What is in Your Food?
Hotel Info
Currently PS AOAC does not have any preference for hotel accommodations. However, here are several hotels near campus.
- Hyatt Place UCD (1mi from conference site)
- Hyatt House Davis (4.1mi away, eco cost)
- Residence Inn (4mi away)
- Holiday Inn (2mi away)
- Hilton Garden Inn (1.5mi away in downtown)
- Best Western University Lodge (2mi away, eco cost)
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites (2.6mi away, eco cost)
- La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Davis (3mi away, eco cost)
Parking
You can choose between HONK (recommended) or ParkMobile.
UC Davis affiliates may be eligible for lower rates, see https://transportation.ucdavis.edu/aggiepark
Please register in advance to avoid delays on the day of the event.
Agenda
In PDF form! Contains poster session info.
Monday March 23, 2026
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 - 8:30 AM | Breakfast | |
| 8:00 AM | Registration Opens | |
| 8:45 - 9:00 AM | Charles Yang, President Pacific Section AOAC International and Dr. Pramod Pandey, President-elect Pacific Section AOAC International | Welcome |
| 9:00 - 9:40 AM | Dr. Mark Stetter, Dean of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis | TBD |
| 9:40 - 10:20 AM | Dr. Xunde Li, Research Microbiologist, University of California, Davis | Antibiotic Resistance of Foodborne Bacteria in Retail Foods |
| 10:20 - 10:40 AM | Break / Poster Session | |
| 10:40 - 11:20 AM | Dr. Seth Yates, Chemistry Professor, Fresno City College | Voluntold: Adventures in Chemistry Career and Technical Education in Central California |
| 11:20 - 12:00 AM | Stell Alicia, Market Development Manage, CEM | Fast. Simple. Smart. The Future of Lab Workflows with CEM |
| 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Lunch | |
| 1:00 - 1:40 PM | Dr. Carlito Lebrilla, Distinguished Professor at University of California, Davis | A Multi-Omics Characterization of Food |
| 1:40 - 2:20 PM | Bruna Paviani, Post Doc, University of California, Davis | The differences in prebiotic oligosaccharides and select phenolics found in grape pomace from different varieties grown in California |
| 2:20 - 2:50 PM | Maria Ofitserova, Senior Research Chemist, Pickering Laboratories, Inc in Mountain View, California | Analysis of Glyphosate and Other Contaminants in Food using HPLC with Post-Column Derivatization |
| 2:50 - 3:10 PM | Break/Poster Session | |
| 3:10 - 3:25 PM | Xiohong Wei, Project Scientist, University of California, Davis | Determining the Optimal Number of Presumptive Colonies for Reliable Detection of True-Positive E. coli O157:H7 and Non-O157 STEC in Dairy Manure Using Selective Media |
| 3:25 – 3:50 PM | Dr. Rewa Rai, Project Scientist, Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis | Bio-based approaches to improve stability, persistence and functionality of probiotics in the gut |
| 3:50 – 4:05 PM | Asutosh Shukla (Dr. Qi Zhang), Professor, Dept Environmental Toxicology University of California, Davis | Advancing Understanding of Atmospheric Aerosols through Online Mass Spectrometry |
| 4:05 – 4:20 PM | Jiwon Oh, Postdoc Researcher, Public Health Sciences, UC Davis | Plasticizers in Food: Characterizing Exposure in Pregnant Women and Children and Associated Health Risks |
| 4:20 – 4:30 PM | Rodrigo Profeta, University of California, Davis | Characterization of genomic features associated with antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in Enterococcus spp. isolated from retail chicken and pork in California and Hawaii |
| 4:30 – 4:40 PM | Ana da Silva Oliveira, Student Presentation, University of California, Davis | Assessing the risk of contamination of leafy greens and landscape use in California farmland - a participatory modeling approach |
| 4:40 – 4:50 PM | Abdullah Imad M Al Rawi, Student Presentation, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Davis | An NLP-Based Early Warning System for Detecting Emerging Food Safety Threats |
| 4:50 – 5:00 PM | Neeraj Chandrasekar & Elina Sahoo, Student Presentation, Davis Senior High School & Rocklin High School | Impacts of different drying methods on drying rates of various peppers and quantification of capsaicinoid levels using HPLC |
| 6:00 - 9:00 PM | President Reception at the Great Bear Vineyards - Join us for an opportunity to network with colleagues and future colleagues. |
Tuesday March 24, 2026
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 - 8:30 AM | Breakfast | |
| 8:00 AM | Registration Opens | |
| 8:45 - 9:00 AM | Charles Yang, President Pacific Section AOAC International and Dr. Pramod Pandey, President-elect Pacific Section AOAC International | Welcome |
| 9:00 - 9:40 AM | Dr. Greer Harris, Senior Manager of Scientific Partnerships | AOAC INTERNATIONAL Current and New Scientific Initiatives |
| 9:40 - 10:20 AM | Dr. Zhengfei Lu, Principal Scientist, Herbalife | MOSH/MOAH, Botanical Integrity (Identification and Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids), and Rapid Microbial Detection |
