M I C R O BI A L F O O D S A F E T Y PR O F E S S O R S H IP E N A B LE S M I C R O BI O L O G I S T T O R E S E A R C H , E D U CAT E . PHOTO / MANDY GROSS
Food microbiologist Peter Muriana has always been interested in research related to cultures in food products.
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rofessor Peter Muriana’s work protecting people from the potentially dire consequences of foodborne illnesses is being facilitated through an endowed professorship. The food microbiologist recently received the Advance Food Company/S.E. Gilliland Professorship in Microbial Food Safety. “It’s what I am able to do with the endowed professorship that is important,” Muriana says. “With this professorship, I intend to use the funds to enrich my activities in research, extension and teaching.” Muriana, an OSU animal-science professor in the Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center, says the long title of the Advance Food Company/S.E. Gilliland Professorship in Microbial Food Safety is indicative of its importance. “The title of the professorship carries two names: one a large, successful Oklahoma food company, and the other an eminent faculty member of OSU and noted food microbiologist, so to be associated with a title bearing both of these names is an honor,” Muriana says. The professorship was initiated in 2008 when former FAPC food
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microbiologist Stanley Gilliland challenged his fellow animal-science faculty and other organizations to contribute to the professorship he created with Advance Food Co., which resulted in donations of $288,500. Founded in 1973 by Paul Allen and David McLaughlin, Advance Food Co. merged with Pierre Foods Inc. in 2010, resulting in AdvancePierre Foods. It has become a leading supplier of further processed ready-to-eat products such as warm-and-serve hamburgers. “I have been involved in the center since its inception,” says McLaughlin, a member of the FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee. “We have a lot of great employees who graduated from OSU and wanted to support the institution,” McLaughlin says. “Basically, we wanted to give back in some way. We weren’t sure exactly how it was going to end up, but we decided to give the resources to the university and let them decide how to best use it.” Gilliland died in 2010, but his legacy lives through this gift and its intention for the continual improvement of food safety through research and education.
“Many food companies have supported FAPC through cash donations targeted at specific short-term needs such as seminars or funding to support graduate-student assistantships,” says Chuck Willoughby, FAPC business and marketing relations manager. “Endowments, however, are perpetual. The principal remains in place to generate funding on an ongoing basis and likewise, recognition of the endowment is ongoing.” SUPPORTS RESE ARCH AND STUDENTS
Throughout his post-graduate and professional career, Muriana says he has always worked on research related to beneficial and inhibitory cultures, which was also one of Gilliland’s areas of expertise. “For more than 25 years, I have engaged in research identifying and characterizing antimicrobial proteins (i.e., bacteriocins) produced by lactic acid bacteria that could have potential use as food preservatives,” Muriana says. “I know this is one subject that was close to Dr. Gilliland, as he too was involved with beneficial microbial cultures.”