Research Team (Pillai lab)
Molecular Environmental and Food Microbiology Team: The Pillai lab provides comprehensive end-to-end molecular microbiology support for all microbiology and molecular biology related projects at the NCEBR. This team is made up of experienced molecular microbiologists and food scientists. The team has full-time scientists as well as Ph.D. and Masters graduate students and talented undergraduate students in food science, chemical engineering, and electrical engineering. The undergraduates are part of the prestigious Texas A&M University Undergraduate Research Scholars and the Aggie Research Programs. For projects that require additional expertise we team with researchers and faculty from other Texas A&M University departments and Centers. Learn more at pillailab-tamu.org.
Director: Professor Suresh Pillai is the Director of Texas A&M University’s National Center for Electron Beam Research (NCEBR) and Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Senior Faculty Fellow. He is the Associate Department Head for Graduate Programs in the Food Science & Technology Department at Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of the International Forum on Industrial Processes and has served on the FDA’s Science Advisory Board for the National Center for Toxicological Research and the Foundation for Food & Agricultural Research.
He brings together researchers from across the Texas A&M University System and around the world to harness their skills to make paradigm-shifting changes in how we address contemporary food, public-health and environmental challenges. He is a molecular microbiologist by training, and has been with Texas A&M University System for 31 years. His research program focuses on molecular microbiology as it relates to food processing, food safety, and environmental microbiology. In addition, his research focuses on the detection, characterization, and decontamination of microbial populations in natural and man-made ecosystems using a variety of contemporary tools such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics.
He has over two decades worth of experience with eBeam and X-ray technologies. His current research is focused on harnessing eBeam technology for a wide variety of applications of relevance to public and animal health including food pasteurization, cosmetics sterilization, chewing tobacco sterilization, medical device sterilization, development of vaccines and the remediation of environmental pollutants.
His outreach and education programs are aimed at adoption of eBeam and X-ray technology not only to reduce the global nuclear security threats but also to stimulate economic prosperity in underdeveloped parts of the world. His research is funded by a variety of federal agencies including the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Radiological Security, the Department of Defense, the EPA, and a variety of other entities. He is a subject matter expert for the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the US National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Radiological Security. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed research papers, edited/authored 6 reference books, 35 book chapters and has presented his research and global vision in over 70 countries.
Pillai Lab Alumni
