Wikipedia:WikiProject/NAL/Mycotoxin Detection

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Mycotoxin Detection Edit-a-thon at the U.S. National Agricultural Library announcement image. September 10, 2024

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins that produce fungi (molds) on various foods. They produce toxins that are harmful to humans and animals, causing severe illness, and some have been linked to long-term health effects.

Mold growth can happen before or after harvest, during storage, or on/in the food itself under warm, humid, and damp conditions. It can grow post-harvest in foods such as cereals, dried fruits, nuts, and spices; it is a concern in grain crops pre-harvest. Join the Food Safety Research Information Office (FSRIO) and the Agricultural Law Information Partnership at the USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL) for an informational webinar about mycotoxins followed by a Wikipedia editing training session to improve Wikipedia webpages about mycotoxins.

During the event, attendees will hear from food science experts in mycotoxins, Dr. Revathi Shanmugasundaram and Dr. Martha Vaughn. The webinar will also include an overview of mycotoxins and NAL’s resources on food safety from Dr. Dawanna James-Holly, and a legal update about mycotoxins from Laurie Beyranevand from the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at the Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Following the webinar, Wikipedia editing training will be offered by Ms. Jamie Flood, NAL’s Senior Wikipedian and Outreach Specialist to work on editing and writing articles about mycotoxins on Wikipedia. Please register on Zoom, attendees are not required to attend both sessions, and may come and go as they need.

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Livestream

Zoom link upon registration

When

September 10, 2024

10:30am-3:00pm Eastern

Where

Virtual!

Details

No Wikipedia editing experience is necessary; training will be provided.

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Schedule

(All times are in Eastern Time)

10:30 - 10:35 am Welcome and Land Acknowledgement

10:35 - 10:45 am Overview of Mycotoxins with Dr. Dawanna James-Holly (NAL)

10:45 - 11:05 am Presentation from Dr. Revathi Shanmugasundaram (USDA-ARS)

11:05 - 11:25 am Presentation from Dr. Martha Vaughn (USDA-ARS)

11:25 - 11:35 am Legal overview from Laurie Beyranevand (Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law & Graduate School)

11:35 - 11:50 am Time for questions from attendees

11:50 am - 12:15 pm BREAK

12:15 - 12:45 pm Wikipedia editing training with Jamie Flood (User:JamieF, NAL)

12:45 - 3:00 pm Time to edit and work together

Speaker Information

Dawanna James-Holly is the science content manager for the Food Safety and Research Information Office (FSRIO) and is a subject matter expert in evidence synthesis and ensures all resources are 508 compliant and appropriate for food scientists in academia, government, and the private sector. She managers the Food Safety Working Group in partnership with the ARS national program 108, USDA NIFA representatives and USDA FSIS' science liaison. James-Holly has over 18 years of experience administering federal government programs and as a grants administrator for USDA competitive and capacity grant programs. At USDA she administered the USDA NIFA AFRI competitive grant programs for 6 years across the institute of food safety and nutrition as a program specialist. She led the Food Safety Outreach Program (FSOP) in partnership with FDA on the implementation of the FSMA regulation.

Revathi Shanmugasundaram is a research biologist with USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) focused on mycotoxin-contaminated animal feed and the adverse effects on poultry safety, health, development, physiology, and associated microbiome. Monitoring and assessment of mycotoxin exposure in poultry by using miRNS biomarkers-based bioassay. Shamugasundaram has over 75 publications.

Martha Vaughan is a molecular biologist with interdisciplinary training in plant stress physiology, defense signaling, and secondary metabolism. She received both her BSc (2004) and PhD in biology (2010) from Virginia Tech. She conducted postdoctoral research on maize defenses against biotic and abiotic stress with the USDA-ARS Chemistry Unit at the Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology in Gainesville FL. In 2013, she joined the Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research Team at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL to pursue research investigating the effects of abiotic stress on crop-fungal pathogen interactions in a manner that influences downstream mycotoxin production and grain contamination. Her goal is to identify sustainable and climate resilient strategies to eliminate mycotoxin contamination in grain and enhance food safety. Dr. Vaughan uses ecological, molecular and biochemical approaches to evaluate plant pathogenicity and the phenomena that naturally regulate mycotoxin production.

Laurie Beyranevand is the Director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and a Professor of Law at Vermont Law and Graduate School. The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems trains law and policy students to develop real-world solutions for a more sustainable and just food system. Beyranevand received a BA from Rutgers College in 1999 and a JD from Vermont Law School in 2003. She clerked in the Environmental Division of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Marie E. Lihotz in New Jersey. Prior to joining the faculty at Vermont Law School, Beyranevand was a Staff Attorney at Vermont Legal Aid where she represented adults and children in individual cases and class action litigation advocating for access to health care, education equality, and civil rights. In that capacity, she appeared in state and federal court, as well as before administrative adjudicative bodies, and served as an appointed member of the Human Rights Committee. Laurie Beyranevand has published a number of scholarly articles and book chapters that focus on the connections between human health and the food system. Her work has been cited in petitions to major federal agencies, books, blogs, and articles, and she has been quoted in Politico, Mother Jones, the Christian Science Monitor, Climate Wire, the Washington Post, and E & E Greenwire, among others. She is an appointed member of the Food and Drug Law Institute and Georgetown Law School’s Food and Drug Law Journal Editorial Advisory Board, a founding member of the Academy of Food Law and Policy, and the Chair Elect of the Agriculture and Food Law Section of the American Association of Law Schools. She is admitted to the New York and Vermont State Bars, as well as the U.S. District Court, District of Vermont.

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