PEOPLE IN PROJECT 3.3 SEABAC

Project leader is Dr. Rachel Rangdale from CEFAS, the EU Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) for the viral and bacteriological monitoring of bivalve molluscs. Dr Rangdale is the co-ordinator of the CRL and is responsible for running international proficiency testing schemes for microbial contaminants in seafood. She has well-established expertise in human pathogenic vibrios and is leading the CEN TAG3 working group on Vibrio spp. methods. Research interests also include bacterial characterisation using molecular techniques and development of standard methods for detection of viruses in seafood. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

rachel.rangdale@cefas.co.uk

Key persons in SEABAC:

Dr. Dominique Hervio-Heath of IFREMER has extensive experience in bacterial contamination of shellfish and water. Her particular expertise is in the development of methodologies for the detection and numeration of pathogenic vibrios in the environment. She will be leading the development and standardisation of quantitative PCR for Vibrio spp. in this project. She is also currently working on the retention of virulence properties by viable but non culturable (VBNC) Vibrio parahemolyticus and V. vulnificus.

Dr. Luciana Croci, is also in project 3.1. She is from the Italian National Institute of Health of Rome, is in charge of research activities related to hygienic microbiological problems of food, particularly seafood products on the activity of NRL for microbiological contamination of mussels. Specially she has been dealing with the development of methods for determining pathogenic bacteria and enteric viruses in food and studies on the persistence and behaviour of enteric viruses in mussels subjected to different treatments.

luciana.croci(at)iss.it

Dr. Sónia Pedro from the National Research Institute on Agriculture and Fisheries (INIAP/IPIMAR) is head of the Microbiology Laboratory and has consolidated experience in the areas of shellfish hygiene and seafood safety. She has been the national leader for EU and regional funded projects related to seafood quality and safety. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Sigrun Gudmundsdottir is the leading scientist on molecular analysis at IFL. She specialises in the following techniques: Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), PCR methods and manual ribotyping. Her work has mainly been on typing and creating databases on Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni, as well as some work with Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Dr. Jaime Martinez-Urtaza, from the Instituto de Acuicultura of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, has conducted an intensive study of the presence of human pathogen bacteria in the marine environment and seafood, focused his current research in source tracking of bacterial contamination by molecular typing techniques. Collectively these partners have an extensive experience and track record in the area of bacterial contamination of seafoods. The involvement of the CRL and the NRLs from five European Member States within the above projects ensures both the mobilisation of the best expertise and knowledge within <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Europe and also ensures a formal route for exploitation and dissemination of developed technologies through to end user laboratories.