Dr. Dayna Harhay is a USDA Research Scientist at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), specializing in Salmonella genomics, isolation, and bacterial culture diagnostics research. Her work involves advanced genomics to identify dangerous Salmonella types, helping create faster diagnostic tests for regulatory and food production industries.

Nikki Shariat, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia. Nikki earned her PhD in Biological Sciences from Vanderbilt University and started working in food safety during her postdoc at Penn State. She held a faculty position at Gettysburg College for three years before joining the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center in the Department of Population Health at the University of Georgia in 2019.

Tatum Katz is a Research Data Scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit. Dr. Katz uses disease ecology and data science to help meat industry producers reduce Salmonella on their products to ensure a healthier public. Dr. Katz received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Occidental College, her Master of Art in Statistics and Doctorate of Philosophy in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology both from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Tatum Mortimer, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Additionally, she is a core faculty member in UGA’s Center in Precision One Health, and has courtesy appointments in the Department of Microbiology and the Institute of Bioinformatics. In her lab, they use genomics to understand the evolution and epidemiology of bacterial pathogens and develop precision diagnostics.

She earned her PhD at University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program. Under the mentorship of Dr. Caitlin Pepperell, her graduate thesis centered on the impact of recombination and selection on the evolution of bacterial pathogens. Her postdoctoral research in Dr. Yonatan Grad’s lab at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health used whole genome sequencing data from bacterial pathogens, primarily Neisseria gonorrhoeae, to understand transmission, antimicrobial resistance, and adaptation to host environments.

Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, baking, and enjoying everything Athens, GA has to offer (music! food! football!).