My research is in the epidemiology and public health of infectious and foodborne diseases. Depending on the question, research in my computer laboratory may involve a variety of epidemiologic approaches, including mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, spatial analyses of landscape and weather data, statistical modeling, risk assessments and design of observational studies and controlled trials.

• 1990-1997
  Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb (Croatia)
  Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) Degree
• 2000-2001
  Royal Veterinary College & London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London (UK)
  MS in Veterinary Epidemiology
• 2004-2008
  College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University (USA)
  PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences-Epidemiology concentration

• 01/2009-09/2014: Assistant Professor, Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.
• 05/2009-present: Member of the Graduate Faculty at Texas A&M University.
• 12/2009-present: Joint Assistant Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center.
• 09/2014-08/2015: Associate Professor (early tenure & promotion), Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.
• 09/2015-present: Adjunct Associate Professor, Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.
• 09/2015-present: Associate Professor, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University.
• 10/2015-present: Member of the Graduate Faculty in the Field of Food Science & Technology at Cornell University.

    Click here for most recent publications in PubMed

• Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Tauer, L. W., and Wiedmann, M.: The total cost and benefit of Listeria monocytogenes food safety measures. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2004, 44: 513-523.
• Ivanek, R., Snary, E. L., Cook, A.J.C., and Gröhn, Y.T.: A mathematical model for the transmission of Salmonella Typhimurium within a grower-finisher pig herd in Great Britain. Journal of Food Protection, 2004, 67: 2403-2409.
• Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Wiedmann, M., and Wells, M.T.: A mathematical model of Listeria monocytogenes cross-contamination in a fish processing plant. Journal of Food Protection, 2004, 67: 2688-2697.
• Hu, Y., Gall, K., Ho, A. J., Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y. T., and Wiedmann, M. Daily variability of Listeria contamination patterns in a cold-smoked salmon processing operation. Journal of Food Protection, 2006, 69: 2123-2133.
• Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Wiedmann, M.: Listeria monocytogenes in multiple habitats and host populations: review of available data for mathematical modeling. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 2006, 3(4):319-336. (review)
• Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Ho, A. J., and Wiedmann, M.: Markov chain approach to analyze the dynamics of pathogen fecal shedding -Example of Listeria monocytogenes shedding in a herd of dairy cattle. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 2007, 245: 44–58.
• Tauer, L. W., Nightingale, C.R., Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., and Wiedmann, M.: Optimal levels of inputs to control Listeria monocytogenes contamination at a smoked fish plant. Agribusiness: an International Journal, 2007, 23(2): 229-244.
• McGann, P., Ivanek, R., Wiedmann, M. and Boor, K.J.: Temperature-dependent expression of Listeria monocytogenes internalin and internalin-like genes suggests functional diversity for these proteins among the listeriae. Applied & Environmental Microbiology, 2007, Vol. 73(9): 2806-2814.
• Ho, A.J., Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Nightingale, K.K., and Wiedmann M.: Listeria monocytogenes fecal shedding in dairy cattle shows high levels of day-to-day variation and includes outbreaks and sporadic cases of shedding of specific L. monocytogenes subtypes. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2007, 80:287-305.
• Gröhn, Y., Hertl, J., Ivanek, R., Abou-Zeid, K., and Wiedmann M.: How University Researchers Can Contribute to Farm-to-Table Risk Assessments: Listeria monocytogenes as an Example. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease 2007, 4(4): 527-537.
• Lanzas, C., Brien, S., Ivanek, R., Lo, Y., Chapagain, P. P., Ray, K.A., Ayscue, P., Warnick L. D. and Gröhn Y.T.: The effect of heterogeneous infectious period and contagiousness on the dynamics of Salmonella transmission. Epidemiology and Infection 2008, 16:1-15.
• Mc Gann, P., Raengpradub, S., Ivanek, R., Wiedmann, M. and Boor, K. J. Differential regulation of Listeria monocytogenes internalin and internalin-like genes by sigma B and PrfA as revealed by subgenomic microarray analyses. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 2008, 5(4): 417-435.
• Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Wells, M.T., Raengpradub, S., Kazmierczak, M.J., and Wiedmann, M. Extreme value theory in analysis of differential expression in microarrays where either only up- or down-regulated genes are relevant or expected. Genetics Research, 2008, 90: 347-361.
• Lanzas, C., Warnick, L.D., Ivanek, R., Ayscue, P., Nydam, D. and Gröhn, Y.T. The risk and control of Salmonella outbreaks in calf-raising operations: a mathematical modeling approach. Veterinary Research, 2008, 39:61.
