For most University of Maryland students, May 9, 2024 marked the last day of Spring classes as well as the
preamble to finals and commencement ceremonies—for twenty JIFSAN interns, it also marked the last day of
their yearlong internship conducting research at various U.S. FDA worksites. 2023-24 projects ranged in area
and focus—biological sciences, chemistry, nutritional sciences, public health, as well as media and
communications—and produced several presentations and posters at scientific conferences.
“Being an active, working member within a professional microbiology lab was insightful and enriching! Through
hands-on application, I gained a robust understanding of foundational practices and computations in microbial
research, increasing my confidence, aptitude, and basic laboratory skills. Not only did I learn new techniques like
qPCR, but I also gained valuable professional experience that I wouldn't have acquired in the classroom. Finally,
the connections and friendships I formed during my internship were priceless!”
— Microbiology Major, 2023-24 JIFSAN Intern
As a new academic year gets underway, seventeen new interns and seven returning interns join us this summer
to continue research across a variety of projects and initiatives. Interns work under the mentorship of current
FDA scientists and research fellows at various FDA worksites including CFSAN, located in College Park, as well as
facilities in Laurel, MD, collectively contributing over 11,000 hours of time and effort across the program each
academic year.
We are proud of our past interns for all their accomplishments and contributions to important and emerging
research. We are delighted to report that exiting interns surveyed about their internship confirmed the many
benefits of participating—100% agree that they would consider working for the U.S. FDA in the future and that
they would recommend the JIFSAN Internship to others.
Meet our 2024-25 JIFSAN Interns:
Safiya Alam '27, Bioengineering
Internship Project: Evaluation of the use of a gut-on-a-chip system for in vitro
Propagation of Cyclospora cayetanensis with mentor Dr. Hediye Cinar
Dylan Chang '25, Biology
Internship Project: Defense Applied Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Friend or Foe
Government Transition with FDA CFSAN ORS with mentors Dr. Marc Allard and Dr. Shashi Sharma
Joanna Chang '26, Cell Biology and Genetics
Internship Project: Identifying trends in the production and use of cosmetics by analyzing
industry and consumer inquiries with mentor Dr. Elizabeth Petro
Nihar Chegireddy '25, Mathematics and Computer Science (2nd year JIFSAN Intern)
Internship Project: Research, develop, and perform IT quality control measures to curate
CFSAN regulatory data with mentor Dr. Berhane Girmay
Juliana Garcia Romero '25, Microbiology
Internship Project: Genomic characterization of stress adaptation in major foodborne
pathogens in food products and in the food processing environment with mentors Dr. Maria
Hoffmann and Dr. Jie Zheng
Sachi Irizawa '26, Cell Biology and Genetics (2nd year JIFSAN Intern, Barone Scholar)
Internship Project: Evaluation of the Performance of the FDA Validated Method for Detection of Cyclospora
cayetanensis on Different Water Sources Using a New Generation of Detection Methods Targeting the
Organellar Genomes with mentor Dr. Mauricio Durigan
Vindhya Iyer '27, Cell Biology and Genetics
Internship Project: Determine a DNA extraction method that will yield high quality DNA for
metagenomic targeted amplicon sequencing with mentor Dr. Isha Patel
Selena Jiang '25, Biochemistry
Internship Project: Further Advancing LC-MS-based Multi-mycotoxin Analysis for Regulatory Monitoring and
Surveillance with mentor Dr. Kai Zhang
Saara Khanna '26, Chemistry (2nd year JIFSAN Intern)
Internship Project: Development and validation of methods for the analysis of products marketed as dietary
supplements with mentor Dr. Rahul Pawar
Jolie Li '26, Biological Sciences (2nd year JIFSAN Intern, Barone Scholar)
Internship Project: Development of subtyping methods using molecular and genome-wide targets for speciating
Cronobacter strains using genome comparisons with mentor Dr. Gopal Gopinath
Jefferny Lin '26, Cell Biology and Genetics
Internship Project: Development and Validation of Revised Protocols for the Detection of
Cronobacter in Powdered Infant Formula, Environmental Samples and Other Infant Foods
with mentor Dr. Yi Chen
Madeline Loughlin '26, Physiology and Neurobiology
Internship Project: Shotgun Metagenomics for Detecting and Identifying Insect
Contaminants in Food with mentor Dr. Monica Pava-Ripoll
Kelsey Meis '25, Computer Science and Immersive Media Design (2nd year JIFSAN Intern)
Internship Project: Trade Complaint Review Process Development and Implementation
with mentor Dr. Jamie Hughes
Jiya Mohale '27, Cell Biology and Genetics
Internship Project: Horizon Scanning in Plant Biotechnology with mentor Dr. Carrie McMahon
Maya Murthy '25, Public Health Science
Internship Project: Genomic characterization of stress adaptation in major foodborne
pathogens in food products and in the food processing environment with mentors Dr. Maria Hoffmann and Dr. Jie Zheng
Nivitha Paranthaman '26, Physiology and Neurobiology
Internship Project: Data Preparation and Annotation for Machine Learning Applications
with mentor Dr. Ernest Kwegyir-Afful
Samarth Parekh '26, Computer Science
Internship Project: FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Tech-Enabled Traceability Project
with mentor Dr. Adam Friedlander
Manasvini Parimi '26, Biological Sciences (2nd year JIFSAN Intern)
Internship Project: Quantitation of gluten in fermented or hydrolyzed foods by a multiplex-competitive ELISA
with mentor Dr. Rakhi Panda
Malachi Peavey '27, Environmental Science and Policy
Internship Project: Development and enhancement of structure-searchable toxicology
databases derived from FDA in-house toxicity data with mentor Leighna Holt
Ellie Rogers '26, Environmental Science and Technology
Internship Project: Molecular detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis in herbs and soil with
mentor Dr. Maria (Sonia) Almeria
Thomas Vlahos '25, Communication
Internship Project: Assessment of media perception/interpretation of communications messaging on CFSAN issues with mentor Dr. Marianna Naum
Cynthia Xi '25, Biological Sciences (2nd year JIFSAN Intern)
Internship Project: Studies of permeability and biomarker modulation in an in vitro
model of intestinal epithelial tight junctions after exposure to food ingredients
(emulsifiers) and dietary supplements (probiotics) with mentor Dr. Sefat Khuda
Anya Zhang '27, Computer Science
Internship Project: Database and predictive models for skin permeability of chemicals with
mentors Dr. Miao Li, Dr. Nan An, and Dr. Kiara Fairman
Kevin Zhang '26, Bioengineering
Internship Project: Evaluation of the use of a gut-on-a-chip system for in vitro Propagation of Cyclospora
cayetanensis with mentor Dr. Surasri Sahu
JIFSAN will begin accepting applications for the 2025-26 cohort in early 2025. For more information about the
internship program and how you can apply, please visit: https://jifsan.umd.edu/research/internship-program