Tianxi Yang

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 2021, Research Chemist/ORISE Research Fellow

BASF’s North American Center for Research on Advanced Materials, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2019, Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2018, PhD, Food Science

Dr. Yang’s research program is focused on the development of innovative analytical technologies and advanced materials to improve the safety, sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems. Her research program is highly interdisciplinary, drawing heavily from Food Science, Analytical Chemistry, Material Science and Nanotechnology. Currently, Yang Research Group’s primary research themes are:

• Develop novel Point-of-Care tools for food safety monitoring
• Design smart nano-enabled materials for sustainable farming and precision agriculture
• Create sustainable and multifunctional packaging materials to improve food safety and quality

If you are interested in joining the team or collaboration, please contact Dr. Yang (tianxi.yang@ubc.ca).

Please see Dr. Yang’s Google Scholar for a full list of publications.

• Yang, T.; Duncan, TV. Challenges and Potential Solutions for Nanosensors Intended for Use with Foods. Nature Nanotechnology. 2021, 16, 251–265.
• Yang, T.; Paulose, T.; Redan, B.; Duncan, TV. Food and Beverage Ingredients Induce Formation of Silver Nanoparticles in Products Stored within Nanotechnology-Enabled Packaging. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2021, 13, 1398–1412.
• Yang, T.; Qu, Y.; Hickey, ME,; Wang, W.; Zhao, B.; Bi, S.; Zhang, G.; He, L. Mapping of Pesticide Transmission on Biological Tissues by Surface Enhanced Raman Microscopy with Gold Nanoparticle Mirror. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 2019, 11, 44894–44904.
• Yang, T.; Doherty, J.; Guo, H.; Zhao, B.; Clark, JM.; Xing, B.; Hou, R.; He, L. Real-Time Monitoring of Pesticide Translocation in Tomato Plants by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. Anal. Chem. 2019, 91, 2093−2099.
• Yang, T.; Doherty, J.; Zhao, B.; Kinchla, A. J.; Clark, JM.; He, L. Effectiveness of Removal of Pesticide Residues on and in Apples with Commercial and Homemade Washing Agents. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2017, 65, 9744−9752.
• Yang, T.; Zhao, B.; Kinchla, A. J.; Clark, JM.; He, L. Investigation of Pesticides Penetration and Persistence on Harvested and Live Basil Leaves using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Mapping. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2017, 65, 3541−3550.
• Yang, T.; Zhao, B.; Hou, R.; Zhang, Z.; Kinchla, A. J.; Clark, JM.; He, L. Evaluation of the Penetration of Multiple Classes of Pesticides in Fresh Produce Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Mapping. J. Food Sci. 2016, 81, T2891−T2901.
• Yang, T.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, B.; Hou, R.; Kinchla, A.; Clark, JM.; He, L. Real-Time and in Situ Monitoring of Pesticide Penetration in Edible Leaves by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Mapping. Anal. Chem. 2016, 88, 5243−5250.
• Yang, T.; Guo, X.; Wang, H.; Fu, S.; wen, Y.; Yang, H. Magnetically Optimized SERS Assay for Rapid Detection of Trace Drug-Related Biomarkers in Saliva and Fingerprints. Biosens. Bioelectron. 2015, 68, 350−357.
• Yang, T.; Guo, X.; Wu, Y.; Wang, H.; Fu, S.; Wen, Y.; Yang, H. Facile and Label-Free Detection of Lung Cancer Biomarker in Urine by Magnetically Assisted Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2014, 6, 20985−20993.
• Yang, T.; Guo, X.; Wang, H.; Fu, S.; Yu, J.; Wen, Y.; Yang, H. Au Dotted Magnetic Network Nanostructure and Its Application for On-Site Monitoring Femtomolar Level Pesticide. Small 2014, 10, 1325−1331.
• Yang, T.; Wang, P.; Guo, H.; He, L. Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy: A Tool for All Classes of Food Contaminants. Reference Module in Food Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100596-5.21090-1

• U.S. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellowship, 2019
• Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Tanner Award for the most-cited paper of 2017 in the Journal of Food Science's Toxicology and Chemical Food Safety section, 2019
• Phi Tau Sigma Student Achievement Scholarship, 2018
• North America BASF Science Competition Award, 2018
• IFT Feeding Tomorrow Scholarship, 2017
• American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Teranishi Graduate Fellowship, 2017
• Phi Tau Sigma Founders' Award, 2017
• Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization Student Award, 2017
• Northeast IFT Graduate Scholarship, 2017
• Oral Presentation Award, 7th Life Science Graduate Research Symposium, University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst, 2017
• International Phytotechnologies Scholar, 2016
• Francis Strategic Research Alliance Competition Award, UMass, 2016
• Alumni Graduate Fellowship, UMass, 2015-2018
• National Graduate Scholarship, China, 2013 and 2014