• Pradhan, A.K., Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Geornaras, I., Sofos, J., and Wiedmann M.: Quantitative Risk Assessment for Listeria monocytogenes in Selected Categories of Deli Meats: Impact of Lactate-Diacetate on Listeriosis Cases and Deaths. Journal of Food Protection, 2009, 72(5): 978–989.
• Ayscue P., Lanzas C., Ivanek R., and Gröhn Y.T.: Modeling On-Farm Escherichia coli O157:H7 Population Dynamics. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 2009, 6(4): 461-470.
• Alexander, K. A., Warnick, L. D., Cripps, C. J., McDonough, P. L., Gröhn, Y. T., Wiedmann, M., Reed, K. E., James, K. L., Soyer, Y., and Ivanek, R.: Fecal shedding of, antimicrobial resistance in, and serologic response to Salmonella Typhimurium in dairy calves. JAVMA, 2009, 235(6): 739-748.
• Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Lembo Jr, A.J., Sauders, B.D. and Wiedmann, M.: Modeling of spatially referenced environmental and meteorological factors influencing the probability of Listeria spp. isolation from natural environments. Applied & Environmental Microbiology, 2009, 75(18): 5893-5909.
• Lanzas, C., Ayscue, P., Ivanek, R., and Gröhn, Y.T. Model or Meal? Farm animal populations as models for infectious diseases of humans. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2010, 8: 139-148. February issue, doi:10.1038/nrmicro2268. (review) Article featured on the journal cover.
• Pradhan, A.K., Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Bukowski, R., Geornaras, I., Sofos, J., and Wiedmann M.: Quantitative Risk Assessment of Listeriosis-associated Deaths due to Listeria monocytogenes Contamination of Deli Meats Originating from Manufacture and Retail. Journal of Food Protection, 2010, 73(4):620-30.
• Bani-Yaghoub, M., Gautam, R., Döpfer, D. Kaspar, D., Ivanek, R.: Effectiveness of environmental decontamination as an infection control measure. Epidemiology and Infection, 2012, 140(3):542-53. [Epub ahead of print 2011 May 18].
• Bhattarai, R, Budke, C.M., Carabin, H., Proaño, J.V., Flores-Rivera, J., Corona, T., Cowan, L.D., Ivanek, R., Snowden, K.F., and Flisser, A. Quality of Life in Patients with Neurocysticercosis in Mexico. 2011. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg, 2011, 84(5):782-786.
• Pradhan, A.K., Ivanek, R., Gröhn, Y.T., Bukowski, R., and Wiedmann M.: Comparison of Public Health Impact of Listeria monocytogenes Cross-contamination of Deli Meats at Retail Level. Journal of Food Protection, 2011, 74(11):1860-8.
• Gautam, R., Bani-Yaghoub, M., H. Neill, W., Döpfer, D. Kaspar, D., Ivanek, R.: Modeling the effect of seasonal variation in ambient temperature on the transmission dynamics of a pathogen with a free-living stage: Example of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a dairy herd. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2011, 102(1):10-21.
• Garcia-Mazcorro, J., Lanerie, D., Dowd, S., Paddock, C., Grützner, N., Steiner, J., Ivanek, R., and Suchodolski, J. Effect of a multi-species synbiotic formulation on fecal bacterial microbiota of healthy cats and dogs as evaluated by pyrosequencing. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2011, 78(3):542-54.
• Gonzales, TK, Kulow, M, Park, D-J, Kaspar, CW, Anklam, KS, Pertzborn, KM, Kerrish, KD, Ivanek, R., and Döpfer, D. A High-Throughput Open-Array qPCR Gene Panel to Identify, Virulotype, and Subtype O157 and non-O157 Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Molecular & Cellular Probes, 2011, 25(5-6): 222:230.
• Bhattarai R., Budke, C.M, Carabin, H., Proaño, J.V., Flores-Rivera, J., Corona, T., Ivanek, R., Snowden, K.F., Flisser, A. Estimating the non-monetary burden of neurocysticercosis in Mexico. PLoS neglected tropical diseases. 02/2012, 6(2):e1521.
• Szonyi, B., Srinath, I., Schwartz, A., Clavijo, A., Ivanek, R.: Spatio-temporal epidemiology of Tritrichomonas foetus infection in Texas bulls based on state-wide diagnostic laboratory data. Veterinary parasitology, 05/2012, 186(3-4):450-455.
