Bruna Donatti Castro Falci joined the Food, Nutrition and Health Program as a Lecturer in June 2022, teaching in the Dietetics and the new Master of Nutrition and Dietetics programs. Before coming to Canada, she worked in clinical nutrition and as a Lecturer for 11 years in Brazil after earning her BSc in Nutrition Science at Centro Universitário Newton Paiva.
Donatti’s interest in nutrition sparked when she discovered how food choices can impact health in regards to prevention and treatment of many conditions. Yet not only is nutrition a human matter, but also a deep ecological concern from her perspective. To Donatti, ecology and human health are deeply integrated, as one inevitably affects the other.
“I’ve also been studying a lot about how our food choices impact the environment, how very small changes can make such a big impact on the environment.”
After receiving her MSc in Human Nutrition at McGill, Donatti worked as a clinical dietitian at McGill University Health Centre, where she supported patients’ recovery from upper GI and thoracic surgery. Donatti made sure that optimal nutrition was provided to her patients to maintain or re-establish their nutritional status, considering its significant influence on morbidity and mortality.
Having left McGill, Donatti has found her passion for teaching rekindled. She is excited to mold a new program at UBC, share her experience, and also see each of her students evolve into a mature professional.
“When we are sharing knowledge, we learn so much. I love to learn from the students and grow from their feedback. As a Lecturer, I love to see how the students evolve.”
Amelia MacRae bought her first horse at age 12, using her savings from babysitting jobs. Since that time, she’s had horses most of her life.
“My parents say my first word was ‘horse.’ Horses are incredible animals, and I’ve always been fascinated and drawn to them.”
As a new Animal Welfare Program Lecturer, MacRae is able to share with students her passion and deep respect for animals. She is no stranger to LFS, however, having been a Sessional Lecturer since 2019. She teaches third- and fourth-year applied biology courses on such topics as animals in society, animals and global issues and equine biology, health and welfare. She also teaches first-year science writing.
Originally, MacRae obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria, but after working for a short time, she decided to return to school to obtain the prerequisites for veterinary medicine. She enrolled in UBC’s Land and Food Systems, graduating from the Global Resource Systems program. It was during this period that she met Professor David Fraser, who introduced her to the field of animal welfare.
“It was like a whole other world of animal work opened up for me. I decided then to pivot away from veterinary medicine and instead pursue an MSc in Applied Animal Biology under David’s supervision.”
Her master’s research focused on trying to improve the health outcomes of orphaned seal pups by adjusting their diet and feeding protocols. Her study more than doubled the survival rate of pups undergoing rehabilitation. Subsequently, MacRae was hired by the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre as a Rehabilitation Specialist, working over the next decade with a wide variety of marine mammals.
To further her goals of better understanding animals and improving their welfare, MacRae then completed her doctoral degree, focusing on the identification of non-invasive indicators of pain in seals and social buffering in horses.
MacRae, AM., McGreevy, P., Daros, R.R., and Fraser, D. 2021. Can surface eye temperature be used to indicate a stress response in seals (Phoca vitulina). Animal Welfare 30: 91-100.
Dai, F., Leach, M., MacRae, A.M., Minero, M., and Dalla Costa, E. 2020. Does Thirty-Minute Standardised Training Improve the Inter-Observer Reliability of the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS)? A Case Study. Animals 10:781.
MacRae, A.M., Makowska, I.J., and Fraser, D. 2018. Initial evaluation of facial expressions and behaviours of harbour seal pups (Phoca vitulina) in response to tagging and microchipping. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 205: 167-274
MacRae, A.M., Fraser, D., and Haulena, M. 2012. The provision of supplementary heat for hand-raised harbour seal pups (Phoca vitulina). Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation 32: 7-11.
MacRae, A.M., Fraser, D., and Haulena, M. 2011. The effect of diet and feeding level on survival and weight gain of hand-raised harbour seal pups (Phoca vitulina). Zoo Biology 30: 532-541
Fraser, D. and MacRae, A.M. 2011. Four types of activities that affect animals: implications for animal welfare science and animal ethics philosophy. Animal Welfare 20: 581-590.
Growing up on his family’s vineyard in the Okanagan, and working as a cellar master and winemaker at B.C. wineries, Jay Martiniuk brings wine-making insights from industry to the classroom. He is excited to share this knowledge with his students as a Lecturer in wine science and fermentation.
To Martiniuk, the subdued wonders of wine science lie in its interdisciplinary nature. “Wine is amazingly complex, and wine science is wonderful in that it includes so many of the sciences. There’s chemistry, microbiology, engineering, plant science. You get a really good cross section in wine science and for me that’s very appealing.”
