Professor Dan Weary Receives UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science

August 13, 2020

Professor Dan Weary Receives UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science

Professor Dan Weary received the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science.

The UFAW Medal recognises exceptional achievements of individual scientists who have made fundamental contributions to the advancement of animal welfare over a number of years.

Weary is the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Dairy Cattle Welfare. In a career spanning more than 30 years, he has made major contributions to understanding and improving the welfare of animals including dairy cattle and laboratory rodents, using non-invasive methods to study their behaviour and motivations.

Other achievements include over 260 peer-reviewed publications, three prominent international awards for scholarship and research impact, over $12 million raised in grant funding, invitations to distinguished named lectures in Canada, Sweden and Norway and a guest scholar/professor in Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Australia.

Tagged with: Animal Welfare Program, Faculty

Tagged with Animal Welfare Program, Faculty
Categories: News

Risa Sargent

August 6, 2020

Risa Sargent

Associate Professor, Applied Biology

604-827-0879

risa.sargent@ubc.ca

MacMillan 325, 2357 Main Mall

risasargent.landfood.ubc.ca

Education

PhD (British Columbia)

MSc (Simon Fraser)

BSc Honours (Calgary)

Research

Our lab is interested in how ecological context impacts plant-pollinator dynamics. To address questions in this field, we study the impacts of disruptions, including species invasions and land use changes (especially agriculture and urban use) on this key ecosystem function.

Selected Publications

See Google Scholar for a full list of publications.

Awards & Honours

Ontario Early Researcher Award
NSERC Faculty Award

Tagged with: Applied Biology, Faculty, Plant Science, Sustainable Agriculture and Environment

Tagged with Applied Biology, Faculty, Plant Science, Sustainable Agriculture and Environment
Categories: Profile Faculty, Profiles

UBC Moves Up in Rank for Agricultural Sciences, Food Science and Technology

July 22, 2020

UBC Moves Up in Rank for Agricultural Sciences, Food Science and Technology

July 22, 2020 – The Faculty of Land and Food Systems is pleased to share the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) rankings by academic subject for 2020.

In the field of Agricultural Sciences, our Faculty maintained the #1 spot in Canada, and the #18 spot worldwide (up from #20 last year). [source]

In the field of Food Science and Technology, we moved up to #3 in Canada (from #4 last year), and #51-75 worldwide (up from #76-100 last year). [source]

The ARWU rankings by academic subject compare the world’s leading educational institutions against key metrics, including research output, quality of education and faculty, extent of international collaborations, and significant awards in the academic subject.

The Faculty of Land and Food Systems’ vision is to be a world leader in integrated research, education and service to address critical global issues around human health and a sustainable food supply. With a student body of more than 1,700 undergraduates and 211 graduates, the Faculty fosters and supports research excellence, innovative active learning environments, strong community connections, and global and local collaborations.

Tagged with: 2020, Faculty

Tagged with 2020, Faculty
Categories: News

Tamara Cohen

July 16, 2020

New Faculty Profile: Tamara Cohen

Tamara Cohen started in January 2020, serving in dual roles as Director of Dietetics and Assistant Professor (Food, Nutrition and Health). Her research involves helping individuals maintain healthy lifestyle practices and improve their relationship with food. Cohen, who loves working with people, takes a holistic approach that never involves strict diet or activity plans.

Cohen was formerly a faculty member and clinical dietetics coordinator at McGill University. Also, she obtained her BSc, MSc and PhD at McGill. She hopes to bring lessons and best practices she gleaned from there – both in terms of dietetics programming and administration – to create at UBC what she calls ‘the Cadillac of dietetic programs across Canada’.

“I hope to offer unique learning experiences that students in our profession aren’t currently exposed to,” said Cohen. “I have an engaged and wonderfully diverse steering committee with representation across the province guiding me in the bigger picture programming.”

Some proposed changes include mandatory short-term Indigenous and rural placements and the implementation of practice education (also known as internship) for firstyear students. By getting students into workplace learning environments earlier, she believes they will have a better student experience in the classroom and apply knowledge into practice easier.

She also hopes to advocate for dietitians on a larger spectrum and, through her research avenues, be the voice of dietetics as she collaborates with other healthcare providers.

