Published February 18, 2014
Dr. Kevin Baer, professor and department head of toxicology at the University of Louisiana
at Monroe, has been selected as keynote speaker for the 17th Annual Louisiana Environmental
Education Symposium to be held in Shreveport later this month.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Watersheds: From My Back Yard to the Ocean.”
The theme expands on the concepts relating to watersheds, preserving water quality,
and managing land to reduce impact on aquatic resources.
Baer will highlight field sampling conducted for the Mississippi River Basin Healthy
Watersheds Initiative (MRBI) in the Bayou Lafourche tributaries, as well as educational
outreach activities to reduce nonpoint source pollution to Bayou DeSiard.
The audience will consist of formal and informal environmental educators throughout
the state of Louisiana.
Dr. Dinesh Babu, assistant professor of toxicology, will be the keynote speaker at
the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agriculture Products Center (FAPC) and the Institute of
Food Technologists (IFT)-Oklahoma section annual research symposium. The event will
be held this month on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, Okla.
Babu recently joined ULM’s Toxicology Department to develop an emphasis in food safety
within toxicology’s Bachelor of Science program. Babu teaches food safety and toxicology,
methods of food microbiology and toxicology, and introduction to food science courses.
His ongoing research studies include understanding of the therapeutic and health benefits
of natural products (polyphenols) and food ingredients on human health in fields of
food toxicology, food microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology.
The symposium will include oral and poster presentations of research conducted at
the FAPC and OSU, as well as a keynote address by Babu featuring “Emerging Food Safety
Issues” pertinent to the food and agricultural industries.
