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Student Life
Using Microbiology to Help Make Food Safer
A Kind of
Prodigy
By Darren White
Angela Roberts, assistant professor of biology, is working with undergraduate students on hands-on food safety research projects.
H
ere’s a topic you might know a little about: Food. But how do you know that the cantaloupe you’re slicing up or the burger you are about to eat is safe? Angela Roberts, assistant professor of biology, knows. She is a microbiologist who studies food safety. Roberts is Texas Wesleyan’s co-principal investigator under a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant worth $2.5 million, split between seven universities. This is the grant’s second year. The program speaks to the need for more people – especially those with doctorate and master’s degrees – to work in food safety. As part of the grant, she also holds a workshop that provides area high school teachers with food safety lesson plans.
Food safety experts are sometimes detectives who use research to find the root of the problem. They might study the data – using modern tools like DNA fingerprinting – to discover a plant worker’s gloves are causing the problem, or maybe even floor mats in the plant. Why does that matter? “We would all like to eat, confident that we’re not going to vomit,” Roberts said. Roberts’ scientific desires didn’t begin with food safety. A Montana native – miles away from any ocean – she wanted to be a marine biologist. But as she became more involved with her undergraduate studies at St. Mary’s College of California and her graduate work at Cornell University, microbiology – and food safety – began to interest her. “I had the experience we’re trying to give to our students,” Roberts said. “I worked on a microbiology research project one-on-one with a faculty member. It changed my life.” She says that time at St. Mary’s – a small school – is one of the reasons she prefers the learning culture of Texas Wesleyan. “Faculty mentorship is really critical for a student,” Roberts said. “In science, it increases their persistence. It’s the epitome of active learning.”
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After winning biology awards, Truc Nguyen ’12 is preparing for medical school. By Darren White
You could call Truc Nguyen a renaissance man – but that wouldn’t be quite accurate. Yes, he’s a biology graduate, and he’s currently applying to medical schools. And yes, he’s a musician who taught himself guitar and has been studying piano for about eight years. And yes, he also “dabbles in poetry” and enjoys the work of masters like Robert Frost and Edgar Allan Poe. “I always want to call him a prodigy,” Bruce Benz, professor of biology, said. “He does so many things very well.” But talk to Nguyen – or ask anyone who knows him – and it’s his focus on learning about medicine that stands out. Maybe it runs in the family. His father, Trung Nguyen, is a general surgeon in Fort Worth. Or maybe it is because he’s been intrigued by medicine since he was a child. As a Boy Scout, he was very interested in first aid and the medicine and chemistry merit badges. Whatever the
reason, Nguyen says he feels a desire to do something valuable for the community. As a biology major, Nguyen was beyond impressive. He won first place in the microbiology poster competition at the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society in Puerto Rico in May. He was the top senior in his class. He was a critical thinker who thrived at Texas Wesleyan. “If you give Truc something to do,” Benz said, “he’s going to find a way to do it.” Nguyen said Texas Wesleyan empowered him to learn and grow. The diversity of discipline his biology professors had, allowed him to approach problems from different angles and to succeed as an individual. “The faculty at Texas Wesleyan helped from day one,” Nguyen said. “They helped me realize what it would take to get in to medical school.” Thanks to the help of Texas Wesleyan, Nguyen said, he hopes to be helping others very soon.
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