“There is a science behind diet intervention, where behaviour, emotions, and environment play significant roles,” said Cohen. “Dietitians have a truly unique expertise above and beyond nutrition and a different hands-on training with people.”

One of her projects involves helping cohabiting couples examine the role that relationships have on changing diet and activity practices. Enabling behaviours within a couple’s relationship can sabotage their efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle. Couples counselling is very novel for dietetics. Working closely with psychologists and physical activity experts, Cohen hopes to train dietitians to work with couples.

In conjunction with Montreal Children’s Hospital Adolescent Medicine Unit, Cohen also works with teenagers living with severe obesity undergoing bariatric surgery. She is working with a team of dietitians to create teen-friendly resources to help patients and caregivers as they go through the bariatric process. Her work is patient-centred, using focus groups or semistructured interviews to gain patient insight and feedback.

She is also studying how mobile diet applications can play a role in changing behaviour.

Cohen plans to continue collaborating across Canada and internationally, and she’s also excited to meet with potential collaborators here at UBC. She aims to bring a multi-faceted approach to improving health and wellness through our diets.

MLWS Alumna Creates an Opportunity for Students in the Field

July 16, 2020

MLWS Alumna Creates an Opportunity for Students in the Field

No two days are ever the same for Erika Nassichuk (BSc Applied Biology 2008, Master of Land and Water Systems 2015), who works as an Environmental Protection Officer for the District of North Vancouver (DNV). The DNV is a large suburban community nestled against the North Shore Mountains, with rugged terrain and a complex ecological system.

“Today I might be doing consultation for groundwater protection near a large-scale development project, and tomorrow I could be undertaking a bird nest survey to ensure we aren’t removing any important trees for the birds in the future,” says Nassichuk.

A certified arborist in B.C., Nassichuk started with the DNV in 2009 as an Environmental Control Technician. She later saw the Master of Land and Water Systems (MLWS) professional program as a way to move forward in her career. “The MLWS program helped me become a registered professional biologist and move forward into the role I have today.”

Fast forward to 2019, when Nassichuk noticed an opportunity to get research help from the Faculty while improving animal welfare in the district. “Residents were approaching Council after finding sick and dying owls in their neighbourhoods, which was an immediate concern, and likely the result of secondary poisoning. When Council asked my office to look into this issue, I felt this project would be a good fit for a student because they would be able to take the idea and run with it. It would require a fair amount of research and experimentation, which meant we needed someone with knowledge of scientific studies.”

After getting in touch with coordinators in the Applied Biology program, Nassichuk was successful in creating a practicum position in her office for an LFS student, as part of APBI 496: Applied Animal Biology Practicum. Kimmia Abdollahi, a current student majoring in Applied Animal Biology, was successfully placed in the practicum and began her work in the summer of 2019.

“Over a total of 300 hours that summer, I was able to conduct two experiments,” said Abdollahi. “The first was looking into whether rodenticides were being used at sites that do not have a rat problem, which involved setting up bait stations in both urban and forested areas. The bait was weighed twice a week to determine if there was any rat activity, and we later added cameras. While we found deer mice, raccoons and skunks, there was no evidence of rats.”

“The second experiment explored an alternative to rodenticides for controlling rat populations – a Goodnature trap. These humane traps are designed to deliver a CO2 powered piston to the rat’s head, instantly killing it. Since the trap does not use any toxins, the dead rat can be safely scavenged by other animals. While we again found no evidence of rats entering these traps, we did see other animals.”

Ultimately, Abdollahi’s experiments found that while bait boxes containing rodenticide are commonly used by the public, there may not always be a rat issue to begin with. In fact, other animals may be exposed to the poison, which creates a ripple effect in the food chain when they are eaten by larger animals, such as owls.

“The results from the practicum were not what we expected to see, which shows just how important it is to take the time and conduct the research,” said Nassichuk. She did note that in further experiments later that year, her team did find evidence of rats using the traps.

“We were so pleased with the professional skills and academia that Kimmia brought to the project, and in the future will look to hire another LFS student to return and continue the project. The next steps will involve outreach to the public regarding rodenticide use and promoting the alternatives.”

