Dean Boor Elected to AAAS

Kathryn J. Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a member of the Boyce Thompson Institute board of directors, will be honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science.

Boor was among 347 researchers nationwide elected to AAAS this year for distinguished contributions to their professions.

New fellows will be honored Feb. 13 at the 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Boor, who prior to her appointment as dean served as professor and chair of the department of food science from 2007-10, was chosen for her contributions to the field of agricultural science and food microbiology, particularly for her work on the transmission of foodborne pathogens and microbes.

Boor’s research focuses on identifying and characterizing mechanisms that allow pathogenic and spoilage organisms to persist in foods and cause disease in humans. Her research accomplishments in tracking bacterial contaminants in food processing systems have been used to generate educational opportunities for the dairy industry.

Boor earned her bachelor’s in food science from Cornell (1980), her master’s in food science from the University of Wisconsin (1983) and her doctorate in microbiology (1994) from University of California, Davis. She joined Cornell in 1994.

The complete story can be found on the Cornell Chronicle website.