WIFSS - Key Persons


Alda Pires

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension

Bennie I. Osburn

Job Titles:
  • Director of Outreach and Training

Bruno Chomel

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus

David Goldenberg

Job Titles:
  • Food Safety and Security Training Coordinator

Dr. Beatriz Martinez Lopez

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, AES ( 20% ), School of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Jeffrey Stott

Job Titles:
  • Professor - Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology
Dr. Jeffrey Stott's research focus is on the development and implementation of control measures for foothill abortion (epizootic bovine abortion; EBA) including but not limited to vaccine development, pathogenesis studies, epidemiologic studies and improving diagnostics.

Dr. Michael Payne

Job Titles:
  • Dairy Outreach Coordinator
  • Researcher and Outreach Coordinator at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security
is a researcher and outreach coordinator at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security (WIFSS) a center within the University of California's School of Veterinary Medicine. Holding doctorates in both veterinary medicine and toxicology, Dr. Payne has worked as a veterinarian in extension, academics and private practice. He is Director of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program, an industry, academic regulatory partnership which promotes the health and welfare of livestock, consumers and the environment through outreach, education and research.

E. R. Atwill

Partyka, M. L., R. F. Bond, J. A. Chase, and E. R. Atwill. 2017. Monitoring bacterial indicators of water quality in a tidally influenced delta: A Sisyphean pursuit. Science of The Total Environment 578: 346-356. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.179.

Edward J. DePeters

Job Titles:
  • Distinguished Professor, Department of Animal Science Master Advisor for Animal Science Major

Elina L. Niño

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Extension Apiculturist

Erin DiCaprio

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension

Frank M. Mitloehner

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist, Department of Animal Science

Heather Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Instructional Systems Designer
Heather Johnson holds a BS degree in Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a MS degree in Microbiology from UC Davis. She has taught middle school and undergraduate students and is experienced in curriculum development and lesson planning, student assessment and online learning. AT WIFSS, she is the team's Instructional Systems Designer and helps lead in the design and development of national curricula, individual courses, and a wide variety of teaching materials and student assessments.

James S. Cullor

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus School of Veterinary Medicine

Jennifer Chase

Job Titles:
  • Laboratory Manager
Jennifer Chase is interested in the continual development and optimization of cost-effective time-efficient laboratory methods for high throughput sampling, without compromising assay sensitivity. She enjoys finding new and useful applications for unrelated technologies or techniques that can be applied to existing or new laboratory methods that target pathogenic bacteria including, E. coli O157, non-O157 STEC, and Salmonella spp.

John A. Angelos

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Chairman, Dept Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine

Johnathan David

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Clinical

Jorge Rodrigues

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources

Katie Lee

Job Titles:
  • Lab Assistant

Krishna Natarajan Balasubramaniam

Job Titles:
  • Project Scientist

Kurtis Lavelle

Job Titles:
  • Lab Assistant

Melissa Partyka

Job Titles:
  • Extension Specialist at Auburn University

Michele Jay-Russell

Job Titles:
  • Program Manager, Western Center for Food Safety

Pramod K Pandey

Job Titles:
  • Agronomist and Specialist in Cooperative Extension

Richard Pereira

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, Population Health & Reproduction

Richard Thompson

Job Titles:
  • Digital Communication Specialist
Richard is a well polished graphic designer and web designer. With over 16 years experience in print design, web development, he has worked as a Sr. web and graphic designer for the United States Air Force, as well as servicing businesses and non-profits as a freelancer. Here at WIFSS, he assists in design and maintenance of WIFSS/WCFS websites, as well as the design and development of instructional materials, individual courses, teaching materials, and student assessments.

Rob Atwill


Robert Poppenga

Job Titles:
  • Professor, California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab, Molecular Biosciences

Ronald F. Bond

Job Titles:
  • Water Quality Researcher, Field Coordinator
Partyka, M. L., R. F. Bond, and E. R. Atwill. 2016. Grazing management practice implementation and assessment in one or more targeted watersheds in the Lahontan Region, or "Rivers and Ranches" Final Report prepared for the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, Agreement Number Li, X., E. R. Atwill and R. F. Bond. 2015. Developing and validating methods for accurately measuring the shedding of Escherichia coli O157:H7 by rangeland cattle and assessing water quality. Final Report: Russell L. Rustici Rangeland and Cattle Research Endowment, CAES, UC Davis. March 31 st.

Terry W Lehenbauer

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Population Health & Reproduction

Tracey Stevens

Job Titles:
  • Instructor
  • Trainer
Tracey Stevens is bringing emergency preparedness for animals to the forefront of emergency planning. Her role in the institute is to broaden emergency preparedness training opportunities for rural communities, industry, animal owners, animal control agencies, veterinarians, veterinary students, emergency responders, and other members of the public and government agencies. She has been recognized with the Silver Star Award from the California Emergency Services Association and the Animal Rescue Hero Award from the American Red Cross. Stevens brings to her position experience in emergency planning with multiple government and non-government agencies including fire and law enforcement agencies, urban search and rescue teams, and animal services. She has collaborated with many statewide agencies to incorporate emergency preparedness related to animals into community disaster planning programs.

Tran Nguyen

Job Titles:
  • Lab Assistant

Xiang (Crystal) Yang

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor and Meat Scientist in Department of Animal Science

Xiaohong Wei

Job Titles:
  • Specialist

Yanhong Liu

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Animal Nutrition / Department of Animal Science