Jasna Kovac

Lester Earl and Veronica Casida Career Development Professor of Food Safety; Associate Professor of Food Science

Jasna Kovac

Research Summary

Integrating epidemiological, microbiological, molecular and omics methods to better understand microbial pathogenic potential, antimicrobial resistance, and epidemiology of foodborne pathogens.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

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Publication Tags

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Bacillus Cereus Genes Genome Food Phylogeny Dairies Ethiopia Food Microbiology Dairy Products Bacteriology Milk Emetics Cytotoxicity Anthrax Nucleotides Campylobacter Genomics Gene Campylobacter Jejuni Farms Phenotype Hygiene Fatty Acids 16s Ribosomal Rna Hungary

Most Recent Publications

kmerDB: A database encompassing the set of genomic and proteomic sequence information for each species

Ioannis Mouratidis, Fotis A. Baltoumas, Nikol Chantzi, Michail Patsakis, Candace S.Y. Chan, Austin Montgomery, Maxwell A. Konnaris, Eleni Aplakidou, George C. Georgakopoulos, Anshuman Das, Dionysios V. Chartoumpekis, Jasna Kovac, Georgios A. Pavlopoulos, Ilias Georgakopoulos-Soares, 2024, Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal on p. 1919-1928

Multi-species biofilms of environmental microbiota isolated from fruit packing facilities promoted tolerance of Listeria monocytogenes to benzalkonium chloride

M. Laura Rolon, Olena Voloshchuk, Katelyn V. Bartlett, Luke F. LaBorde, Jasna Kovac, 2024, Biofilm

Comparison of the performance of multiple whole-genome sequence-based tools for the identification of Bacillus cereus sensu stricto biovar Thuringiensis.

T Chung, A Salazar, G Harm, S Johler, L Carroll, Jasna Kovac, 2024, Applied and environmental microbiology on p. 11

Seasonal variation in the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter species in milk and milk products in Ethiopia

Abera Admasie, Tesfaye Tessema, Jessie Vipham, Jasna Kovac, Ashagrie Zewdu, 2024, International Dairy Journal on p. 7

Genomic characterization of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua isolated from milk and dairy samples in Ethiopia

Xiaoyuan Wei, Anwar Hassen, Karen McWilliams, Karen Pietrzen, Taejung Chung, Marysabel Acevedo, Tyler Chandross-Cohen, Edward Dudley, Jessie Vipham, Hassen Mamo, Tesfaye Tessema, Ashagrie Zewdu, Jasna Kovac, 2024, BMC Genomic Data on p. 12

Context matters: environmental microbiota from ice cream processing facilities affected the inhibitory performance of two lactic acid bacteria strains against Listeria monocytogenes

Laura Rolon, M. Laura Rolon, Tyler Chandross-Cohen, Kerry Kaylegian, Robert F. Roberts, Jasna Kovac, 2023, Microbiology spectrum on p. e0116723

The composition of environmental microbiota in three tree fruit packing facilities changed over seasons and contained taxa indicative of L. monocytogenes contamination

M Rolon, X Tan, T Chung, N Gonzalez-Escalona, Y Chen, D Macarisin, Luke F. LaBorde, Jasna Kovac, 2023, Microbiome on p. 24

Prevalence of Campylobacter species and associated risk factors for contamination of dairy products collected in a dry season from major milk sheds in Ethiopia

Abera Admasie, Adane Eshetu, Tesfaye Sisay Tessema, Jessie Vipham, Jasna Kovac, Ashagrie Zewdu, 2023, Food Microbiology

Evaluation of microbial hygiene indicators in raw milk, pasteurised milk and cottage cheese collected across the dairy value chain in Ethiopia

Betelhem Mengstu, Alganesh Tola, Henok Nahusenay, Tesfaye Sisay, Jasna Kovac, Jessie Vipham, Ashagrie Zewdu, 2023, International Dairy Journal

Prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance and associated genetic determinants differed among Campylobacter isolated from human and poultry meat sources in Pennsylvania

Runan Yan, Nkuchia M'ikanatha, Irving Nachamkin, Lauren Hudson, Thomas Denes, Jasna Kovac, 2023, Food Microbiology on p. 14

Most-Cited Papers

Bacillus wiedmannii sp. nov., a psychrotolerant and cytotoxic bacillus cereus group species isolated from dairy foods and dairy environments

Rachel A. Miller, Sarah M. Beno, David J. Kent, Laura M. Carroll, Nicole H. Martin, Kathryn J. Boor, Jasna Kovac, 2016, International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology on p. 4744-4753

Proposal of a taxonomic nomenclature for the bacillus cereus group which reconciles genomic definitions of bacterial species with clinical and industrial phenotypes

Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2020, mBio

Antibiotic resistance modulation and modes of action of (-)-α-Pinene in Campylobacter jejuni

Jasna Kovač, Katarina Šimunović, Zuowei Wu, Anja Klančnik, Franz Bucar, Qijing Zhang, Sonja Smole Možina, 2015, PLoS One on p. e0122871

Characterization of emetic and diarrheal Bacillus cereus strains from a 2016 foodborne outbreak using whole-genome sequencing: Addressing the microbiological, epidemiological, and bioinformatic challenges

Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, Manjari Mukherjee, David C. Nicholas, Lisa A. Mingle, Nellie B. Dumas, Jocelyn A. Cole, Jasna Kovac, 2019, Frontiers in Microbiology

Characterization of egg laying hen and broiler fecal microbiota in poultry farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia

