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970.491.7703
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John N. Sofos received his B.S. degree in Agriculture from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and M.S. (Animal Science) and Ph.D. (Food Science) degrees from the University of Minnesota. After serving as a Research Associate in the Food Microbiology Laboratory of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition of the University of Minnesota, he accepted an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University in 1980, and he was promoted to Associate Professor and Professor in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Since 2007 he holds the title of University Distinguished Professor, is Director of the Center for Meat Safety & Quality, and Leader of the Food Safety Cluster of the Colorado State University Infectious Diseases SuperCluster. John Sofos also serves as scientific advisor to the Denver District Laboratory of the Food and Drug Administration, and as a Scientific Editor of the Journal of Food Protection published by the International Association for Food Protection.

In the past, John Sofos developed and taught several courses, including Food Processing I and II, Food Processing Technology, Food Processing Laboratory, Food Fermentations, Developments in Food Science, Food Microbiology, and Food Biotechnology.  Currently, he teaches Meat Safety, HACCP, and Topics in Meat Safety. He has served on 94, and has chaired 58 M.S. and Ph.D., graduate student committees.  His graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists have come from numerous countries and now hold industry, academic and government positions in the United States and several other countries throughout the world, including Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Korea, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

Current research interests of John Sofos relate to sources, ecology and extent of bacterial pathogen contamination of foods; procedures to reduce contamination and to inactivate or inhibit bacterial pathogens; stress adaptation of pathogenic bacteria; resistance of microorganisms to preservation procedures; and, methods of sampling and detection of bacteria in foods. Together with his students and collaborators he has published more than 227 refereed scientific journal articles, six books, 48 book chapters, and more than 800 other publications (including more than 27 popular press articles, 258 papers in conference proceedings and research reports, 154 invited presentations, 332 technical abstracts, and 45 bulletins), and he is listed as a Highly Cited Scientist by Thomson Scientific (www.ISIHighlyCited.com). He has presented invited seminars or lectures in Argentina, Australia (several times), Austria, Bulgaria, Canada (twice), France, Greece (several times), Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy (several times), Japan (twice), Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal (several times), Spain (several times), The Netherlands (twice), and United Kingdom (twice). 

John Sofos has served on numerous national and international committees, task forces, and food safety advisory boards including the United States National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods; the Panel for the evaluation of applications and site visits for the Department of Homeland Security Post-Harvest Food Protection and Defense Center; the American Council on Science and Health Board of Scientific and Policy Advisors; the United States National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine Committee on the Review of the USDA Escherichia coli O157:H7 Farm to Table Process Risk Assessment; the Food Safety Subcommittee of the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy/Extension Committee on Organization and Policy; a Technical Analysis Group on Meat Processing of the Food Safety and Inspection Service; a Food Safety Colloquium Group of the American Academy of Microbiology; the Conference on Food Protection; a Food Safety Advisory Board of the American Meat Institute Foundation; as a reviewer/evaluator of the undergraduate and graduate programs of the Department of Food Science and Technology, Agricultural University of Athens; as a reviewer/evaluator of proposed new graduate and undergraduate programs in Food Science for the Ministry of Education of Greece; as an evaluator of research proposals for the Ministries of Education and Development of Greece; as a member of a Research and Development Advisory Group of Meat and Livestock Australia; as Chair of a Task Force on Natural Antimicrobials for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology; as a reviewer of the World Health organization (WHO) Salmonella in Poultry Risk Assessment; as Panel Manager for the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative (twice); as Panel Manager for review of research programs of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service; member of the IFT Expert Panel on Antimicrobial Resistance; as external Ph.D. examiner for the University of Tasmania, Australia, and the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; and has participated as a collaborator or member of advisory board in three European Union funded research consortia.

John Sofos is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM), of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), and of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). He has received Distinguished Research Awards from the American Meat Science Association (AMSA) and the ASAS, and was presented with an Award of Merit and an Honored Scientist Award by local chapters of Gamma Sigma Delta and Sigma Xi, respectively.  In 2001, he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) of the USDA, and the USDA Secretary’s Honor Award for Superior Service (for leading studies on meat decontamination and bacterial pathogen control). In 2003, 2005, and 2007 he received the Educator Award, the President’s Recognition Award, and the GMA/FPA Food Safety Award, respectively, from IAFP. Other awards include a Scientific Achievement Award for Outstanding Intercenter Scientific Collaboration in the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (2002), FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation as member of ORA Counter-Terrorism Hiring/Training Team (2003), and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Regional (VIII) Director’s Citation (2005). He is a professional member of IAFP, IFT (Food Microbiology Division, Muscle Foods Division, Rocky Mountain Section), the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), AAM, the AMSA, ASAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), AOAC International, Sigma Xi, and Gamma Sigma Delta. John Sofos served as Chair of the Food Microbiology Division of IFT (2006-2007), and as IFT Rocky Mountain Section Secretary-Treasurer, Program Chair, and Chair. In addition he has served on the IFT Scientific Lectureship Committee; Publications Subcommittee; Committee for Global Interests (member and chair); Fellows Jury; Continuing Education Committee; Committee on Worldwide Interests; Muscle Foods Division Program Committee (Chair); Muscle Foods Division Nominating Committee (Chair); Food Microbiology Division Nominating Committee (Chair); judge in graduate student paper competitions; chair or co-chair of technical sessions, symposia and round tables; etc. He has also served on several committees of other scientific societies, such as the Reciprocal Meat Conference planning (and other) committees of the AMAS, the Food Safety Committee (Co-Chair and Chair) of the ASAS, the Planning Committee and Program and Publications Subcommittees for the 51st International Congress of Meat Science and Technology, various committees and professional development groups of IAFP, etc.

As a principal investigator or co-investigator, John Sofos has received over $13 million in grants, contracts or donations for research in the field of Food Technology/Safety.  Recent research efforts have centered on the microbiological quality and safety of fresh and processed meat products from beef, pork, lamb and poultry, as well as other foods.  The research results have been presented at numerous national and international scientific meetings, industry workshops and government hearings. Findings of these studies have been applied by the industry in meat decontamination technologies and by government authorities in regulatory changes.  For example, research results were cited in the Federal Register for the approval of the steam-vacuuming decontamination process for beef carcasses, while studies on beef jerky processing and Listeria monocytogenes control were cited in related USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service guidance documents.  The major focus of research by John Sofos and his group during the past decade has been on the pathogens E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and L. monocytogenes in fresh and processed meat products, and in dried fruits and vegetables.  The studies have addressed occurrence of the pathogens in fresh meat, before, during and after slaughter, and in plant environments; application of technologies to reduce their incidence on meat animal carcasses and fresh products; destruction by heat, drying and chemicals, and control of growth in processed food products; and, development of resistance and cross-protection to food preservation stresses in order to evaluate potential risks and to develop controls for such risks.  Current studies on L. monocytogenes emphasize its survival in the field, home and plant environments, potential for growth in meat and other ready-to-eat foods, control by heat processing and chemical additives, heat and acid shock resistance, detection in complex food systems, and extension education and outreach programs for the processing industry, food service, health care providers and consumers. Additional projects target potential for biofilm control and quorum sensing ability of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and L. monocytogenes in fresh and processed meats and in processing, retail and home environments, and cooking inactivation of enteric pathogens in non-intact, tenderized or restructured beef products.

Educational Background:  
B.S. Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
M.S. Animal Science (Meat Science), University of Minnesota
Ph.D. Food Science (Food Microbiology), University of Minnesota

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