Calling Agassiz Home for 25 Years

July 16, 2020

Calling Agassiz Home for 25 Years

Photo by Hover Collective

Since 1995, the community of Agassiz, B.C., 100 kilometers east of Vancouver, has been home to the university’s dairy cattle. Today these cattle play an important role in teaching and research, and at last count, their numbers reached approximately 500.

Now called the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre, this is an internationally recognized research facility supporting the development and adaption of new technologies for the dairy industry. Students from around the world come to study and conduct research at the Centre, located in the town of about 6,000 people.

As the Centre celebrates an important milestone, we look back at some highlights from the past 25 years.

1995

Dairy cattle, milk quota, and farm equipment owned by UBC, and located at Vancouver campus and the UBC Oyster River Research Farm, were consolidated with equipment from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at the new Agassiz site.

1996

Sales of milk and animals provide adequate income for the Centre to recover costs.

1997

UBC and AAFC sign agreements outlining terms by which AAFC agrees to provide UBC its dairy herd and certain related equipment, and land and facilities located in Agassiz. This enabled the University to formally establish the Dairy Education and Research Centre on land leased from AAFC.
Research herd increased in size to provide enough experimental animals for most research projects.
UBC initiates the Animal Welfare Program, and welcomes David Fraser and Dan Weary as NSERC Industrial Research Chairs.
Nelson Dinn is hired as Agassiz Farm Manager (and today is the Business Operations Manager).

2000

UBC completes construction of 240-cow freestall barn, a double-12 parallel milking parlor, maternity pens, administration offices, and a small research area.

2002

UBC hires Marina von Keyserlingk.

2005

UBC completes construction of a new 120-cow freestall barn equipped to automatically monitor feed and water intake.
AAFC and UBC sign an Access Agreement providing AAFC scientists with access to the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre including animals, facilities and equipment, for the purposes of dairy cattle research.
UBC’s Department of Civil Engineering establishes the Energy and Nutrient Recovery Facility on site.

2006

UBC completes construction of a new barn to house growing heifers.
UBC completes construction of the Westgen Calf Research Facility, housing milk fed calves in group pens with automated feeding and feed intake monitoring.

2008

Marina von Keyserlingk appointed as an NSERC Industrial Research Chair.

2009

UBC completes construction of a lab building containing research laboratories, offices and Bank of Montreal Conference Room with capacity for 65 people.

2010

UBC hires dairy animal reproduction faculty member Ronaldo Cerri.

2013

Sand/manure separation and recovery system completed.

2015

UBC completes construction and furnishing of a 32-bed student residence.

2018

Jim Thompson, Professor and Founding Director of the Dairy Education and Research Centre, retires on December 31.

2019

Associate Professor Ronaldo Cerri becomes new Director on January 1.
UBC and AAFC sign new Lease Agreement.

2020

Looking ahead in 2020 and beyond, the Centre plans to invest in state-of-the-art, automated milking equipment.

Agora Cafe

July 16, 2020

Agora Café: the Student-Run Initiative at the Heart of the Faculty

Cara LeGault and Vanessa Yeung

Chances are, if you’ve been a part of the Faculty in the past 15 years, you’re already familiar with Agora Café. But look past the famous granola bars and friendly faces, and this little café is a unique experiment unlike anywhere else on campus.

Nestled in the basement of the H.R. MacMillan building, the space currently occupied by Agora was once operated by UBC Food Services before shuttering in 2004. The following year, students began to turn the vacant space into an entirely student- and volunteer-run café.

“Agora has come a long way since then, and it continues to grow and adapt every year,” says Jessica Liao, a fourth year student in the Food & Nutritional Science Double Major program. Liao and Vanessa Yeung, a first year Dietetics student, have been co-general managers for Agora Café since September 2019. “We are guided by our philosophy to provide affordable, accessible, healthy, local and organic food choices to our community, while training volunteers in food service and business management.”

Sustainability is at the heart of every decision. The café supports local and organic agriculture by purchasing the majority of its produce from the UBC Farm and Orchard Garden, and preserves the produce to use throughout the year. Waste is minimized by redirecting organic matter into compost, and reusable dishware is encouraged. While these measures are now common at most campus food outlets, they have been a staple at Agora since the beginning.

“What allows Agora to shine in a crowded field on campus is the direct and open communication with our community,” added Cara LeGault, a third-year-student majoring in Sustainable Agriculture & Environment. A volunteer for three years, LeGault is also the café’s Tech and Web Manager. She works closely with the rest of the executive team to position Agora as a resource to alleviate food insecurity on campus.

