Dr. Beilei Ge is a Research Microbiologist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, Office of Research, Division of Animal and Food Microbiology in Laurel, Maryland. In this role, Dr. Ge leads microbial food and feed research program in support of the FDA/CVM’s regulatory mission. Specifically, her research group works on developing rapid, reliable, and robust pathogen detection methods in animal food, characterizing phenotypic and genotypic traits of foodborne pathogens and indicator organisms in animal food, evaluating mitigation strategies for pathogen control in animal food, and investigating antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in foodborne bacteria. Dr. Ge’s research employs traditional microbiological and molecular methods and newer genomic and metagenomics tools. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Ge was a faculty member in the Department of Food Science at Louisiana State University, with a primary research and teaching appointment in food safety. During her tenure at LSU (2004-2011), Dr. Ge developed a nationally recognized research program in food safety microbiology, including rapid method development, food surveys, and antimicrobial resistance studies.  Dr. Ge received her Ph.D. in Food Science/Food Microbiology from the University of Maryland in 2002 followed with two-year postdoctoral training at the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in Food Science and Technology from the Ocean University of China in 1997.