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| Dr. Ursula Gonzales Barron is originally from Peru. In 1998, she obtained her BSc degree from the Faculty of Food Engineering at the National Agricultural University of La Molina (Lima). Having achieved the exceptional final score of 17.2/20, she ranked first place among over a thousand graduates from all Faculties. The following year, to opt for the title of Food Engineer, she carried out original body of research on the development of a methodology for training a sensory panel specialised in food texture. She defended her thesis successfully and her work received the highest recommendation of 'outstanding' by the three examiners. With a scholarship awarded by the Walsh Fellowship of Teagasc, she pursued doctoral studies in UCD Biosystems Engineering. During three years, she investigated a series of digital image analysis techniques to characterise bread structure microscopically and macroscopically; and predict visual textural properties of bread. Immediately after completion of her thesis writing, Dr. Gonzales Barron, at the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Manchester (UK), developed software for automated capture of the evolution of bread dough density and void fraction in situ, during simulated conditions of proving and baking.
In 2006, Dr. Gonzales Barron returned to UCD Biosystems Engineering to investigate the potential of animal biometrics for livestock identification, under a FIRM-funded project. She led the animal biometrics research group in Biosystems Engineering. Under her lead, the Group was successful at developing a novel bovine muzzle (nose) recognition program; and her publications on sheep facial recognition, muzzle recognition and sheep retinal recognition are part of the very first publications in the world that substantiate the potential of these biomarkers.  |
| Dr. Ursula Gonzales-Barron has considerable expertise in the use of a series of classical and Bayesian predictive statistical tools for food safety applications including modelling and simulation for the conduction of risk assessments, particularly those of food pathogens. She is experienced also in predictive microbiology modelling, statistical process control and acceptance sampling, meta-analysis, zero-modified count data models for microbial load, among other applications. Her current goal is to integrate all this knowledge into the development of food safety objectives and performance objectives. Dr. Gonzales-Barron is also interested in other quality aspects of food, food traceability and biometrics. Current research activity: 1. FIRM-funded Project (2008- ): Microbial Quantitative Risk Assessment Network of Ireland - Statistical process control and its relation to Food Safety Objectives and Performance Objectives - Risk assessment models of Salmonella in pork and pork products (Irish fresh pork sausage) - Zero-modified and generalised count data modelling for bacteria of low recovery - Application of meta-analysis techniques in risk assessment for food safety - Predictive microbiology in risk assessment modelling
2. FIRM-funded Project (2007-2009): Enhanced traceability of the poultry meat chain using biometrics and e-tracking technology (Avian BioTrack) - Electronic tracking and tracing system of poultry by imprinting RSS and/or Data Matrix barcodes on beaks and legs - Individual identification of chickens by comb profile shape biometrics 3. SafeFood-funded Project (2007-2008): Assessment of risk factors contributing to the occurrence of Salmonella on pork on the island of Ireland - Quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella in pork along production process 4. FIRM-funded Project (2005-2008): Development of a protocol for biometric-based animal tracking and tracing - Evaluation of retinal recognition technology for individual identification of sheep - Muzzle pattern as a biometric marker for livestock identification |
| Ursula Gonzales-Barron; (2011) 'Predictive Microbial Modelling' In: Handbook of Food Safety Engineering¿. London: Wiley-Blackwell. [Details] |
| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F. ; (2008) 'A comparison of four image texture analysis methods for classification of crumb grain appearance of organic and non-organic breads' In: Advances in Food Science and Food Technology in Developing Countries. Mexico: Asociación Mexicana de Ciencia de los Alimentos. [Details] |
| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F.; (2008) 'Crumb features quantification of by cryo-scanning electron microscopy images' In: Campbell, G., Scanlon, M., Niranjan, K (eds). Bubbles in Food. England: AACC International. [Details] |
| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F.; (2004) 'A comparison of visual assessment and digital fractal analysis of bread crumb images' In: Cauvain, S., Salmon, S., Young, L (eds). Using Cereal Science and Technology for the Benefit of the Consumers. England: CRC Press. [Details] |
| Gonzales-Barron, U., and Butler, F. ; (2011) 'A comparison between the discrete Poisson-Gamma and Poisson-Lognormal distributions to characterise microbial counts in foods'. Food Control, . [DOI] [Details] |
| Gonzales-Barron, U., and Butler, F. ; (2011) 'Characterisation of within-batch and between-batch variability in microbial counts in foods using Poisson-gamma and Poisson-lognormal regression models'. Food Control, . [DOI] [Details] |
| Gonzales-Barron, U,Kerr, M,Sheridan, JJ,Butter, F; (2010) 'Count data distributions and their zero-modified equivalents as a framework for modelling microbial data with a relatively high occurrence of zero counts'. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 136 :268-277. [DOI] [Details] |
Prendergast, DM,Duggan, SJ,Fanning, S,Cormican, M,Gonzales-Barron, U,Butler, F,Duffy, G; (2008) 'Prevalence and numbers of Salmonella spp. and Enterobacteriaceae on pork cuts in abattoirs in the Republic of Ireland'. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 105 :1209-1219.  [DOI] [Details] |
| Gonzales-Barron, U. and Butler, F. ; (2003) 'Thresholding techniques for measurement of bread crumb features by digital image analysis'. Irish Journal of Agricultural Research, 43 (120). [Details] |
| Gonzales-Barron, U., Redmond, G., and Butler, F. ; (2010) 'A risk characterisation model of Salmonella Typhimurium in Irish fresh pork sausages'. Food Research International, . [DOI] [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales-Barron, U., Redmond, G., and Butler, F.; (2010) 'A consumer-phase exposure assessment of Salmonella Typhimurium from Irish fresh pork sausages: II. Cooking and consumption modules'. Food Control, 21 (12):1693-1702. [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales-Barron, U., Redmond, G., and Butler, F. ; (2010) 'A consumer-phase exposure assessment of Salmonella Typhimurium from Irish fresh pork sausages: I. Transport and refrigeration modules'. Food Control, 21 (12):1683-1692. [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales-Barron, U., Redmond, G., and Butler, F.; (2010) 'Modeling prevalence and counts from most probable number in a Bayesian framework: An application to Salmonella Typhimurium in fresh pork sausages'. Journal of Food Protection, 73 (8):1416-1422. [Details] | |||||||||
| Schvartzman, M. S., Gonzales-Barron, U., Butler, F., and Jordan, K. ; (2010) 'Modelling the growth of Listeria monocytogenes on the surface of smear-ripened cheese'. International Journal of Food Microbiology, . [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales-Barron, U., and Butler, F. ; (2010) 'The use of meta-analytical tools in risk assessment for food safety'. Food Microbiology, . [DOI] [Details] | |||||||||
| Duggan, S., Mannion, C., Prendergast, D., Leonard, N., Fanning, S., Gonzales-Barron, U., and Duffy, G. ; (2010) 'Tracking the Salmonella status of pigs through the slaughter process in the Republic of Ireland'. Journal of Food Protection, 73 (12):2148-2160. [Details] | |||||||||
| Ktenioudaki, A., Butler, F., Gonzales Barron, U., Mc Carthy, U., and Gallagher, E. ; (2009) 'Monitoring the dynamic density of wheat dough during fermentation'. Journal of Food Engineering, 95 (2):332-338. [Details] | |||||||||
| Corkery, G., Gonzales Barron, U., Ayalew, G., Ward, S., and McDonnell, K; (2009) 'A preliminary investigation of avian comb as a potential biometric marker for identification of poultry'. Transactions of the Asabe, 52 (3):991-998. [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F., McDonnell, K., and Ward, S.; (2009) 'The end of the identity crisis? Advances in biometrics markers for animal identification'. Irish Veterinary Journal, 63 (3):204-208. [Details] | |||||||||
| Froschle, H., Gonzales Barron, U., McDonnell, K., and Ward, S.; (2009) 'Investigation of the potential use of tracking and tracing of poultry using linear and 2D barcodes'. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 66 (2):126-132. [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales Barron, U., Soumpasis, I., Butler, F., Prendergast, D., Duggan, S., and Duffy, G.; (2009) 'Estimation of prevalence of Salmonella spp. on pig carcasses and pork joints using a quantitative risk assessment model aided by meta-analysis'. Journal of Food Protection, 72 (2):274-285. [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales Barron, U., Soumpasis, I., Butler, F., and Duffy, G.; (2009) 'An appraisal of the use of meat juice serology monitoring data for estimating prevalence of caecal Salmonella carriage of pigs at slaughter by means of herd-level and animal-level simulation'. Journal of Food Protection, 72 (2):286-294. [Details] | |||||||||
