Hans P. Blaschek

Title

Office
Phone
Fax
e-mail
Latest Degree

Professor of Food Microbiology and Assistant Dean,
Office of Research
488 Animal Sciences Laboratory
(217) 333-8224
(217) 244-2517

Ph.D. Rutgers University, 1980

Research interests

• Genetic and physiological manipulation of Clostridia & exploiting the potential of these microorganisms for biotechnology application in the fermentation industry
• Modeling of Shigella boydii growth, survival and biofilm formation in minimally-processed foods which have been implicated in foodborne outbreaks
• Examination of survival of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in apple juice.

Recent Awards

• Funk Award for Outstanding Contribution to Betterment of Agriculture
• Excellence in Extramural Teaching Award
• University Scholars

Dr. Blaschek obtained a B.S. in biological sciences from Rutgers College in 1974 and went on to obtain an M.S. (1977) and Ph.D. (1980) in Food Microbiology from the Department of Food Science at Rutgers University. He joined the faculty in the Department of Food Science at the University of Illinois in 1980 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1986 and full Professor in 1991. He served as Interim Head of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition from May 2000 to August 2002. He is currently Professor and Assistant Dean in the ACES Office of Research. He and his wife Linda have two children, Kristen and Michelle.

Dr. Blaschek's research interests center around the genetic and physiological manipulation of the Clostridia. He is particularly interested in (1) exploiting the potential of non-toxigenic solventogenic Clostridia for biotechnology application in the fermentation industry, and (2) elucidating the mechanisms for biofilm formation by foodborne S. boydii. He currently has funding from the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Illinois-Missouri Biotechnology Alliance, Council for Food and Agricultural Research, Mitsubishi Chemical, and the USDA Value-Added Non-Foods program.

In the classroom, Dr. Blaschek teaches Food and Industrial Microbiology, Advanced Food Microbiology, and Food Microbiology for Non-Majors. Dr. Blaschek is a recipient of the University of Illinois Foundation University Scholar's Award, the College of ACES Funk Award, and the Excellence in Extramural Teaching Award. He is currently a member of the College of ACES Academy of Teaching Excellence and served as secretary to the ACES Executive Committee. He also has served as Panel Manager for the USDA NRI competitive grants program in the value-added non-foods and biofuels areas. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center.