Dr. Yihong Xie meets with faculty and staff from the China Center and the College of Veterinary Medicine. From left: Dr. Andres Perez (CAHFS), Dr. Yihong Xie, Joan Brezezinski and Haiyan Wang (China Center), and Dr. Alex Primus (CVM)

This summer, the University of Minnesota welcomed its first-ever Sping Lin Visiting Scholar. Dr. Xie Yihong traveled from the Guangxi region in China to the Twin Cities to study food safety with Dr. Andres Perez and the research team in the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS). As the current deputy head and associate chief physician in the Division of Food Safety Monitoring and Risk Assessment of the Guangxi Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Xie’s interests focused on risk assessment as applied to fish health.

During her time on campus, Dr. Xie conducted lab work and analyzed data that was brought over from China. She joined Dr. Perez’s research group to assess risks associated with a bacteria present in seafood that may cause food poisoning. The end goal of their work is to improve health standards by controlling risk through better education, research, and the creation of safer practices to monitor risk at different points along the seafood processing chain. Finding the collaboration mutually beneficial, Dr. Xie and Dr. Perez have plans to publish multiple papers on their findings.

Dr. Xie’s visit was funded in part by the Sping Lin and Ying-Ngoh T. Lin China Center Visiting Scholars Initiative, created by alumnus Dr. Sping Lin, to bring visiting scholars to the University to help strengthen academic exchange and research and extend the impact of mutual collaborations with China to the greater campus and community. Dr. Perez noted the importance of the award, “Without this initial funding from the China Center, we wouldn't have been able to make this connection. It's truly because of this funding that this and future projects are possible.”

In addition to her work with Dr. Perez’s team, Dr. Xie also enjoyed hiking, city-living, and jogging along the Mississippi. “I would like to express my appreciation for this opportunity,” said Dr. Xie. “It’s a great honor, and a beautiful place to study.” She hopes, along with Dr. Perez, that the partnership created this summer will continue for a long time to come.

This story first appeared on the China Center's website.