Hughes Mentor:  Kathryn Boor

Department: Food Science

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Meet a Cornell Researcher

Dr. Kathryn Boor, current chair of the food science department is a very interesting person because she did not seem to have the typical background of a researcher who knew initially that they wanted to go into the field of food science. Dr. Boor got her undergraduate degree here at Cornell and here Masters Degree at the University of Wisconsin and finally here PhD. at the University of California Davis.
The decision to come to Cornell was based on the fact that the scenery was beautiful, and to be closer to her family. Dr. Boor’s research centers on the ability for single celled organisms to be transmitted through food, which prompted her to study the molecular mechanisms of single celled bacteria. The applications of this research are based upon using milk primarily as a medium for bacterial growth, which allows her to study how bacteria affect food and possible applications to prevent them from spoiling food primarily milk and other dairy products.
When not engaged actively in research Dr. Boor has two kids who are involved in extracurricular activities, she used to play soccer but has since retired. When evaluating prospective undergraduate researchers Dr. Boor has said that soft skills such as showing up on time, doing what you say you will do, being responsible, and having enthusiasm and interest in your work are paramount to the qualities she looks for in researchers.

A Day in the Life of an Undergraduate in the Food Safety Lab

‘Where is that lab again?” is the question I’m always asked, whenever I talk about my research. And you might be wondering too - let’s just say it’s fittingly located at the spot where food science expertise meets the dairy bar. Up on the fourth floor of stocking hall, nestles a lab that studies a number of species of bacteria that make you sick from contaminating your favorite indulgence – food! The goal in this lab is figuring out what genetic elements of a bacterium contribute to its ability to cause disease in a host cell. What makes a pathogen, a pathogen?

It was that very question that got me interested in the food safety lab. In the spring semester of my freshman year I had participated in the Bio Explorations program as a part of my Bio-102 course. Through that program I visited Dr. Kathryn Boor's lab and was immediately drawn to the projects her graduate students were working on. The project brought together genetics and immunology and applied it in the field of microbiology and food safety. Within a week after the program, I scheduled a meeting with Dr.Boor and explained that I was very eager to set my foot into the lab scene and gain experience doing research. She was very supportive and before I knew it, I was teamed up with a PHD student and ended up spending my summer as a research assistant studying the pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. I cannot say that one class in particular aided my transition into the lab scene, except that a strong enthusiasm towards the project, a grounded understanding of biology and the willingness to admit you don’t know the answer and go beyond the grad student to figure out ‘what went wrong’, all play a crucial role in succeeding in research. What I actually found is that my lab work helped me understand concepts in my classes- most specially in microbiology and genetics.

As the year progressed I began to take on an independent project studying the internalin B ( InlB )gene in L.monocytogenes . This gene codes for a surface protein that mediates the uptake of L.monocytogenes into a variety of host cells, especially liver cells. Since this is a dangerous intracellular food borne pathogen, our lab is a biosafety level 2 lab, requiring us to wear gloves at all times. Using genetic techniques such as SOEing PCR, gel electrophoresis and allelic exchange mutagenesis we create Listeria Monocytogenes mutants that contain deletions, insertions or base pair substitutions in particular virulence genes. Once we’ve created our mutant strain we confirm them through sequencing. Upon confirmation we characterize the strain through growth curves in enriched broth and then perform specific experiments depending on what we are investigating. For example to study the invasiveness or intracellular growth of our mutants in comparison to the parent strains, we conduct invasion assays in human cell lines and then asses relative differences in those aspects.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in this lab, it’s that patience, perseverance and just plain hard work is essential to progress in your research. It can get challenging over the academic year to balance your research obligations and academics, but at the end you learn to manage your time and use it efficiently to do your best. Especially when studying bacteria, it can require you to come in at odd hours to catch the bacterium at different growth phases for your experiment. This is why the summers come to a great advantage because you can truly focus and accomplish much more in a shorter span of time. Needless to say, the research experience is rewarding and an asset to an undergraduate education because what’s the use in investing in building your knowledge base, if you can’t apply that knowledge to answer questions in your field.

Meet a Cornell Researcher!

Faculty are scary, especially faculty in the biology department. So when I got this assignment, I was not the happiest clam in the sea. But I am so glad I was forced to do this.

