery systems for fire blight control” is funded by Washington State Tree Fruit Research Commission (WTFRC). We will collaborate with Dr. Frank Zhao in this three-year project.
February 2025: [Award] Congratulations to Rishabh, for winning a special prize for the best AGile hack at the AgAID Institute’s D1g1tal AgAth0n 2025!
January 2025: [Members] Welcome Wenjing Lu, who is joining our lab as a PhD student! She will be working on biobased antimicrobial delivery systems for food and agricultural applications.
November 2024: [Members] Welcome Dr. Sungjun Hwang, who is joining our lab as a postdoc! He brought expertise in bioproducts engineering.
August 2024: [Members] Welcome Rishabh Goyal, who is joining our lab as a PhD student! He will be focusing on AI-enabled food systems.
June 2024: [Publication] A fresh new research article has been published in Small. Congratulations to Shanshan for being the first author and leading this study. We introduced a novel plant-based microcarrier and rapid encapsulation approach for enhancing the delivery, stability, and biocidal efficacy of phage-based biopesticide. Read the paper.
May 2024: [Opportunity] Our lab has an open position for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate, specializing in Material Chemistry and Food Engineering.
May 2024: [Grant] Our proposal entitled “A versatile, highly adaptable hydrogel coating against biofouling in pipelines” is funded by WSU Office of Research as one of nine New Faculty Seed Grants. WSU Insider News.
May 2024: [Grant] Our collaborative proposal entitled “Towards a sustainable bioeconomy: an eco-friendly nature-inspired biopesticide delivery system for improved control of plant diseases” is funded by USDA-NIFA. This four-year integrated project will be collaborated between WSU, UC Davis and Cal Poly Pomona.
March 2024: [Publication] Our research article has been published in Advanced Science. Congratulations to Yijun, Boyang, and Yingxin! We developed an alternative cooling media using a combination of food-grade cellulose sponge and photosensitizers, to mitigate the microbial cross-contamination risks associated with ice melting. Read the paper.
Jan 2024: [Publication] Our research article has been accepted by Food Research International. Congratulations Minyue and Shijie! This work focuses on using catalase-immobilized biomimetic leaves for machine learning-enabled validation of fresh produce sanitation process. Read the paper.
Dec 2023: [Opportunity] Our lab has an open research internship position supported by CAHNRS. This will start from summer 2024.
Sep 2023: [Publication] Our review paper has been accepted by Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Congratulations Shanshan! This review provides insights of multiple advanced strategies to overcome the challenges of bacteriophage-based antimicrobial treatments in food and agricultural systems. Read the paper.
Sep 2023: Dr. Huang will start his position as an Assistant Professor at WSU from Oct 2023. Currently, we are looking for postdoc, graduate, and undergraduate students.