UMass Virologist Wins Outstanding Young Scientist Award

Matthew Moore, a recently tenured associate professor of food science, has been honored with the Outstanding Young Scientist Award in honor of Samuel Cate Prescott from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). This prestigious award includes a $3,000 honorarium and was bestowed during the IFT annual meeting in Chicago in July. Named after Prescott, a pioneer in thermal food processing, this award holds significant recognition for young scientists in the field.

Dr. Moore’s research focuses on food safety microbiology, particularly food-borne viruses. His lab aims to better understand virus-bacteria interactions in the gut, develop cost-effective methods for virus detection in foods and the environment, and create more effective disinfectants to combat foodborne viruses. Notably, Dr. Moore played a key role in founding the World Society for Virology (WSV) in 2017. The WSV, which aims to be accessible to virologists worldwide without membership fees, boasts over 1,600 members from 96 countries.

Other accomplished UMass Amherst food scientists who have received this award include Eric Decker (1997), David Julian McClements (1999), Hang Xiao (2014), Lili He (2016).