September 2026

Assistant Professor of Food Microbiology

Food Science and Technology
Position description

The Department of Food Science and Technology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis is recruiting an Assistant Professor of Food Microbiology with a preferred emphasis in Genomics and Ecology of Microbial Foodborne Pathogens. This is an academic year (9-month), tenure track Assistant Professor position that includes an appointment in the California Agricultural Experiment Station (AES).

Adults seated in a small meeting room facing a presenter and TV

Extension & Industry Relations Update: Fall 2026

Viticulture and Enology
 

The Department of Viticulture and Enology co-hosted, along with the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and Western SARE, a Climate Resilience in Vineyards Workshop, at the Oakville Station on June 3, 2026. There were presentations on temperature extremes, pests and diseases, water use and drought adaptation, soil health and dry farming, and wildfire and smoke taint. Following the talks there was a Q and A session with the speakers and then attendees broke into groups to discuss what kind of research and other resources would be useful going forward.

Two smiling men on stage holding a wooden award plaque against purple curtains

Awards & Honors

Viticulture and Enology

Congratulations to Distinguished Professor, David E. Block! He was the recipient of the 2026 American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) Merit Award at the ASEV National Conference in Boise, ID, on June 17-18, 2026. This award recognizes “individuals who have contributed to the progress and advancement of enology or viticulture in an outstanding and distinguished manner for the Society and/or wine industry.”  Dr.

Large group of young adults in formal attire with gold stoles posing outdoors under trees

Congratulations to the 2026 Graduating Students

Viticulture and Enology

The Department of Viticulture and Enology (V&E) hosted an outdoor graduation celebration for our students receiving their B.S. or M.S. in Viticulture and Enology on Friday, June 12, 2026. Distinguished Professor Emeritus Hildegarde Heymann, who retired this year, delivered a graduation speech, and Department Chair Dr. Ben Montpetit, and graduate and undergraduate advisor, Liz Price, presented the 2026 graduates and citation recipients. Last year’s DEVO president, Dan Kline, announced the 2026 Departmental Teaching Award, which was given to Dr.

Person in dark puffer jacket and sunglasses smiling on grassy cliff by foggy rocky coast

Alumni Profile: Cindy Kron

Viticulture and Enology

Year of graduation and degree: 

  • December 2013: B.S. Viticulture & Enology; Minor: Agricultural Pest Management

  • September 2018: Ph.D., Entomology

Current job title/company:  
North Coast Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Advisor/University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources (UC ANR) 

Worker in safety glasses lifts curved metal piece over industrial machinery

Student Profile: Kaylianne Jordan

Viticulture and Enology

Student standing: 
I just graduated with my B.S. in Viticulture and Enology, and I am now starting my first year of the master's program.

Degree/Focus/interest areas: 
Viticulture and Enology, with a growing interest in how the industry adapts to climate change.

Where are you from originally? 
I was born in Vallejo, went to high school in Grass Valley, and then lived in Oakland for six years before moving to Davis.

Blue-gloved hand holding a microtube above a white rack of capped tubes on a lab bench

A Century of California Wine Yeast, Reunited

Viticulture and Enology

UC Davis Awarded Funding to Merge the Viticulture & Enology Wine Microbe Collection with the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection

For more than sixty years, two of the most important libraries of California microbiology have lived in separate departments on the UC Davis campus. Now, thanks to a grant from the American Vineyard Foundation and Washington Wine Commission, they're (re)uniting.

Students in lecture hall sampling wine, glasses and bottles on desks, presenter at front.

Course Profile: VEN 103 – Commercial Winemaking

Viticulture and Enology

Course Profile: VEN 103 – Commercial Winemaking

Wine production is often described in terms of grapes, fermentation, and aging, but producing wine on a commercial scale involves much more than just making a good wine. Winemakers and winery business leaders must make decisions about equipment, production volumes, costs, timing, quality, risk, regulatory requirements, packaging, suppliers, and how a wine will ultimately reach the consumer. Understanding how all of these pieces fit together is essential to managing a successful commercial winery.

Kasey Schalich in lab coat at glovebox isolator in a research laboratory

UC Davis Postdoctoral Researcher Receives NIH F32 Fellowship to Study How Milk Components May Influence Cognition Through the Gut Microbiome

Food Science and Technology
UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology postdoctoral researcher Dr. Kasey Schalich has been awarded an NIH F32 fellowship to investigate how a bioactive component of milk may influence cognitive development through the gut microbiome-brain axis. The project, “A bioactive milk component promotes cognition through the gut microbiome-brain axis,” will examine how milk-derived glycoconjugates interact with beneficial gut bacteria and whether these interactions increase the availability of sialic acid, a molecule important for neurodevelopment.