“We’ve heard from students who worry about the rising cost of food, which is why you can get a complete meal for under five dollars with us. We’ve also adapted to the growing demand for vegetarian and vegan options. Dialogue and the exchange of ideas is not only welcome, but encouraged.”

There are about 100 students who volunteer at the café each term, representing a variety of programs and faculties. “We’re essentially a learning café, as we require no previous experience for new volunteers to join the team,” said Yeung. “Training is provided, and we encourage an environment where people can make mistakes and learn from them.” Volunteers also receive a discounted rate for Foodsafe Level 1, and work a variety of shifts, from prepping food to front counter service.

Students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the café, as faculty and staff are frequent visitors as well. Which only seems fitting, as the name is inspired by public spaces in ancient Greece used for assemblies and markets.

“Agora is a key player in the Faculty of Land and Food System ecosystem,” says Kelleen Wiseman, the Academic Director for the Master of Food and Resource Economics program, who sits on the Advisory Committee for the café. “They uniquely provide multifaceted contributions in the form of volunteer positions, innovative food offerings and a gathering place for faculty, staff and students – all run by a team of highly organized student executive managers. All of this and the best granola bars too!”

As a not-for-profit café, the volunteers are the beating heart of the operation, and Cody Rector wants to see them succeed. Rector is in the Food & Nutritional Science Double Major program, and is currently the Fundraising Manager for Agora. “We’ve managed to replace some critical equipment in the café this year, which was essential as we want to give the volunteers an experience that resembles a genuine restaurant,” said Rector. “Our next focus will be to secure funds to offer a better training experience, which would be more complete and similar to what is provided in the food industry today.”

Improving Animal Welfare in Shelters

July 16, 2020

Improving Animal Welfare in Shelters

Photo by Brittany Gawley

As a child growing up on an Ontario farm, Bailey Eagan was curious about the behaviour of her horses and dogs, and sought to make the best possible lives for them. Supervised by Professor David Fraser, the research focus of her Master’s of Science has been on companion animals, specifically cats and dogs, their interaction with humans, and the mutual benefits of co-existence.

Eagan’s research is based in the shelters of the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA). Looking into why people give up their dogs and cats, Eagan said that 40 per cent of dogs and cats are owner-surrendered and come from good, loving homes. The main reasons for surrender are rising medical costs for pets and housing issues preventing owners from keeping their pets. As intake of animals continually declines over time, she thinks there is an opportunity for shelters like the BC SPCA to spend available resources on preventing intake.

She is also examining how noise affects cats in the shelter environment. Cats are highly susceptible to stress and stress-associated infections. To learn what makes them stressed, Eagan observed the animals at several BC SPCA locations and installed sound metres to monitor sound patterns, noting when it was noisiest and how cats behaved. Common noise sources include barking dogs, talking humans and cleaning operations. When it was most noisy, cats were more fearful.

At the decibel levels she witnessed upon playback, humans would don ear protection. Since cats have more sensitive hearing than dogs and humans, it’s not surprising that noise is affecting them. Shelters often get loud during visiting hours and are designed with metal cages and cement for easy cleaning, where sound reverberates.

Cats were less fearful when it was quiet. When shelters were closed to the public and while personnel attended meetings, hiding cats emerged to stretch, lounge, groom and play. “We want to make it less stressful to the cats who are retreating. We can set up an environment where they don’t need to hide as much. The more stressed the cats get, the less adoptable they are, the longer they stay in the shelter.”

When Eagan began her research, Professor Fraser had recommended that she spend time watching the animals: “It was the best advice I got. It is my decision-making technique.”

She is grateful to her Animal Welfare Program collaborators: Professors Fraser, Dan Weary, Marina von Keyserlingk and Assistant Professor Alexandra Protopopova. Also she’s thankful to her BC SPCA collaborators: Emilia Gordon, Karen van Haaften and Sara Dubois, Jodi Dunlop, Kim Monteith, Michelle Hadikin, as well as countless shelter managers, staff and volunteers.