• Ivanek, R., Österberg, J., Gautam, R., and Sternberg Lewerin, S. Salmonella Fecal Shedding and Immune Responses are Dose- and Serotype- Dependent in Pigs. PLoS ONE, 05/2012, 7(4): e34660. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034660. Article featured by JAVMA (Vol. 241, No. 1, page 29) http://vetmed.tamu.edu/media/550217/javma%20on%20salmonella%20plos%20one... and tamuTimes’ “12 Impacts for 2012” https://today.tamu.edu/2012/05/14/texas-am-research-unlocks-mystery-of-salmonella-infection/
• Lidbury, J., Suchodolski, J., Ivanek, R., Steiner, J. Assessment of the variation associated with repeated measurement of gastrointestinal transit times and assessment of the effect of oral ranitidine on gastrointestinal transit times using a wireless motility capsule system in dogs. Veterinary Medicine International, vol. 04/2012, Article ID 938417, doi:10.1155/2012/938417.
• Bani-Yaghoub, M., Gautam, R., Shuai, Z., van den Driessche, P., Ivanek, R.: Reproduction numbers for infections with free-living pathogens growing in the environment. Journal of Biological Dynamics, 06/2012; 6(2):923-40. Epub 2012 Jun 28.
• Park, S., Szonyi, B., Gautam, R., Nightingale, K., Anciso, J., Ivanek, R.: Risk factors for microbial contamination in fruits and vegetables at the pre-harvest level: A systematic review. Journal of Food Protection, 2012, 75(11):2055-2081. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-12-160 (systematic review)
• Gautam, R., Döpfer, D., Kaspar, C., Kulow, M., Gonzales, T., M. Pertzborn, K., Carroll, R.J., Grant, W., Ivanek, R. The strain-specific dynamics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 fecal shedding in cattle post inoculation. Journal of Biological Dynamics 06/2012, 6(2): 1052-1066.
• Kulow, M., Gonzales, T., Pertzborn, K., Dahm, J., Miller, B., Park, D., Gautam, R., Kaspar, C., Ivanek, R., and Döpfer, D. Differences in colonization and shedding patterns after oral challenge of cattle with three Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 2012, Nov, 78(22):8045-8055. Published ahead of print 7 September 2012.
• Park, D., Stanton, E., Ciezki, K., Parrell, D., Bozile, M., Pike, D., Forst, S., Cheol Jeong, K., Ivanek, R., Dopfer, D., and Kaspar, C. Evolution of stx2-Prophage in Persistent Bovine Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strains. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 2013, 79(5):1563-1572. Published ahead of print 28 December 2012
• Gautam, R., Srinath, I., Clavijo, A., Szonyi, B., Bani-Yaghoub, M., Park, S., Ivanek, R.: Identifying high risk areas of human Coccidioidomycosis in Texas using serology data from dogs. Zoonoses and Public Health, 2013 Mar;60(2):174-81. DOI: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01526.x. Epub 2012 Aug 1.
• Park, S., Navratil, S., Gregory, A., Bauer, A., Srinath, I., Jun, M., Szonyi, B., Nightingale, K., Anciso, J. and Ivanek, R. Generic Escherichia coli contamination of spinach at the preharvest stage: effects of farm management and environmental factors. Applied & Environmental Microbiology. 07/2013, 79(14):4347-4358. Published ahead of print 10 May 2013. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00474-13. Article chosen among all of the articles published by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in June 2013 for a press release and to be included in Microbe's Journal Highlights section https://www.asm.org/index.php/88-news-room/journal-tipsheets/91720-resea...
• Gautam, R., Pinedo, P.J., Park, S., Ivanek, R. The distribution of drinking water-to-cattle ratios in the summer across four feedlots in the Texas High Plains. Agricultural Sciences. 2013. Jun, 4(6). DOI: 10.4236/as.2013.46040.
• Szonyi, B., Swinford, A., Clavijo, A., and Ivanek, R. Re-emergence of pigeon fever (Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis) infection in Texas horses: epidemiologic investigation of laboratory diagnosed cases. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 2014. 34(2):281–287. Published online on July 31, 2013. DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2013.06.006.
• Wang, X., Gautam, R., Pinedo, P.J., Allen, L.J.S. and Ivanek, R. A stochastic model for transmission, extinction and outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle as affected by ambient temperature and cleaning practices. Journal of Mathematical Biology. 2014. 69:501-532. Published online on July 18, 2013. DOI: 10.1007/s00285-013-0707-1
• Gautam, R., Lahodny, G., Bani-Yaghoub, M., Morley, P.S., Ivanek, R. Understanding the role of cleaning in the control of Salmonella Typhimurium in grower-finisher pigs: a modeling approach. Epidemiology and Infection. 2014 May 142(5):1034-49. Published online on August 07, 2013. doi: 10.1017/S0950268813001805
• Zhang, X.H., Ye, Q., Liu, Y.D., Li, B., Ivanek, R., He, K.W. Development of a LAMP assay for Rapid Detection of Different Intimin Variants of Attaching and Effacing Microbial Pathogens. Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2013 Nov;62(Pt 11):1665-72. Published online on July 26, 2013. DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.054551-0.
