Ph.D., 2022 - Food Science and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

M.S., 2017 - Food Science and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.

B. Tech., 2014- Food Science, Tribhuvan University, Nepal

• Microbial food safety and quality, with an emphasis on the microbiology of low-moisture foods and fresh produce.

• Investigating the persistence, survival and ecological behavior of foodborne pathogens and exploring effective post-harvest treatments to mitigate the microbial risks in food and food contact surfaces. Additionally, evaluating the impact of such treatments on the quality and shelf-life of food.

NFS 4162/BIOL 4162 - Food Microbiology (Lecture + Laboratory)

1. Kharel, K, Prinyawiwatkul, W., Gniewosz, M., Krasniewska, K., & Adhikari, A. (2024). Antimicrobial screening of pecan shell extract and efficacy of pecan shell extract-pullulan coating against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aures on blueberries. Heliyon 10 (8).
2. Pabst C.R., Kharel, K., De, J., Bardsley, C. A., Bertoldi, B., & Schneider, K. R. (2024). Evaluating the efficacy of peroxyacetic acid in preventing Salmonella cross-contamination on tomatoes in a model flume system. Heliyon. 10 (10).
3. Kharel, K, Prinyawiwatkul, W., Gniewosz, M., Krasniewska, K., & Adhikari, A. (2023). Effect of steam conditioning on microbial safety and quality of pecans. LWT-Food Science and Technology. 173, 114377.
4. Kharel, K., Prinyawiwatkul, W., Yemmireddy, V. K. and Adhikari, A. (2019). Effect of hot water treatment of in-shell pecans on physic-chemical properties and consumer acceptability of roasted pecan kernels. International Journal of Food Science and Technology.
5. Chhetri, V. S., Fontenot, K., Strahan, R., Yemmireddy, V. K., Cason, C., Kharel, K., & Adhikari, A. (2019). Attachment strength and on-farm die-off rate of Escherichia coli on watermelon surfaces. PloS one, 14(1), e0210115.
6. Kharel, K, Yemmireddy, V. K, Prinyawiwatkul, W. & Adhikari, A. (2018). Hot water treatment as a kill-step to inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica , Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecium on in-shell pecans. LWT-Food Science and Technology. 97, 555-560.
7. Thao, T. H. Nguyen, Bhattacharya, D. Chhetri, V. S., Kharel, K. and Adhikari, A. (2018). Microbial food safety risks associated with fresh and thawed catfish fillets during refrigerated storage. Food and Nutrition Sciences. 1-12.

For full publication list: ‪Karuna Kharel - ‪Google Scholar.

Assistant Professor, 2024-present - Food Microbiology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA.

Postdoctoral researcher, 2022-2024 – University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Food safety intern, 2021 - United Fresh Produce Association, Washington DC

Visiting doctoral researcher, 2019, Warsaw University of Life Science, Warsaw, Poland