Alda Pires

Alda Pires

Agronomist and Department Vice-Chair and Specialist in Cooperative Extension

Population Health & Reproduction


Licenses
Portuguese Veterinary Association (Ordem dos Médicos Veterinários OMV), C.P. 2367
Board Certification - American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine
Education
1999, DVM, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real, Portugal
2007, MPVM, University of California, Davis, CA
2008, University of California, Davis, CA
2012, PhD, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Active Research Grants
Collaborator, Rapid Decision Support to Manage Carbon-Nutrient-Water Trade-offs from California’s Landmark Methane Policy , Campbell E (UC Santa Cruz) (Principal Investigator), UC Climate Action 2023 Seed Awards
Collaborator, Integrating cover crops and sheep grazing in almond orchards, Julie Fitzel (UC ANR) (Principal Investigator), WESTERN SARE, USDA
Principal Investigator, Influence of Orchard Grazing on Soil Fertility and Pest Control While Mitigating Food Safety Risks, (Principal Investigator), USDA-NIFA OREI
Co-Principal Investigator, Developing risk assessment, educational, and communication tools to lower food safety barriers for organic specialty crop growers, Baur P (PI, URI) (Principal Investigator), USDA-NIFA OREI
Collaborator, RumiRes – Surveillance and Outreach of Antimicrobial use and Resistance, and residues in small ruminants in the Center of Portugal (RumiRes - Vigilância epidemiológica e sensibilização, Pereira M A (Instituto Politecnico De Viseu, Portugal) (Principal Investigator), European Union
Principal Investigator, Developing a user-friendly risk assessment tool to assess the food safety risks of fresh produce production?and landscape use , (Principal Investigator), Center for Produce Safety
Co-Principal Investigator, Advancing global health by promoting sustainable small-scale farming productions in Chile and California: a pilot cross-sectional study, Mardones F (UC Chile) (Principal Investigator), Seed Grants for Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Sustainability 2023. Global Affairs UC Davis
Most Recent Five Book Chapters
2017 Pires AFA^, Patterson L, Maier G.: Coxiella burnetii Implications for Food Safety (Chapter 16), Simoes J; Anastacio S; Jorge da Silva G, (ed), Principles and Practice of Q-Fever: The One Health Paradigm, . .
2017 Maier G, Pires AFA, Patterson L: The Risk for Q Fever in Public Settings (Chapter 15), Simoes J; Anastacio S; Jorge da Silva G, (ed), Principles and Practice of Q-Fever: The One Health Paradigm, . .
Research Focus
Quantitative methods to identify strategies that improve animal health and control infectious diseases in livestock on small-scale farms. Interested in applying and developing epidemiological tools to monitor potential food safety hazards and identify strategies to reduce the dissemination of foodborne pathogens in pre-harvest small farm environments and the spread of infectious disease in the food supply. Also interested in integrating epidemiological methods such as temporal-spatial, molecular analysis and risk assessment in order to support risk-based surveillance and infectious disease control strategies, and the improvement of animal health and food safety.
Specialty Focus
Epidemiology; Food Safety
Ten Recent Publications

2024
Digianantonio R, Pires AFA, Busch RC
Cross-Sectional Study Assessing Management Practices and Udder Health in California Sheep Flocks and Seroprevalence of Small Ruminant Lentivirus

2024
Cheong S, Jay-Russell M, Chandler-Khayd C, Di Francesco J, Haghani V, Aminabadi P, Williams SR, Gaudin ACM, Tautges N, Pires AFA^
Presence of foodborne pathogens and survival of generic E. coli in an organic integrated crop-livestock systems

2024
Di Francesco J, Ittle A, Mconnel C, Adams R, Busch R, Pereira RV, Lehenbauer TW, Martínez-López B, Pires AFA^
Extending Knowledge on Biosecurity in Small-scale and Backyard Systems in the United States

2023
Chandler-Khayd C, Di Francesco J, Baron JN, Ramos TDM, Aminabadi P, Jay-Russell MT, Haghani V, Millner PD, Pagliari PH, Hutchinson M, Kenney A, Hashem F, Martínez-López B, Bihn EA, Clements DP, Shade JB, Sciligo AR, Pires AFA^
Risk factors associated with the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in manured soils on certified organic farms in four regions of the United States

2023
Di Francesco J, Isenhower E, Fausak ED, Silva Del Rio N, Pires AFA^
Protocol for a Scoping Review: Biosecurity practices in small-scale and backyard farms raising livestock and/or poultry in developed countries

2023
Surls R, Bennaton R, Feenstra G, Lobo R, Pires AF, Sowerwine J, Van Soelen Kim J, Wilen C
Urban agriculture in California: Lessons learned from an urban farmer workshop series

2023
Devarajan N, Weller D, Jones M, Adell AD, Adhikari, Allende A, Arnold NL, Baur P, Beno SM, Clements D, Olimpi EM, Critzer F, Green H, Gorski L, Ferelli GA, Kovac J, McGarvey J, Murphy CM, Murphy SI, Navarro-Gonzalez N, Owen JP, Pires AFA, Richard N, Samaddar S, Schmidt R, Scow K, Shariat NW, Smith OM, Spence AR, Stoeckel D, Tran TDH, Wall G, Karp DS
Evidence for the efficacy of pre-harvest agricultural practices in mitigating food-safety risks to fresh produce in North America

2023
Pires AFA^, Ramos T, Baron JN, Millner PD, Pagliari P, Hutchinson M, Haghani V, Aminabadi P, Kenney A, Hashem F, Martínez-López B, Bihn EA, Clements DP, Shade JB, Sciligo AR, Jay-Russell MT
Risk factors associated with the prevalence of Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli in manured soils on certified organic farms in four regions of the USA

2023
Chiarella C, Lamoureaux Y, Pires AAF, Surls R, Bennaton R, Van Soelen Kim J, Grady S, Ramos TM, Koundinya V, DiCaprio E
A preliminary assessment of food policy obstacles in California's produce recovery networks

2022
Lee K, Pereira RV, Martínez-López B, Busch RC, Pires AFA^
Assessment of the knowledge and behavior of backyard and small-scale producers in California regarding disease prevention, biosecurity practices and antibiotics use