Dr. Banerjee grew up in the Kolkata (then Calcutta) metropolitan area in West Bengal, India. He completed his B.Tech. degree in Dairy Technology from the West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata, India, followed by M.Tech. degree in Biotechnology from Jadavpur University, also in Kolkata. He received his Ph.D. in Food Science from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana working in the area of food safety, focusing on the rapid detection of pathogens and toxins in food and drinking water. Before joining the University of Illinois, Dr. Banerjee worked as a faculty member in the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, and in the Department of Food and Animal Sciences at Alabama A&M University, Huntsville, Alabama. Previously, he worked as the Principal Scientist leading the R & D section of LacPro Industries, LLC, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Dr. Banerjee teaches courses in food safety.