• Karki, S., Lupiani, B., Budke, C., S. Manandhar, Ivanek, R. Cross-sectional serosurvey of avian influenza antibodies presence in domestic ducks of Kathmandu, Nepal. Zoonoses and Public Health. 2014, 61(6):442-8. Article first published online: 31 December 2013. DOI: 10.1111/zph.12097
• Stanton, E., Park, D., Döpfer, D., Ivanek, R., and Kaspar, C.W. Phylogenetic characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 based on IS629 distribution and Shiga toxin genotype. Microbiology, 2014 Mar;160(Pt 3):502-13. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.073437-0.
• Park, S., Navratil, S., Gregory, A., Bauer, A., Srinath, I., Szonyi, B., Nightingale, K., Anciso, J., Jun, M., Han, D., Lawhon S. and Ivanek, R. Farm management, environment and weather factors jointly affect the probability of spinach contamination with generic Escherichia coli at the preharvest level. Applied & Environmental Microbiology. 2014, 80(8): 2504–2515. Published ahead of print 7 February 2014, DOI: 10.1128/AEM.03643-13. Article featured on the journal cover http://aem.asm.org/content/80/8.cover-expansion
• Gautam, R., Kulow, M., Park, D., Gonzales, T., Dahm, J., Shiroda, M., Stasic, A.J., Döpfer, D., Kaspar, C., Ivanek, R. Transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 among cattle is influenced by the level of environmental contamination. Epidemiology and Infection, 2015 Jan;143(2):274-87. doi: 10.1017/S0950268814000867. Epub 2014 Apr 14
• Lahodny Jr., G.E., Gautam, R., and Ivanek, R. Estimating the Probability of an Extinction or Major Outbreak for an Environmentally-transmitted Infectious Disease. Journal of Biological Dynamics 2014 Sep 8:1-28. [Epub ahead of print]
• Gomez, S.A., Kulow, M., Anklam, K.S. Park, D., Kaspar, C.W., Ivanek, R., Döpfer, D. Gene markers of generic Escherichia coli associated with colonization and persistence of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2014 Nov 1;117(1):140-8. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.07.009. Epub 2014 Jul 25.
• Ivanek, R. and Lahodny* Jr, G.E. From the bench to modeling – R0 at the interface between empirical and theoretical approaches in epidemiology of environmentally-transmitted infectious diseases. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2015 Feb 1;118(2-3):196-206. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.11.003. Epub 2014 Nov 20.
• Lidbury, J.A., Ivanek, R., Suchodolski, J., Steiner, J.M. Putative precipitating factors in 118 dogs with hepatic encephalopathy (1991−2011). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (In Press)
• Karki, S., B. Lupiani, C.M. Budke, N.P.S. Karki, J. Rushton and R. Ivanek. Cost-benefit analysis of avian influenza control in Nepal. Rev. Sci. Tech. Off. Int. Epiz. 2015. 34(3), http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Publications_%26_Documentation/doc...
• Park, S., Navratil, S., Gregory, A., Bauer, A., Srinath, I., Szonyi, B., Nightingale, K., Anciso, J., Jun, M., Han, D., Lawhon, S., and Ivanek, R. Multifactorial Effects of Ambient Temperature, Precipitation, Farm Management, and Environmental Factors Determine the Level of Generic Escherichia coli Contamination on Preharvested Spinach. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2015. 81:2635–2650. doi:10.1128/AEM.03793-14.
• Castro-Ibáñez, I., Gil, M.I., Tudela, J.A., Ivanek, R., Allende, A. Assessment of microbial risk factors and impact of meteorological conditions during production of baby spinach in the Southeast of Spain. Food Microbiology, 49, August 2015, Pages 173–181; doi:10.1016/j.fm.2015.02.004
• Szonyi, B., Srinath, I., Esteve-Gassent, M., Lupiani, B., Ivanek, R. Exploratory spatial analysis of Lyme disease in Texas - what can we learn from the reported cases? BMC Public Health, 2015, 15:924, DOI: 10.1186/s12889-015-2286-0

• 2000: M.Sc. scholarship: Croatian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry & the World Bank.
• 2001-present: Membership in MENSA.
• 2005: Phi Zeta- Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine, 2nd place.
• 2008: Mark Gearhart Graduate Student Award ($1,000).
• 2012: Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences 'Outstanding Young Faculty Research Award'.
• 2012-present: Membership in Sigma Xi, Honor Scientific Research Society.
• 11/2012-present: Distinguished professor, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, China.
• 12/2014: Panel of Newly Promoted/Tenured Women, Women’s Faculty Network Texas A&M University