| 10:20 - 10:40 AM | Break / Poster Session | |
| 10:40 - 11:20 AM | Mario Vendrell Calatayud, Post Doc, University of California, Davis | Rapid Detection of MOAH Contamination in Food Matrices Using A-TEEM and Machine Learning Models |
| 11:20 - 12:00 AM | Dr. Naren Meruva, Director, Food & Environmental Markets, Waters Corporation | Flexible Methods for Analysis of Natural Toxins in Food to Meet Current and Future Regulatory Requirements |
| 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Lunch | |
| 1:00 - 1:40 PM | Dr. Bart Weimer, Chair SVM at University of California, Davis | Microbial Genomics and the Future of Food Safety |
| 1:40 - 2:20 PM | Dr. Maryam Tamizifar, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Center for Analytical Chemistry, CDFA (CAC) in Sacramento, CA | Multiresidue Determination of Pesticides in Cannabis Flower Using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS |
| 2:20 - 3:00 PM | Dr. Chandan Shee, Research Scientist Supervisor I, & Dr. Navneet Rai, Research Scientist II, California Department Cannabis Control | Advancing Microbial Testing in Cannabis: Performance Evaluation of Aspergillus Detection Methods |
| 3:00 - 3:10 PM | Break | |
| 3:10 - 3:50 PM | Dr. Amber Kramer, Research Scientist IV, Department of Cannabis Control | Challenges in Residual Pesticide Testing in Cannabis Products; from Method Development to Real-World Samples |
| 3:50 - 4:20 PM | Dr. John Kelly, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Center for Analytical Chemistry, CDFA (CAC) in Sacramento, CA | Multi-Laboratory Validation of a Robust Analytical Method for Saxitoxins in Aqueous Environmental Matrices |
| 4:20 - 5:00 PM | Kris Pineda, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Center for Analytical Chemistry, CDFA (CAC) in Sacramento, CA | Non-Targeted Analysis and Data Processing of Pesticides in Groundwater Samples |
| 5:00 - 5:40 PM | Dr. Matt Tom, Tom Sidebottom, & Zach Eisenberg, New Food Technologies | What’s NOT in Your Food/Product |
Wednesday March 25, 2026
| Time | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 - 8:30 AM | Breakfast | |
| 8:00 AM | Registration Opens | |
| 8:45 - 9:00 AM | Charles Yang, President Pacific Section AOAC International and Dr. Pramod Pandey, President-elect Pacific Section AOAC International | Welcome |
| 9:00 - 9:40 AM | Dr. Erik J.M. Konings, Food Safety & Analytical Sciences Expert, Independent Consultant and AOAC International Past President | Importance and impact of AOAC INTERNATIONAL’s new Science Program on Vitamins in Food and Dietary Supplements |
| 9:40 - 10:10 AM | Dr. Vera Petrova Dickinson, Founder & CEO, Innova-Q | Applications of AI in Modern Food Safety Systems |
| 10:10 - 10:20 AM | Break | |
| 10:20 – 10:50 AM | Dr. Shyam Singh, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis | Deep learning based rapid detection and Classification of Bio-aerosolized Bacteria |
| 10:50 - 11:30 AM | Dr. Vikrant Singh, Associate Toxicologist & Dr. Qiaoxiang Dong, Staff Toxicologist, Human Health Assessment Branch, Department of Pesticide Regulation, California Environmental Protection Agency | Human Health Risk Assessment in Pesticide Labeling and Residue Monitoring in Food and Water in California |
| 11:30 - 12:00 PM | Abraar Karan MD MS MPH DTM&H, Instructor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases, Stanford University | Understanding the H5N1 outbreak in Dairy Farms in the United States |
| 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Lunch / End of meeting | |
| 12:30 - 5:00 PM | Agilent Sponsor Workshop with Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis | Lunch provided at RMI for registered attendees only |
Sponsors (2026)
platinum: Waters
Waters provides integrated chromatography and mass spectrometry workflows that help food labs quickly identify and quantify chemical compounds, maintain compliance, reduce costs, improve productivity, and support public safety.
platinum: CEM Corporation
CEM's applied market solutions for food analysis deliver fast, accurate, and reliable results that improve daily laboratory efficiency. From sample preparation for elemental analysis and persistent organic pollutants to routine moisture/solids, fat, and protein testing, CEM systems reduce analysis time, enhance reproducibility, and increase throughput while maintaining high-quality results. Microwave-based technologies and automation ensure rapid, consistent preparation of simple and complex food matrices, minimizing variability, while direct analysis eliminates delivers accurate results in minutes. Together, these solutions enable faster turnaround times, reduced rework, regulatory compliance, and efficient, data-driven decision-making for food manufacturers and contract laboratories.
gold: Pickering Laboratories
basic: Sciex
basic: Restek
basic: Agilent Technologies