“I’m really lucky that the animal shelter is my research lab. It’s an under-researched area; we know very little about animals in shelters and how their welfare is impacted.” Eagan is preparing to defend her Master’s of Science thesis in
late 2020. She is excited about her future, which includes postdoctoral studies with Protopopova.

No matter where the future takes her, Eagan hopes that her research will be helpful to animal shelters everywhere.

News, Notes & Milestones

July 16, 2020

News & Notes

Food And Beverage Research Partnerships to Expand

Anubhav Pratap Singh, Minister Lana Popham & PhD student Ronit Mandal

LFS will work even more closely with those in B.C.’s food industry, thanks to the creation of a Food and Beverage Innovation Professorship last fall.

At a visit to UBC, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham announced that the province will provide $2.58 million over three years for an endowment to fund the professorship. Anubhav Pratap Singh, Assistant Professor of Food Processing, has been named to the inaugural position and has already developed several research projects with local companies.

Singh and the province’s Ministry of Agriculture conducted a needs assessment survey of the B.C. food industry.

“We are listening to the needs of those who work in industry, and learning what will it take for their companies to be even more competitive on the world stage,” said Singh.

Singh’s role as the Food and Beverage Innovation Professor at UBC will involve: leading research and development in food-processing technology; working with industry partners; developing academic programming to train graduate students; and, serving as academic and research director for the proposed UBC Food and Beverage Innovation Centre.

“I’m excited to solve problems that are impacting industry today,” said Singh. “As an application-oriented scientist, my research strives to have an immediate impact in the next five years. One example from our research is exploring physical interventions like pressure, vacuum, light, sound, plasma, electricity to enhance food quality and safety.”

New Research Chair to Study Companion Animals

Alexandra ‘Sasha’ Protopopova

Companion animals play a large role in their adopted families and in service programs where their social interactions can benefit people with disabilities. Assistant Professor Alexandra Protopopova has done extensive research to improve the fate of companion animals and those who surround them.

Now Protopopova has been named the NSERC/BC SPCA Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare, and she will lead research between UBC and the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BC SPCA) over the next five years.

“Companion animals face critical issues related to optimal housing in animal shelters, rehabilitation and adoption following cruelty or neglect, import of rescue animals, and in various other human-animal interaction contexts,” says Protopopova.

“I’ll be working with the scientific community, professionals in non-profit organizations, and the companion animal industry to discover new ways we can improve the lives of companion animals.”

This new program will combine research, public education and outreach and will be integrated into the Faculty’s well known Animal Welfare Program, which was first created in 1997. It will generate cutting-edge research, and create training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students and professionals in the companion animal industry.

Protopopova’s work will fall under three themes: behaviour and welfare of cats in animal shelters; behaviour and welfare of dogs; and, behaviour and welfare of pet rabbits and rats in shelters. Studies will be conducted at animal shelters, UBC LFS, and the BC SPCA, which has 44 locations and assists more than 45,000 animals each year.

Milestones

UBC’s Cedar Summer Camp and Mentorship Program Funded by NSERC

NSERC PromoScience has funded UBC’s Cedar Summer Camp and Mentorship Program, which seeds interest in STEM among Indigenous youth. Joel Liman, Indigenous Academic Advisor (Science and LFS), leads the program. Students visit campus to engage in scientific learning from age eight and continue throughout high school. This funding also supports broad mentorship between Indigenous STEM students involved in the UBC Chapter of AISES (The American Indian Science and Engineering Society) and Indigenous youth in B.C.

Dan Weary Co-Lead on a $1.4M Project

Professor Dan Weary is the academic co-lead on a new $1.4M project funded by Genome Canada’s Genomics in Society Interdisciplinary Research Team program. He’ll partner with Michael von Massow, Associate Professor at the University of Guelph, to better understand barriers and opportunities for commercializing gene-edited beef and dairy products.

UBC’s Wine Research Centre Dual-Campus Presence

UBC’s Wine Research Centre will have a dual campus presence in Vancouver and the Okanagan. Jacques-Olivier Pesme, based at UBC Okanagan, who is special advisor to the Dean, Faculty of Management, and a Professor in Wine Business at the University of Adelaide (Australia), has been named Director of the WRC. Simone Castellarin will be Associate Director of the WRC, ensuring a continuity of research. Castellarin is an LFS Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Tier 2, in Viticulture and Plant Genomics.