“Also, I would like to build on the success that the previous instructor David McArthur had — he’s built a very successful course — and I plan to continue that, bringing in some of my experience in yeast research and winemaking.”
Martiniuk earned his BSc in Food Science in Land and Food Systems. He also completed an MSc in Food Science at the UBC Wine Research Centre in 2021 under the supervision of Associate Professor Vivien Measday, where he looked at yeast populations in the vineyards and wineries of B.C.’s Okanagan Valley.
In his research, Martiniuk looked at different vineyard sites, profiling the fungal organisms in populations in the Okanagan Valley.
“We found that there is quite a difference between the strains of yeast that you find, for example, in Kelowna versus in the South Okanagan.”
He further explains that discovering a greater variety of yeast species is significant as it may help contribute to the sensory qualities of wine. “If we can explore the diversity of those yeasts in wine growing regions, we can maybe take advantage of those and use them to create wines that are more expressive of terroir.”
Towards the end of Martiniuk’s masters degree, he taught as both a Sessional Lecturer and guest Lecturer in the Faculty. In between his academic endeavors, he also worked as an Associate Director at Willow Biosciences, assessing yeast growth conditions and production of small molecules in fermentation, and implementing systems for ensuring product quality.
This year, B.C. experienced an unusually warm and dry autumn. Vancouver recorded seven millimetres of rain this past September, a far cry from the city’s monthly average of nearly 60 millimetres. More than simply an extra long summer, this unseasonal weather has massive impacts on the agricultural sector.
LFS researchers Thorsten Knipfer and Simone Castellarin are working to understand the specifics of growing woody perennial crops during conditions of water stress by drought, and how we can sustainably manage one of the most important natural resources on our planet, water.
Knipfer’s research observes how plants react to varying levels of water availability in soil. His team studies hazelnut trees, an emerging woody perennial crop in the B.C. agricultural sphere. As with other woody and perennial plants, farmers have grown hazelnut trees for decades. Sustainable water management allows them to ensure their orchards maintain yield during dry summers without wasting water resources.
To gain a holistic understanding of the plant, Knipfer’s team observes how water interacts with the internals of the plant, using a pressure chamber to measure water tensions, a porometer to monitor water loss from leaves by transpiration, and x-ray computed microtomography to observe the fillings status of cells. In order, Knipfer describes these as the “heartbeat”, “breath”, and “hydration level” of the plant.
Irrigation management can be informed by water availability in the soil. Advanced strategies shift the focus to the plant itself, allowing growers to implement precision irrigation approaches that consider crop specific water requirements. Knipfer’s research attempts to identify thresholds of physiological performance to inform irrigation and create an optimum curve with drought stress conditions on one end and waterlogging conditions on the other.
Simone Castellarin
Similar to Knipfer’s research on the conservation of irrigation water in times of drought, Castellarin’s research adds another element unique to wine grapes, taste.
Historically, grapes of all kinds are produced mostly in dry environments. Yet despite experiencing drought stress, the overall quality of wines made from these grapes could be excellent. Castellarin studies the impact of irrigation management in wine production, where moderate water deficits induced by drought periods can increase the quality of fruit as it decreases the quantity of yield.
Castellarin emphasizes the physiological responses of vines under regulated deficit irrigation, which forces the plant into a controlled state of moderate drought stress. His team monitors canopy growth, sugar production in fruits, and the compounds that create a wine grape’s distinct aroma.
These techniques are still new and developing, but are a promising step towards more sustainable irrigation that preserves water and maintains yield and quality of selected woody perennial crops. Together, their research will be applicable to other berry crops, such as blueberries and raspberries, in the coming years.
With more emphasis on the performance and physiological behavior of the plant, this research is applicable to natural systems. Heatwaves and drought conditions have caused tree mortality in forests, where the continuous water column between root and canopy ‘breaks’ and blocks transport of water and nutrients to leaves. Understanding plant physiological responses in natural and agricultural environments provides the foundation for making accurate predictions on how future climate conditions will impact our ecosystems.
Animal Welfare Program Expands Research on Canine Companions
Alexandra (Sasha) Protopopova at the Human Animal Interaction Lab
A new lab in UBC’s Animal Welfare Program welcomes furry, four-legged participants who can provide researchers with greater insights into their cognitive abilities.
Led by Assistant Professor and Certified Applied Animal Behaviourist, Alexandra (Sasha) Protopopova, the Human-Animal Interaction Lab will use behavioural studies to understand differences in dog personality and learning. Additionally, the lab will study the welfare and behaviour of therapy and assistance dogs that help people.
“The opening of the brand new Human-Animal Interaction Lab space will finally allow us to work collaboratively with the local dog-loving community. We are excited to bring in our dog guests and their owners to learn more about our best friends,” says Protopopova. “It will also allow for teaching opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in companion animal behaviour.”
