EXPERT MICROBIOLOGIST MICHAEL P. DOYLE, PH.D., HONORED WITH AMI FOUNDATION SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Nashville, Tenn. – Microbiologist Michael Doyle, Ph.D., regents professor of food microbiology and director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, today was honored with the AMI Foundation Scientific Achievement Award. The award was presented during AMI’s Annual Convention and Innovation Showcase, September 30-October 2, at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center.

In presenting the award, American Meat Institute Chairman Stewart Owens, chairman, president and CEO of Bob Evans Farms, Inc., detailed Doyle’s important and groundbreaking research into microbial pathogenicity, the development of methods for pathogen detection and the identification of means to control or eliminate pathogens in foods and in live animals. Doyle’s work has addressed a wide array of challenges and technologies, like the effectiveness of irradiation on ground beef, the control of Listeria monocytogenes and the ecology of Salmonella DT 104. According to Owens, in an impressive show of the merits of his work, Dr. Doyle and his fellow researchers in 1999 received a patent for control of E. coli in cattle through probiotic bacteria.

Dr. Doyle has received a number of grants from the AMI Foundation over the last decade, including a recent project that examined the use of competitive exclusion to control Listeria in drains. Along with his University of Georgia colleagues, he currently is working on three AMIF-funded projects: research into cattle drinking water treatment to prevent E. coli transmission among cattle; development of surrogate organisms to assist in process lethality verification and the role of aerosols in the transmission of microorganisms to ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

Doyle’s work also has been recognized by numerous scientific organizations, including the Institute of Food Technologists. Just last year, he became an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.

“Dr. Doyle’s research has been both groundbreaking and applied and we owe him a debt of gratitude for the outstanding and ever-improving food safety records our products hold today,” Owens said. “Importantly, in a world of news media focused on the ‘scare of the week,’ Dr. Doyle also has been a voice of reliable information and reason with the media about a wide array of food safety issues. We thank him for this and we are pleased to recognize all his efforts today.”

Doyle is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received his B.S. in bacteriology, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in food microbiology. He serves on food safety committees of many scientific organizations and has served as a scientific advisor to many groups, including the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, International Life Sciences Institute-North America, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has published more than 400 scientific publications and edited two authoritative books, Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens and Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers. He has given more than 500 invited presentations at national and international scientific meetings.

The American Meat Institute was founded in 1906 and is the nation's oldest and largest meat and poultry trade association. It represents the interests of packers, processors, and suppliers of beef, pork, lamb, veal, and turkey products in North America. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Institute provides regulatory, legislative, technical, scientific, educational, and public relations services to the industry. Its affiliate, the AMI Foundation, is a separate 501(c)3 organization that conducts research, education and information projects for the industry.