Nicole Martin
Assistant Research Professor in Dairy Foods Microbiology, Food Science
Director, Milk Quality Improvement Program, Food Science

Dr. Nicole Martin is an Assistant Research Professor in Dairy Foods Microbiology and the Director of the Milk Quality Improvement Program (MQIP) in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. Nicole grew up in the beautiful Southern Tier of New York State where she began a life-long love of dairy by working on a local dairy farm. She received her BS (’06), MS (’11) and PhD (’18) degrees in Food Science from Cornell University with minors in microbiology and animal science.
Education
- Ph.D., 2018, Food Science, Cornell University
- M.S., 2011, Food Science, Cornell University
- B.S., 2006, Food Science, Cornell University
In her role, Nicole oversees the farm to consumer dairy microbiology research conducted in the MQIP and works closely with dairy industry stakeholders including producers and processors. Nicole’s research interests take a holistic approach to dairy product quality and safety, with the mindset that providing consumers with high quality dairy products must start at the farm and be a priority throughout processing, distribution and retail. In particular, Nicole is interested in the transmission of dairy associated spoilage organisms from environmental niches into raw and processed dairy products, strategies to reduce or eliminate this transmission, the implications of spoilage organisms on finished product and methods of detection.
Nicole is a member of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) and was awarded the ADSA Foundation Scholar Award in Dairy Foods in 2019. Nicole currently serves as the chair of the ADSA Dairy Foods Division and is a section editor for the Journal of Dairy Science. She is also a member of the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) and the New York State Association of Food Protection (NYSAFP). Nicole is a regular contributor to the Cornell Dairy Foods Extension programs, teaching at courses such as Fluid Milk Processing for Quality and Safety, The Science of Yogurt and Fermented Dairy Products and Membrane and Evaporation and Drying Technology.
Contact Information
Ithaca, NY 14853
nhw6 [at] cornell.edu
Additional Links
Nicole in the news

News
In response to dairy industry needs, a team of researchers found that avian flu persisted in raw milk for as long as eight weeks when refrigerated - but also that it did not survive pasteurization and even some subpasteurization temperatures.
- Food Safety Laboratory and Milk Quality Improvement Program
- Food Science
- Food

News
After examining pasteurized single-serving milk cartons, Cornell food scientists found bacterial counts two weeks after processing were higher than in larger containers from the same facilities.
- Food Safety Laboratory and Milk Quality Improvement Program
- Dairy
- Food Science