Protopopova holds the NSERC/BC SPCA Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare, so her research findings are expected to impact many areas: animal shelter practices, including supporting positive behaviour of dogs living in shelters; therapy dog training practices to improve the wellbeing of dogs and the people they assist; and, general companion animal welfare knowledge.
In 2020, Humane Canada reported 20,000 dogs were taken into shelters with approximately 50% of them being adopted. Unfortunately, dog adoptions have slowed down in 2022.
“With COVID-19 restrictions ending and many going back to the office, some dog owners are discovering behavioural challenges, such as separation anxiety, in their new companions. Furthermore, the difficult economic situation and lack of access to pet-friendly affordable housing means that many are forced to rehome their beloved pets. This is now an urgent time to help dogs and owners in need.”
The lab will undertake a variety of studies, including ways to assist dog owners with their dogs’ behavioural concerns. It will also be a place for learning about animal behaviour and animal sheltering, in general.
The new lab is outfitted with 360-degree cameras and twoway mirrors, and expands the Animal Welfare Program’s ability to contribute research and applied knowledge on companion animals and the role of animals in society.
UBC’s veterinarians have reviewed the lab to ensure it’s safe for humans and dogs. Protopopova also points out researchers will ensure consent comes from dog owners and the dogs themselves using behavioural cues. For example, dogs who shy away from interacting with researchers or show signs of being tired or distracted will not be asked to continue and instead either be rescheduled or find an alternative study that would be more suitable for the dog’s comfort.
Funding for the lab came from the Canada Foundation for Innovation JELF and the BC Knowledge Development Fund. Research at the lab space is primary funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute.
Those interested in having their pets participate in future studies can email hai.lab@ubc.ca.
Comparing Breed and Individual Behaviour
Amin Azadian
Amin Azadian is a PhD student in Applied Animal Biology and earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tabriz in Iran. His past research focused on domestic cats, in particular the impact of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus infection on developing age-associated cognitive impairments (Feline Dementia).
Today, he is turning his attention to the study of domestic dogs. “I was always interested in exploring how animals interact with their environment and to what extent the interaction between the genetic makeup and previous life experiences can shape the behaviour and personality of animals,” said Azadian. “I chose to study domestic dogs because the long history of artificial selection in dogs to accentuate desirable traits according to their utility to humans provides a unique opportunity to study between-breed differences in various aspects of behaviour.”
Azadian will also study dogs within a single breed with the aim of understanding the impact of previous experiences, such as the training, on learning and behaviour. By better understanding fundamental behavioural differences and their genetic underpinnings, he hopes to better classify and understand individual differences in animals, which hasn’t received a lot of attention in research studies.
I hope you enjoy this issue of ReachOut magazine, where we are introducing a refreshed look-and-feel to the edition.
I invite you to meet four new researchers and instructors who have joined LFS. Also, you may recognize some retiring faculty members who have just hung up their hats after long and illustrious careers at UBC.
This fall, we launched a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Animal Welfare Program. In this issue, you can read how the science of animal welfare evolved at UBC, becoming a robust, world-leading research program. I am proud of the impact our alumni and researchers have made on animal welfare standards in place around the world.
We have several faculty members working on different aspects of climate change adaptation. You can learn about two of them who are trying to predict how future climate conditions will impact our ecosystems by understanding the physiological reaction of plants in drought stress situations. Thorsten Knipfer is experimenting with precision irrigation approaches in hazelnuts using innovative technology. Simone Castellarin is looking at how water stress impacts wine grapes – in terms of growth, sugar production, and compounds that create a wine grape’s distinct aroma.
Alumnus Michael Wesley, who is part of the Gitanmaax Band, shares his motivation for entering the dietetics profession. He aims to make an impact in his community by addressing health and food insecurity, and fostering relationships across the province. A recent graduate, he is also helping to lay a foundation for future dietitians to begin understanding some of the complexities in Indigenous health.
Enjoy this issue and as always, I’d love to hear from you.
Evaluating Tarps to Terminate Cover Crops and Reduce Tillage
Dr. Sean Smukler and Emma Yates
In summer 2020, Emma Yates was one of the undergraduate students analyzing soils for the Long-Term Biodiversity Monitoring Project at the UBC Farm, when the students hit upon an interesting pattern.
Areas under agricultural production had significantly fewer earthworms than adjacent areas like grassy field margins and hedgerows. While most earthworms are non-native to B.C. soils, they are important indicators of soil health and could also reflect important differences in soil fauna – the critical animal life in soils that contribute to soil health and food production.
“There was just this huge discrepancy between earthworm abundance in the grass and other areas directly next to the crop production fields…I thought to myself, we’ve gotta be able to do something about this,” says Yates.