Petra Videnska, Md Masudur Rahman, Marcela Faldynova, Vladimir Babak, Marta Elsheimer Matulova, Estella Prukner-Radovcic, Ivan Krizek, Sonja Smole-Mozina, Jasna Kovac, Ama Szmolka, Bela Nagy, Karel Sedlar, Darina Cejkova, Ivan Rychlik, 2014, PLoS One

Rapid, high-throughput identification of anthrax-causing and emetic Bacillus cereus group genome assemblies via BTyper, a computational tool for virulencebased classification of Bacillus cereus group isolates by using nucleotide sequencing data

Laura M. Carroll, Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Miller, Martin Wiedmann, 2017, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

The occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes is associated with built environment microbiota in three tree fruit processing facilities

Xiaoqing Tan, Taejung Chung, Yi Chen, Dumitru Macarisin, Luke LaBorde, Jasna Kovac, 2019, Microbiome on p. 115

Precision food safety: A systems approach to food safety facilitated by genomics tools

Jasna Kovac, Henk den Bakker, Laura M. Carroll, Martin Wiedmann, 2017, TrAC - Trends in Analytical Chemistry on p. 52-61

Production of hemolysin BL by Bacillus cereus group isolates of dairy origin is associated with whole-genome phylogenetic clade

Jasna Kovac, Rachel A. Miller, Laura M. Carroll, David J. Kent, Jiahui Jian, Sarah M. Beno, Martin Wiedmann, 2016, BMC Genomics

Intraclade variability in toxin production and cytotoxicity of Bacillus cereus group type strains and dairy-associated isolates

Rachel A. Miller, Jiahui Jian, Sarah M. Beno, Martin Wiedmann, Jasna Kovac, 2018, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

News Articles Featuring Jasna Kovac

Feb 15, 2024

What to Know About the Risk of Food Poisoning From Listeria

Important information about Listeria and the foods to watch out for

Full Article

Jan 25, 2024

Deadly Foodborne Bacteria Found To Hide From Sanitizers

A new study from Penn State University finds that Listeria bacteria may be able to evade sanitation protocols

Full Article

Jan 24, 2024

Foodborne-pathogen Listeria may hide from sanitizers in biofilms

An estimated 1,600 people in the U.S. contract a serious infection from Listeria bacteria in food each year. Penn State researchers may now better understand how the bacteria, called Listeria monocytogenes, survive and persist in fruit-packing plants by evading and surviving sanitizers.

Full Article

Jan 24, 2024

Food-borne pathogen Listeria may hide from sanitizers in biofilms

Penn State researchers may now better understand how the bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, survive and persist in fruit-packing plants by evading and surviving sanitizers

Full Article

Dec 07, 2023

Penn State researchers announce new comprehensive -Omics database

A group of Penn State scientists have announced kmerDB, an extensive catalogue of sequence information representing all domains of life.

Full Article

Nov 21, 2023

College of Ag Sciences recognizes faculty, staff for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the 2023 Research Awards Ceremony, held Nov. 1 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Aug 23, 2023

Animal microbiome researcher awarded $1.3M to study pathogenic threats

Erika Ganda was recently awarded two grants totaling $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to lead teams of scientists in studies of pathogenic threats to livestock and people.

Full Article

Jun 12, 2023

Penn State announces tenure-line faculty promotions, effective July 1, 2023

The following is a list of academic promotions for tenured and tenure-line faculty members at Penn State, effective July 1, 2023.

Full Article

May 15, 2023

Penn State's renamed One Health Microbiome Center affirms broad expertise

The Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has announced its renaming to the One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC), the first center in the world to integrate "One Health" with the microbiome sciences.

Full Article

Apr 07, 2023

Penn State Global announces 2022-23 faculty, staff, student awards

Penn State Global has announced the 2022-23 recipients of its annual awards that recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals and academic programs at Penn State who have helped to advance the University’s global engagement goals.

Full Article

Feb 24, 2023

Processing, like fermentation and roasting, doesn’t cut cocoa’s health benefits

It is widely believed that when foods undergo processing, their health benefits are reduced. But that is not true for cocoa, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers, who conducted a new study using a mouse model.

Full Article

Dec 22, 2022

2022 Top 10 Most Popular Microbiome Center News Articles

The stories that made the year in 2022 for the Penn State Microbiome Center

Full Article

Nov 08, 2022

Faculty in College of Ag Sciences recognized for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the college’s inaugural Research Awards Ceremony, held Oct. 25 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Apr 29, 2022

Microbiologists get grant to study biofilms guarding foodborne pathogen Listeria

Microbiologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $605,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how microbial biofilms protect Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium that causes the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis.

Full Article

Sep 24, 2020

Penn State Microbiome Center elects new executive committee

The Penn State Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences recently elected six new members to join its executive committee. The new members, along with 11 others who remained on the committee, started their two-year term in July.

Full Article

Jun 03, 2020

Huck graduate students among NSF award recipients

Five graduate students in Huck programs or involved with Huck centers, advised by faculty members in the College of Agricultural Sciences, were recipients or honorable mentions of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.

Full Article

Aug 21, 2019

Foodborne pathogen sheltered by harmless bacteria that support biofilm formation

Pathogenic bacteria that stubbornly lurk in some apple-packing facilities may be sheltered and protected by harmless bacteria that are known for their ability to form biofilms, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest the discovery could lead to development of alternative foodborne-pathogen-control strategies.

Full Article

May 07, 2019

Institutes of Energy and the Environment announces seed grant recipients

Several Huck researchers are among the recipients of 2018-19 IEE seed grants.

Full Article

Apr 25, 2019

Food Scientist Kovac Receives Young Investigator Award

Jasna Kovac, assistant professor of food science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently was named recipient of the Institut Merieux Young Investigator Award in Antimicrobial Resistance from the International Association for Food Protection.

Full Article