Kathleen D'Ovidio

B.A. (American Studies), University of Maryland at College Park, 1985
B.S. (Nutritional Science), University of Maryland at College Park, 1998
Ph.D. (Food Science), University of Maryland at College Park, 2005

Dr. D'Ovidio joined the faculty of Delaware Valley College as an assistant professor in the Food Science and Management Department in January of 2006. Her past positions include: a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Maryland, Faculty Research Associate at the University of Maryland's Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics and Adjunct Professor at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland. She interned with the National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center's Nutrition Department as a Computer Database Specialist and Dietitian Technician. Dr. D'Ovidio has also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in the mycotoxicology unit analyzing mycotoxins in corn and dietary supplements.

Her career has spanned many decades and her previous positions included Bank Branch Manager, Human Resources Manager and Corporate Training Director. Backpacking in Europe for a year in the early 1990’s helped her to immerse herself into the cultures of the world, where she found that food is a celebration of life in each place that she visited. This led to the conclusion that she wanted to pursue a career in food, so she decided to study Culinary Art at the Hotel School in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico in 1993.

Dr. D'Ovidio returned to her home state of Maryland, where she began to research possible academic opportunities in the area of Nutrition. She attended the University of Maryland in College Park in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, where she earned a B.S. degree in Nutritional Science. During her last year, she took some Food Microbiology courses that helped her shape her goal for a graduate degree in Food Science. She found a graduate advisor willing to work with her on food irradiation studies looking at reducing or eliminating mycotoxins in corn. After three more mycotoxins studies, she completed her dissertation and graduated with a Doctorate degree in Food Science in 2005.

Dr. D'Ovidio has been the author or co-author of numerous research articles in Food Science focusing on mycotoxins.