Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk

Barbara B. Kowalcyk is a recognized expert in food safety with broad experience and training in epidemiology, biostatistics/informatics, risk analysis, regulatory decision-making and public policy. For nearly 15 years, her efforts have focused on advancing a more systems-based approach to food safety that promotes evidence-based decision making and considers the broader connectedness of human, animal, and environmental health (also known as One Health). Prior to joining OSU, Dr. Kowalcyk was a senior food safety and public health scientist at RTI International and a research assistant professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science at North Carolina State University. Dr. Kowalcyk has served on several national committees, including two National Academy of Sciences committees and her current appointments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Science Board and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Board of Scientific Counselors FSMA Surveillance Working Group. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, a national 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization she co-founded in 2006 to work at the interface of science and policy to improve the food safety system. In addition to her extensive experience in food safety, Dr. Kowalcyk has over 10 years of experience as a biostatistician conducting clinical research and providing support to Data Safety Monitoring Boards in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Kowalcyk’s research interests include linking public health information with data from across the food system to enhance the understanding of foodborne disease epidemiology, support the development of evidence-informed policies and practices that prevent foodborne illness, and change behaviors around food safety from farm to fork. 

Area of Expertise: Food safety with an emphasis on foodborne disease epidemiology, informatics/biostatistics, risk analysis (risk assessment, risk management, risk communication) and surveillance systems using system-based approaches that promote One Health. Director of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention.