Megan is the 2023 recipient of the Schreiber Foods Graduate Student Scholarship. This scholarship is the result of a generous donation by Schreiber Foods to honor Dr. Vincent Zehren of Schreiber Foods and in memory of Dr. Edwin (Mike) Foster of the University of Wisconsin Food Research Institute. The scholarship is awarded annually by the Executive Committee of the Food Research Institute to a deserving graduate student who has demonstrated academic excellence and a strong commitment to a career in food microbiology and/or food safety.

Megan also received the 2023 IAFP Student Travel Scholarship to attend their annual meeting in Toronto, Canada. She will present a poster, Salmonella enterica association with diseased Romaine lettuce reduces UV-C efficacy. Megan found that S. enterica populations on leaves of healthy lettuce plants were reduced to non-detectable levels by UV irradiation. In contrast, S. enterica populations were unaffected by UV 24 and 72 hours after arrival on leaves infected with Xanthomonas vitians and the total population increased by 3 logs. X vitians-infected  plants harbored S. enterica in UV protected spaces. These results suggest that common phytopathogen diseases such as bacterial leafspot can reduce the effectiveness of preventative post-harvest food safety interventions and are a likely risk factor for produce-linked foodborne disease outbreaks.