Yates completed a Directed Studies to further analyze the data she had collected, and couldn’t get the idea of soil fauna out of her head. “I decided to reach out to Sean [Smukler]. He told me we could create a study to kind of encapsulate my interests, the goals of his lab’s existing project, and the questions farmers were raising.”
Emma Yates is now a master’s student in Associate Professor Sean Smukler’s Sustainable Agriculture Lab in LFS. Her study “Evaluating Tarps to Terminate Cover Crops and Reduce Tillage” is part of the larger project “Too Much Water or Too Little? Climate Resilient Vegetable Farming,” which was launched in 2019 by Kira Borden and Raelani Kesler under the supervision of Smukler. The larger project is seeking to help farmers maintain soil health in a changing climate, as farmers grapple with more intense droughts and flooding events.
“As we have seen so obviously over the last year, farmers are facing increasingly unpredictable weather, making a hard job even harder,” says Smukler. “Our project was designed to help address questions farmers have raised about particular strategies to increase their farm’s resilience to weather events. We hope to provide some quantitative evidence to help farmers evaluate and manage alternatives, such as silage tarps and other soil management approaches. Importantly we are trying to do this keeping longer-term impacts in mind.”
Smukler’s Climate Resilient Vegetable Farming project was already investigating the use of silage tarps, a type of durable, UV-resistant tarp used in agriculture, to protect soil over the winter. Yates’ study looks at using these tarps to avoid tilling the soil.
Traditionally, farmers use tractors to till overwintering cover crops, essentially churning the soil in preparation for the summer growing season. Yates’ research is showing that tilling the soil negatively impacts the soil fauna, and this study is testing an alternative: reducing or even eliminating the need to till the soil, by terminating the cover crops with silage tarps.
For the study, Yates cultivated squash, analyzing the soil and also the yield by painstakingly measuring each squash for size and weight. The study compares a “business as usual” control plot, where the UBC Farm staff till the cover crop, while her research plot relies on tarps and avoids tillage entirely. Yates hopes to show that this leads to more soil fauna, a more productive soil, and greater squash yields.
One growing season alone isn’t enough to repopulate all soil fauna, says Yates, but the study will show a path forward. Once they have the data, the next key step is to communicate the findings with farmers.
McCarthy GC^, Morgan SC^, Martiniuk JT, Newman B, McCann S, Measday V, Durall DA. 2021. An indigenous Saccharomyces uvarum population with high genetic diversity dominates uninoculated Chardonnay fermentations at a Canadian winery. PLOS ONE 16(2): e0225615.
Cheng E^, Martiniuk JT^, Hamilton J, McCarthy GC, Castellarin SD, Measday V. 2020. Characterization of Sub-Regional Variation in Saccharomyces Populations and Grape Phenolic Composition in Pinot Noir Vineyards of a Canadian Wine Region. Front. Genet. Aug 31; 11:908.
Martiniuk JT, Pacheco B, Russell G, Tong S, Backstrom I, Measday V. 2016. Impact of commercial strain use on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population structure and dynamics in Pinot Noir vineyards and spontaneous fermentations at a Canadian winery. PLOS ONE 11(8): e0160259.
My favorite place to study at UBC was in the Riddington Room in the Library.
How did your time at UBC help you on your career path?
I learned from every aspect of UBC. I was very active on the executive of the Home Economics student society, planning events and also representing our faculty on the L.S.E. I played grass hockey for UBC and have my "Big Block". I sang with Mussoc, did make-up for their operettas, and belonged to both Phrateres and Alpha Delta Pi sorority. I loved all the dance events, especially Mardi Gras and the Engineers' Ball and was a member of the (noon hours) Dance Club. All of this on top of a 6 day week of classes from 8:30am- 4:00pm. I maintained a 2nd class average, and in my final year was inducted into the women's honorary society, Delta Sigma Pi.
I had a wonderful time! All of this helped my career as a teacher, a journalist, and especially as a mother of three allergic children, whom I know I couldn't have kept alive and healthy without my Home Economics nutrition training.
What was a highlight of your time at UBC?
Realizing the absence of any help in the community (this is 1966) for people trying to feed hypo- allergenic children, I founded "Allergies Unlimited" as a night school class in meal planning. This eventually morphed into the Toronto chapter of the Allergy Information Society, writing this for an article in "Chatelaine". This started my writing career. I returned to UBC for my master's degree in 1990 after I had started teaching at Capilano University, and it was great getting back on campus. I'm still writing today, at 91, and during the Covid pandemic, I published two memoirs of my parents' lives.
For Hilary’s commitment to community service, she was honoured to receive the Queen's Jubilee medal in 2012.
