Minhyeok Cha

Background

About Minhyeok Cha

My relevant research, technical, or professional skills and experience Through my Ph.D. degree program and experience working at the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation(NIFDS, formerly KFDA), I acquired consistent research experience and knowledge in the specialized field of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria for food safety and improving public health. In particular, I have experience participating in national-scale R&D projects in Korea from a One-Health scheme, such as the analysis of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial characteristics and epidemiological tracking research on agricultural products, livestock products, livestock, farm environment, and workers, through research tasks of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Rural Development Administration. The title of my doctoral thesis is “Antimicrobial resistance and molecular epidemiological characterization of major foodborne bacterial isolates from Korea.” As a researcher in the antimicrobial resistance team at the Microbiology Division of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation in Korea, I worked for about two years and participated in the "National antimicrobials Use and Resistance Monitoring - Animals, Livestock Products -(Report)" research project. Through this, I endeavored to acquire a public sense of national food safety management and became proficient in the principles and applications of certified experimental methods like the Korean Food Code. From sample collection, isolation and culturing of various food-derived bacterial strains, antimicrobial susceptibility tests, analysis of resistance mechanisms, molecular biological characteristics, epidemiological tracking using WGS, and proposing guidelines for resistance management in food, I have experience and experimental techniques for the full range of related research. Through this, I aimed to grow as a researcher suitable for establishing food safety management strategies in antimicrobial resistance. In the field of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria derived from food, I have published a total of six papers (four as the first author) in SCI journals (peer-reviewed scientific journals) such as the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IF: 6.208), Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance (IF: 4.349), Foodborne Pathogens and Disease (IF: 3.788), Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (IF: 3.277), Journal of Food Protection,(IF: 2.745). I also utilized WGS analysis proactively and was the first to discover and report mcr-9 in Korea.