Tahirah Johnson

Hazel Hall on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus

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

Tahirah Johnson received her Ph.D. in Food & Agricultural Sciences from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 13, 2025. Under the advisement of Dr. Salina Parveen, Tahirah’s research focused on environmental health, water quality, and seafood safety related to the incidence and pathogenic potential of the bacterium Shewanella, which infects oysters. Her dissertation was titled, “Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance, Whole Genome Sequencing and Control of Shewanella spp. in Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and Seawater collected from the Mid-Atlantic Region.”

Previously, she graduated from Morgan State University in 2018 with her B.S. degree in Nutritional Science.

Research Theme: Safe Seafood

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.; Collins, T.; Richards, G. and Parveen, S. 2025. Antibiotic Resistance Profiling of Hemolytic Shewanella Species in Oysters and Seawater from the Mid-Atlantic Region. Journal of Food Protection. Vol.88, Issue10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100596
  2. Johnson, T.; Richards, G. and Parveen, S. 2025. Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance, and Control of Pathogenic Shewanella in Seafoods. Journal of Food Protection. Vol.88, Issue8. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1502443
  3. Johnson, T.; Richards, G.; Jacobs, J.; Townsend, H.; Almuhaideb, E.; Rosales, D.; Chigbu, P.; Dasilva, L.; and Parveen, S. 2025. Prevalence and pathogenic potential of Shewanella species in oysters and seawater collected from the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland Coastal Bays. Frontiers in Microbiology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1502443
  4. 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
  5. 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.
  6. 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 (EPP/MSI)

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