What is in Your Food?

Hotel Info

Currently PS AOAC does not have any preference for hotel accommodations. However, here are several hotels near campus.

  1. Hyatt Place UCD (1mi from conference site)
  2. Hyatt House Davis (4.1mi away, eco cost)
  3. Residence Inn (4mi away)
  4. Holiday Inn (2mi away)
  5. Hilton Garden Inn (1.5mi away in downtown)
  6. Best Western University Lodge (2mi away, eco cost)
  7. Holiday Inn Express & Suites (2.6mi away, eco cost)
  8. La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Davis (3mi away, eco cost)

Parking

We will be using ParkMobile for conference parking. Download the app here.

Please register in advance to avoid delays on the day of the event.

Preliminary Agenda

In PDF form

Monday March 23, 2026

Time Speaker Topic
7:30 - 8:30 AM   Breakfast
8:00 AM   Registration Opens
8:45 - 9:00 AM Charles Yang, President Pacific Section AOAC International and Dr. Pramod Pandey, President-elect Pacific Section AOAC International Welcome
9:00 - 9:40 AM Dr. Mark Stetter, Dean of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis TBD
9:40 - 10:20 AM Dr. Xunde Li, Research Microbiologist, University of California, Davis Antibiotic Resistance of Foodborne Bacteria in Retail Foods
10:20 - 10:40 AM   Break / Poster Session
10:40 - 11:20 AM Dr. Seth Yates, Chemistry Professor, Fresno City College Voluntold: Adventures in Chemistry Career and Technical Education in Central California
11:20 - 12:00 AM Stell Alicia, Market Development Manage, CEM Fast. Simple. Smart. The Future of Lab Workflows with CEM
12:00 - 1:00 PM   Lunch
1:00 - 1:40 PM Dr. Carlito Lebrilla, Distinguished Professor at University of California, Davis A Multi-Omics Characterization of Food
1:40 - 2:20 PM Bruna Paviani, Post Doc, University of California, Davis The differences in prebiotic oligosaccharides and select phenolics found in grape pomace from different varieties grown in California
2:20 - 3:00 PM Maria Ofitserova, Senior Research Chemist, Pickering Laboratories, Inc in Mountain View, California Analysis of Glyphosate and Other Contaminants in Food using HPLC with Post-Column Derivatization
3:00 - 3:10 PM   Break
3:10 - 3:40 PM Xiohong Wei, Project Scientist, University of California, Davis Determining the Optimal Number of Presumptive Colonies for Reliable Detection of True-Positive E. coli O157:H7 and Non-O157 STEC in Dairy Manure Using Selective Media
3:40 - 4:10 PM Dr. Rewa Rai, Project Scientist, Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis Bio-based approaches to improve stability, persistence and functionality of probiotics in the gut
4:10 - 4:20 PM Ana da Silva Oliveira, Student Presentation, University of California, Davis Assessing the risk of contamination of leafy greens and landscape use in California farmland - a participatory modeling approach
4:20 - 4:30 PM Dr. Shyam Singh, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis. Deep learning based rapid detection and Classification of Bio-aerosolized Bacteria
4:30 - 4:40 PM Students Student Presentations
4:35 - 5:00 PM Great Bear Owner TBD
6:00 - 9:00 PM   President Reception at the Great Bear Vineyards - Join us for an opportunity to network with colleagues and future colleagues.

Tuesday March 24, 2026

Time Speaker Topic
7:30 - 8:30 AM   Breakfast
8:00 AM   Registration Opens
8:45 - 9:00 AM Charles Yang, President Pacific Section AOAC International and Dr. Pramod Pandey, President-elect Pacific Section AOAC International Welcome
9:00 - 9:40 AM Dr. Greer Harris, Senior Manager of Scientific Partnerships AOAC INTERNATIONAL Current and New Scientific Initiatives
9:40 - 10:20 AM Dr. Zhengfei Lu, Principal Scientist, Herbalife MOSH/MOAH, Botanical Integrity (Identification and Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids), and Rapid Microbial Detection
0:20 - 10:40 AM   Break / Poster Session
10:40 - 11:20 AM Mario Vendrell Calatayud, Post Doc, University of California, Davis Rapid Detection of MOAH Contamination in Food Matrices Using A-TEEM and Machine Learning Models
11:20 - 12:00 AM WATERS Corp TBD
12:00 - 1:00 PM   Lunch
1:00 - 1:40 PM Dr. Bart Weimer, Chair SVM at University of California, Davis Microbial Genomics and the Future of Food Safety
1:40 - 2:20 PM Dr. Maryam Tamizifar, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Center for Analytical Chemistry, CDFA (CAC) in Sacramento, CA Multiresidue Determination of Pesticides in Cannabis Flower Using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS
2:20 - 3:00 PM Dr. Chandan Shee, Research Scientist Supervisor I, & Dr. Navneet Rai, Research Scientist II, California Department Cannabis Control Advancing Microbial Testing in Cannabis: Performance Evaluation of Aspergillus Detection Methods
3:00 - 3:10 PM   Break
3:10 - 3:50 PM Dr. Amber Kramer, Research Scientist IV, Department of Cannabis Control Challenges in Residual Pesticide Testing in Cannabis Products; from Method Development to Real-World Samples
3:50 - 4:20 PM Dr. John Kelly, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Center for Analytical Chemistry, CDFA (CAC) in Sacramento, CA Multi-Laboratory Validation of a Robust Analytical Method for Saxitoxins in Aqueous Environmental Matrices
4:20 - 5:00 PM Kris Pineda, Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist), Center for Analytical Chemistry, CDFA (CAC) in Sacramento, CA Non-Targeted Analysis and Data Processing of Pesticides in Groundwater Samples
5:00 - 5:40 PM Dr. Matt, Tom, New Food Technologies TBD
5:40 - 6:20 PM Dr. Vera Petrova Dickerson, Innova-Q TBD

Wednesday March 25, 2026

Time Speaker Topic
7:30 - 8:30 AM   Breakfast
8:00 AM   Registration Opens
8:45 - 9:00 AM Charles Yang, President Pacific Section AOAC International and Dr. Pramod Pandey, President-elect Pacific Section AOAC International Welcome
9:00 - 9:40 AM Dr. Erik J.M. Konings, Food Safety & Analytical Sciences Expert, Independent Consultant and AOAC International Past President Importance and impact of AOAC INTERNATIONAL’s new Science Program on Vitamins in Food and Dietary Supplements
9:40 - 10:10 AM Abdullah Imad M Al Rawi, Student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Davis An NLP-Based Early Warning System for Detecting Emerging Food Safety Threats
10:10 - 10:20 AM   Break
10:20 - 11:00 AM Dr. Qi Zhang, Post Doc, Professor, Dept Environmental Toxicology University of California, Davis Advancing Understanding of Atmospheric Aerosols through Online Mass Spectrometry
11:00 - 11:40 AM Dr. Vikrant Singh, Associate Toxicologist & Dr. Qiaoxiang Dong, Staff Toxicologist, Human Health Assessment Branch, Department of Pesticide Regulation, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, California, USA TBD
11:40 - 12:10 AM Abraar Karan MD MS MPH DTM&H, Instructor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases, Stanford University TBD
12:10 - 1:00 PM   Lunch / End of meeting
12:30 - 5:00 PM Agilent Sponsor Workshop with UC Davis Food and Innovations @RMI Lunch provided at RMI for registered attendees only

Sponsors (2026)