Tahirah Johnson

NOAA-EPP LMRCSC Doctoral Fellow 
Ph.D., Food and Agricultural Sciences
University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Tahirah Johnson graduated from Morgan State University in 2018 with her B.S. degree in Nutritional Science. She is now enrolled in the Food & Agricultural Sciences Ph.D. program at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Under the advisement of Dr. Salina Parveen, Tahirah is pursuing her research in environmental health, water quality, and seafood safety specifically related to the incidence and pathogenic potential of the bacterium Shewanella, which infects oysters. Her dissertation is titled, “Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance, Whole Genome Sequencing and Control of Shewanella spp. in Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and Seawater collected from the Mid-Atlantic Region.”

Research Theme: Healthy Habitats

NOAA LMRCSC Fellows attain the NOAA Core Competencies detailed in this rubric.


NERTO Project Title:  Prevalence and environmental determinants of Shewanella spp. in the Chesapeake and Maryland Coastal Bays.

NOAA Mentor: Dr. John Jacob

Academic Advisor: Dr. Salina Parveen


Publications/Presentations

  1. Johnson*, T., Richards, G., Jacobs, J., Townsend, H., Almuhaideb, E., Meredith, J., Rosales, D., Chigbu, P., Dasilva, L., and Parveen, S. 2023. Incidence and pathogenic potential of Shewanella species found in Chesapeake and Maryland Coastal Bays oysters and seawater. University of Maryland Eastern Shore Annual Research Symposium 2023. Princess Anne, MD. April 17-April 20, 2023. 2nd place award for Poster Presentation & 3MT. Oral
  2. Johnson*, T., Richards, G., Jacobs, J., Townsend, H., Almuhaideb, E., Meredith, J., Rosales, D., Chigbu, P., Dasilva, L., and Parveen, S. 2023. Incidence and pathogenic potential of Shewanella species found in Chesapeake and Maryland Coastal Bays oysters and seawater. University of Maryland Eastern Shore Annual Research Symposium 2023. Princess Anne, MD. April 17-April 20, 2023. 2nd place award for Poster Presentation & 3MT.
  3. Johnson*, T., Richards, G., Jacobs, J., Townsend, H., Almuhaideb, E., Meredith, J., Rosales, D., Chigbu, P., Dasilva, L., and Parveen, S. 2023. Prevalence of Shewanella species found in Oysters & Seawater from Mid-Atlantic Region. Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center (LMRCSC) Annual Meeting 2023. Virtual meeting. March 31, 2023.

NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Lead Institution)
(410) 651-7870
Award numbers: FY 2021 Award #NA21SEC4810005
Funding Agency: NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority-Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI)

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