I interviewed with Dr. Kathryn Boor in the Department of Food Science. I entered Stocking Hall, an antiquated building with no elevator. I went to the 4th floor and it took me forever to find the room. She talked briefly about her research – Listeria monocytogenes and how this species can survive in hostile conditions. She received her undergraduate education right here in Cornell. After that, she spent two years in east Africa helping people obtain more animal protein in their diets. Goats were used as a source of meat and milk. She received her Masters at the University of Wisconsin and her Ph.D in microbiology at UC Davis. While at UC Davis, she helped develop food safety programs. Unlike most faculty, she got a teaching position right after her Ph.D.

The applications of Dr. Boor’s research are widespread. L. monocytogenes is a species that can survive the acidic conditions of the stomach and the low oxygen levels of the intestines. Her lab found that under these conditions, the bacteria turn on genes that help them attach to cells that line the stomach and intestines. Her research also involves food sanitation and how food treatment facilities sometimes fail to curb the growth of pathogens.

The most important thing Dr. Boor looks for in potential undergraduate research assistants is interest. This is understandable, because when you’re not interested in what you’re studying, you just give off negative energy and everyone around you is down. Basic understanding of microbiology is important too. Sterile techniques are necessary as well, but those can be learned. Interest in a field is something you have or you don’t. I relayed my concern that I feel I’m not ready for grad school because there are so many techniques I don’t know and machines I can’t operate. She said to me we’re all in the same boat, even old professors who are not experts in new technology. That assuaged my fears a bit.

While speaking to Dr. Boor about the field of food science, I became more and more intrigued myself. It’s a field that allows you to combine basic research and applied research. You can work on product development, marketing, food safety, microbiology, and biotechnology. Unlike basic research, research in food science has direct impact on human health and society. You can find your own balance between, for instance, microbiology, sanitation procedures, and biotechnology. Of course, when she said there is no shortage of jobs and the pay is $60-70 K per year right after a Masters program, that further piqued my interest. At the end of the interview, it was more about my finding out more about the field of food science than it was about interviewing a faculty. I never thought you could do biological research outside of basic research and biomedical research. However, as a senior looking for a path to walk on after Cornell, I think I found it. I will be taking Food Science 200 next year with freshman, but that is OK because it will let me know if that is something I really want to pursue.

In about an hour, I actually found something that I think I may be truly interested in doing for the rest of my life. Basic research is nice, but I want to apply it to real life. When I see people chowing down food I helped develop in 10 years, that will be satisfaction right there.

A Hughes Scholar’s Guide to Doing Research in the Cornell Food Safety Lab

Under the direction of Dr. Kathryn Boor, members of the Food Safety Lab study the food-borne bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is responsible for 2500 cases of food-borne illness each year and has a mortality rate of 20%. Work in the FSL focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which the bacteria infect their host and cause disease. My project involves the creation of a mutant Listeria strain to understand the role of a particular regulator protein in the bacteria’s response to stress signals.

On a daily basis, our benchwork combines the fields of molecular- and microbiology. Students in the lab become as adept with a pipettor as with a petri plate; some of the most common techniques in our protocols include PCR, sequence analysis, bacterial transformation, selection and screening. There are no pre-requisite courses required to begin working in the FSL - all new lab members are guided by a graduate student or a technician and will have regular meetings with Dr. Boor. A background in basic microbiology and its accompanying lab techniques is helpful, and the bacterial genetics unit of BioGD 281 complements our projects well.

I have been a member of the Food Safety Lab for a year and a half and have enjoyed every part of it. I’ve been enthusiastically affirmed in my decision to pursue research in graduate school and my analytical and troubleshooting skills have greatly improved. My time in the lab has included summers as well as the regular school year and there is a marked difference between the two experiences. Summer research is full time and productivity is high, whereas the semester offers much less available lab time. Because time is at such a premium during the semester, it’s important that students have a strong commitment to their project and make it a relatively high priority.

There are relatively few labs on campus that exclusively study disease-causing organisms in humans. For those whose interests lie in pathogenic microbiology, I couldn’t recommend Dr. Boor and the FSL more highly for undergraduate research experience.