| Gonzales Barron, U., Bergin, D., Butler, F. ; (2008) 'A meta-analysis study of the effect of chilling on Salmonella prevalence on pork carcasses'. Journal of Food Protection, 71 (7):1330-1337. [Details] |
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| Prendergast, D., Duggan, S., Gonzales Barron, U., Fanning, S., Butler, F., Cormican, M., and Duffy, G. ; (2008) 'Prevalence, numbers and characteristics of Salmonella spp. on Irish retail pork'. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 131 (2-3):233-239. [Details] | |||||||||
| Barry, B., Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F., McDonnell, K., Ward, S. ; (2008) 'A longitudinal study of the effect of time on the matching performance of a retinal recognition system for lambs'. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 64 (2):202-211. [DOI] [Details] |
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| Gonzales Barron, U., Corkery, G., Barry, B., Butler, F., McDonnell, K., Ward, S.; (2008) 'Assessment of retinal recognition technology as a biometric method for sheep identification'. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 60 (2):156-166. [DOI] [Details] |
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| Corkery, G., Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F., McDonnell, K., Ward, S.; (2007) 'A preliminary investigation on face recognition as a biometric identifier of sheep'. Transactions of the ASABE, 50 (1):313-320. [Details] |
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| Barry, B., Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F., McDonnell, K., Ward, S.; (2007) 'Using muzzle pattern recognition as a biometric approach for cattle identification'. Transactions of the ASABE, 50 (3):1073-1080. [Details] |
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| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F.; (2008) 'Discrimination of crumb grain visual appearance of organic and non-organic bread loaves by image texture analysis'. Journal of Food Engineering, 84 (3):480-488. [DOI] [Details] |
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| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F.; (2008) 'Fractal texture analysis of bread crumb digital images'. European Food Research and Technology, 226 (4):721-729. [DOI] [Details] |
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| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F.; (2008) 'Prediction of panellists' perception of bread crumb appearance using fractal and visual textural features'. European Food Research and Technology, 226 (4):779-785. [DOI] [Details] |
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| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F.; (2006) 'A comparison of seven thresholding techniques with the k-means clustering algorithm for measurement of bread crumb features by digital image analysis'. Journal of Food Engineering, 74 (2):268-278. [DOI] [Details] |
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| Gonzales Barron, U., Butler, F., Bergin, D., Prendergast, D., Duggan, S., Duffy, G.; (2008) A preliminary simulation model for the prevalence of Salmonella spp. during pork processing in Ireland Food SIM 2008 [Details] |
| AFRC; (2010) Salmonella in pork on the island of Ireland: A microbial risk assessment. Teagasc, Dublin 15. [Details] |
| Tarazona, G., Ramos, C., Gonzales Barron, U.; (2001) Influence of ozoned water in bread dough. Lima, Peru: Research Papers [Details] |
| Gonzales-Barron, U., Soumpasis, I., Redmond, G., Butler, F; (2009) Modelling Salmonella numbers in Irish raw pork sausages during transport and home refrigeration. Published abstracts [Details] |
| Association: International Association for Food Protection, Function/Role: Member |
| Employer: NGO Food is Health (Peru) Position: Director of Research |
| Employer: University College Dublin (Ireland) Position: Senior Researcher |
| Employer: University of Manchester (UK) Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate |
| Employer: National Agricultural University La Molina (Peru) Position: Assistant Lecturer |
| English: |
| Portuguese: |
| Spanish: |
| Italian: |
| Dutch: |
| European Food Research And Technology: Reviewer. |
| Food And Bioprocess Technology: Reviewer. |
| Preventive Veterinary Medicine: Reviewer. |
| Food Research International: Reviewer. |
| Lwt-Food Science And Technology: Reviewer. |
