Mindy M. Brashears, PhD

Mindy Brashears is the former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety and is now serving as a Professor of Food Safety and Public Health. She holds the Roth and Letch Family Endowed Chair for Food Safety. She is also the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence at Texas Tech University. Her research focuses on interventions in pre-and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance. Her work has resulted in the commercialization of pre-harvest feed additives that reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle. She also leads international research teams to Mexico Belize and Argentina to improve food safety and security in those sectors and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She teaches courses in food microbiology and food safety and offers industry training in food sanitation, recalls and food security. She holds a B.S. in food technology from Texas Tech and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in food science from Oklahoma State University.