The JIFSAN undergraduate internship’s 2026-27 cohort began this past June, marking the 29th year of this highly competitive program. Eligible University of Maryland, College Park undergraduate students participate in research at local FDA facilities—the Harvey Wiley Building in College Park and the MOD1 & MOD11 facilities on Muirkirk Road in Laurel, MD—and conduct experiential work in several areas including but not limited to biology, chemistry, biochemistry, entomology, microbiology, nutritional sciences, toxicology, and public health.
This year’s cohort welcomes one returning intern and sixteen new interns to continue research across a variety of projects and initiatives within the Human Foods Program (HFP) at FDA. Interns work under the mentorship of current FDA scientists and research fellows, collectively contributing over 11,000 hours of time and effort across the program each academic year.
Meet our 2026-27 JIFSAN Interns:
Sabrina Albert '29, Biochemistry
Internship Project: Expansion of a Targeted Metagenomic Method for the Detection and Identification of Arthropod Contaminants in Diverse Food Matrices with mentor Dr. Monica Pava-Ripoll
Srikar Bala '27, Biology
Internship Project: Single Lab Validation of a Nitrogen Sustained Microwave Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer for Nutrient Element Analysis of Foods with mentor Dr. Jake Carter
Hadassah Bolden '29, Microbiology
Internship Project: Evaluation of the effectiveness of post-harvest treatment of enoki mushrooms for reduction of Listeria monocytogenes with mentor Dr. Laurel Burall
Amelia Cairns '29, Biology
Internship Project: Single Laboratory Validation of Commercial Allergen ELISA Test Kits with mentor Dr. Rakhi Panda
Aurna Dasgupta '29, Microbiology
Internship Project: Development and Validation of Improved Molecular Detection and Characterization of L. monocytogenes and Listeria spp. in Food and Environmental Matrices with mentor Dr. Yi Chen
Vindhya Iyer '27, Cell Biology and Genetics (3rd year JIFSAN intern)
Internship Project: Evaluating the detection of Salmonella from artificially contaminated cucumbers using Targeted Amplicon Sequencing and Whole Metagenomic Sequencing with mentor Dr. Isha Patel
Marina Katsumoto '28, Physiology & Neurobiology, Nutritional Science
Internship Project: Surveillance of Mycotoxins in Plant-Based Foods with mentor Dr. Kai Zhang
Hannah LaPadula '27, Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry
Internship Project: Rapid Mass Spectral Identification of Food Contact Polymers and Additives with mentor Dr. Luke Lindahl-Ackerman
Margaret Lynch '27, Biochemistry
Internship Project: Investigation of PFAS in Foods with mentor Dr. Susan Genualdi
Isabella Quito '28, Cell Biology and Genetics
Internship Project: Evaluation of the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for Propagation of Cyclospora cayetanensis with mentor Dr. Hediye Cinar
Samantha Rafiqul '28, Neuroscience
Internship Project: Screening of Chemical Residues and Contaminants Food using UHPLC-HRMS and a Compound Database with mentor Dr. Jon Wong
Pranav Samuel '27, Computer Science
Internship Project: Improved data analysis pipelines for global chemical screening approaches with mentor Dr. Karen Butler
Veronica Sanchez '28, Cell Biology and Genetics
Internship Project: Development of Enhanced Methodologies for Purification, Sporulation and Excystation of Cyclospora cayetanensis Oocysts with mentor Dr. Surasri Sahu
Saisidharth Seyyadri '27, Information Science
Internship Project: HFP Data Transparency and Work Plan Efficiency Building with mentor Dr. Jamie Hughes
Daniel Solan '28, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Internship Project: Multi-laboratory Validation of a LC-MS/MS Method for the Quantification of Morphine, Codeine, and Thebaine on Poppy Seeds with mentor Dr. Katherine Fiedler
Aysegul Yildiz '28, Biochemistry (Pre-Medicine)
Internship Project: Determination of virulence potential of Listeria monocytogenes in relation to its effect on gut barrier function with mentor Dr. Sefat Khuda
Claire Zhu '28, Information Science
Internship Project: Standardizing Pathogen Genomic Surveillance Data with mentor Dr. Ruth Timme
For more information about the internship program and how you can apply in future cohorts, please visit: https://jifsan.umd.edu/research/internship-program