UBC Farm’s CSFS Receives Vancity enviroFund Grant

UBC Farm’s Centre for Sustainable Food Systems has secured another Vancity enviroFund grant of $187,000 to support BC Food Web, an online portal that gives food producers, processors, policy-makers and educators access to research and resources.

Jennifer Black Selected as a Wall Scholar

Associate Professor Jennifer Black has been selected a Wall Scholar by the Peter Wall Institute in the 2020-21 academic year. During her residence, she plans to engage children and schools in more critical discussions about the links between poverty, food insecurity and social justice.

Dan Weary and Marina von Keyserlingk’s NSERC Industrial Research Chair Renewed

NSERC has renewed Professor Dan Weary and Professor Marina von Keyserlingk’s NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Dairy Cattle Welfare for an additional five years. The Chair is supported by several industry partners: Alberta Milk, BC Dairy Association, Boehringer lngelheim (Canada) Ltd., CanWest OHi, Cattle Industry Development Council, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, lntervet Canada Corporation, Saputo Inc., SaskMilk, Semex Alliance.

Jim Thompson Receives B.C. Dairy Industry Achievement Award

Jim Thompson, Professor Emeritus, received the BC Dairy Industry Achievement Award from the B.C. Dairy Historical Society. This award recognizes his outstanding support for dairy research and education, and animal welfare. Thompson was the Founding Director, UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre and retired December 31, 2018.

Two LFS Professors Awarded SSHRC Grants

Professors Sumeet Gulati and Hannah Wittman were each awarded SSHRC Partnership Development Grants. These grants support postsecondary institutions and organizations in jointly developing research activities in the social sciences and humanities, or in designing new partnership approaches. Gulati’s project is titled Human Casualties and Wildlife Conservation in India, and Wittman’s project is Navigating Agroecological Transitions in Latin America.

Two Faculty Members are Conducting COVID-19 Research

Associate Professor Siyun Wang will research and develop evidence-based disinfectant guidelines for those working in agri-food, and Xiaonan Lu (an LFS Affiliate Associate Professor as of August 1) is researching new methods to rapidly detect COVID-19. Both projects are funded through NSERC Alliance grants.

Gurcharn Brar

July 16, 2020

New Faculty Profile: Gurcharn Brar

Not many people consider fungus beautiful, but that is how Gurcharn Brar describes yellow rust (also known as stripe rust). He first noticed it in Grade 12 while visiting his farm in his native country of India, and the yellow-striped leaves were fascinating to him. The very fungus causing yellow rust is a huge economic problem in south Asia.

Brar joined UBC as an Assistant Professor in Plant Science in January 2020. His research specialty is plant pathology, genetics, and breeding. Brar will be investigating disease resistance in plants using his skillset in genetics, breeding, plant imaging, and dissecting the interaction between hostpathogens.

He comes from the University of Saskatchewan where he was most recently a Research Officer. Brar completed his PhD in Plant Science (Wheat Resistance Breeding) in March 2019 at the university. While in Saskatchewan, Brar collaborated with several international organizations and worked on research funded by Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, and Western Grains Research Foundation, among others. “I can never leave wheat. I’m in a long-term relationship with wheat,” he says jokingly.

He says B.C. has conditions that enable diseases to proliferate: a conducive, wet climate which is especially what yellow rust fungus likes. He’ll be able to study a wider range of diseases.

In B.C., Brar says the diversity of crops and plants is much greater than that of the prairies. With B.C.’s fruit crops in the Fraser Valley – blueberries, cranberries – and grapes in the B.C. Okanagan, Brar is excited to expand his research program with other UBC faculty members and organizations, while keeping a major focus on cereal grain crops.

He looks forward to studying the genetics of disease resistance, as well as improvements to crop germplasm for sustainable food
production. UBC is preparing new plant growth chambers for Brar in the H.R. MacMillan building.

In India, Brar’s family still owns a six-hectare farm in the Punjab region. Brar attended the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Honours in Crop Protection) and then travelled to the University Saskatchewan for his master’s and PhD studies in plant science.

While he originally thought he would become a doctor, he changed course after finishing high school. “I decided to study plant diseases, so now I’m what you would call a plant doctor.”

Professor Dan Weary Receives UFAW Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Animal Welfare Science