Biography

Dr. Simonne is a professor and extension food safety specialist with the University of Florida. She joined the FYCS Department in 2000. Her appointments are extension (60%), research (35%), and teaching (5%). She is actively involved with the graduate and undergraduate teaching programs. Dr. Simonne received a BS in Chemistry and Biology from the Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, and earned both MS and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Georgia. Her research program addresses chemical, microbial food safety, with specific emphasis on ethnic foods and fresh produce. She also develops many extension educational programs in the areas of safe food handling, safe produce handling, and worker health and hygiene training. Her extension program in food safety and quality serves both food professionals and consumers. Specific research projects are searchable at the USDA/Current Research Information System.

Dr. Simonne has more than 150 technical publications including refereed journal, peer reviewed research reports, peer reviewed extension fact sheets, proceedings, and peer reviewed abstracts. Her works have been recognized at the international, national, regional, and local levels. She has been successful in securing extramural funding for research and extension programs as principal investigator, co-principal investigator or co-investigator. She is a recipient of many awards for her work in extension.     

Research & evaluation interests:

My research interests cover food safety and quality issues that affect human health. For the last few years, my research area has three specific goals to: 1) systematically evaluate food constituents that affect safety and quality, using chemical, physical, and microbiological methods; 2. understand the relationship between selected food constituents and food safety and quality, as well as the relationships between food handling behavior and preparation practices by professionals and consumers; and 3. identify barriers to making healthier food choices and barriers to adopting better food safety and food handling practices, ultimately leading to healthier individuals and healthier communities. These research goals are part of A USDA CRIS approved project for 2015-2019 and other current grant projects. My research concentrates on

• Food safety
• Food quality
• Food composition
• Antimicrobial
• Food pathogens
• Food handling
• Food safety knowledge
• Ethnic food safety
• Carotenoids
• Phytonutrients