Seafood Safety and Aquaculture

Shellfish safety depends on knowing when and where pathogens are present, and how to reduce them after harvest. This research develops molecular and metagenomic approaches for rapid, culture-independent detection of Vibrio species in oyster aquaculture, with a focus on warm-water systems where risk is highest. We also examine how post-harvest handling practices influence pathogen levels and how Vibrio transmission pathways are shifting as coastal waters warm and recreational exposure increases.

Publications

Biochemical and Virulence Characterization of Vibrio vulnificus Isolates From Clinical and Environmental Sources

K. A. Lydon, T. Kinsey, C. Le, P. Gulig, Jessica L. Jones

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2021

Effect of Ploidy on Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus Levels in Cultured Oysters.

Jessica L. Jones, K. A. Lydon, W. Walton

Journal of Food Protection, 2020

Effects of ambient exposure, refrigeration, and icing on Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus abundances in oysters.

J. Jones, K. A. Lydon, T. Kinsey, B. Friedman, M. Curtis, R. Schuster, J. Bowers

Journal of food microbiology, 2017

Evaluation of Ice Slurries as a Control for Postharvest Growth of Vibrio spp. in Oysters and Potential for Filth Contamination.

K. A. Lydon, M. Farrell-Evans, Jessica L. Jones

Journal of Food Protection, 2015

Effects of Dry Storage and Resubmersion of Oysters on Total Vibrio vulnificus and Total and Pathogenic (tdh+/trh+) Vibrio parahaemolyticus Levels.

T. Kinsey, K. A. Lydon, J. Bowers, Jessica L. Jones

Journal of Food Protection, 2015