Sandhya Thapa is a doctoral student in the Public Health Microbiology Laboratory within the Department of Food and Animal Sciences at Tennessee State University. Alongside her doctoral studies, she is pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Public Health, reflecting her commitment to advancing food safety at the intersection of science and public health. Her research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of antimicrobial compounds in preventing and reducing bacterial biofilm formation. She is also working to validate high-pressure processing for the inactivation of foodborne pathogens and exploring natural bioactive compounds as alternative strategies for pathogen control.