Research Focus The primary goal of my research and extension program is to identify management strategies for minimizing microbial contamination of surface water supplies and ground water resources; preharvest microbial food safety; characterizing the underlying processes of environmental dissemination of microbial hazards; development of monitoring methods for assessing environmental or agroecosystem health; assessing vertebrate reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens through California's diverse landscapes; and to extend this breadth of information to individuals, institutions, and agencies involved in the complex issue of microbial water quality, preharvest food safety, and sustainability of California agriculture.