Gladys Oka

João HC Costa, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky

June 28, 2017

Congratulations to LFS alum João Henrique Cardoso Costa, who has recently been appointed Assistant Professor of Dairy Research and Training, with the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Kentucky.

João joined the Animal Welfare Program at UBC in 2012 as a Ph.D. student, and graduated in 2015. Since then, he has continued at the Faculty as a Post-Doctoral Fellow under the supervision of Professors Dan Weary and Nina von Keyserlingk.

Tell us about your research.

My research is focused on animal welfare and applied animal behavior, especially in dairy cows and calves. During my Ph.D., I focused on understanding the development of feeding behaviour and nutrition of calves and how to raise calves in groups successfully.

Your studies and now your career have taken you far from your home. Can you tell us about your decision to come to UBC?

I did my undergraduate and master degree at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil.

UBC is a leading institution in research and the Animal Welfare Program at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems gave me the opportunity to participate in world-class research in my area of interest. Also, the access to the Dairy Centre in Agassiz, is one of the best dairy research centres in the world – it was a huge factor in my decision to come here.

What does the next step at the University of Kentucky look like?

My career objective is to join the dairy program at the University of Kentucky and be part of the great group that is there. I hope to contribute to creating a research and extension program, with emphasis on applied animal behaviour and nutrition related to animal welfare and sustainability concerns, and to create an inspirational learning environment that motivates graduate and undergraduate students to learn about sustainable animal production systems.

Best of luck, João!

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Students in LFS 450

May 3, 2017

In LFS 450, students are given complex case studies which aim at increasing the sustainability of the UBC Vancouver campus food system. This year, two groups were able to find a solution for recovering food waste and helping their fellow students in need.

One group of students was tasked with working with the AMS Food Bank, which opened in 2006 as a non-profit organization. The Food Bank is experiencing an increasing demand of its services from both new and returning students and sometimes struggles to obtain donations that are rich in nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins. The goal was to increase partnerships to provide regular donations to this student-run organization.

Another group of students in the class focused on the issue of food recovery. Working with chefs on campus, these students quantified and identified food that can be recovered from various UBC Food Services locations. Both projects culminated in historic events for the food system on campus.

On March 28th, 2017, the first hand-off of excess food from UBC Food Services to the AMS Food Bank occurred. Some of the donated food included soup, cut vegetables, bread and pastries. Food retail outlets usually set a criteria for the physical appearance of their food, especially for fresh produce, and anything that falls short is tossed. The students were able to prevent edible food from being sent to compost or the landfill and direct it to the hands of struggling students on campus.

And on April 5th, the students sat down for a buffet of food – food which had been recovered by the students themselves the day before and cooked for them by chefs from Student Housing and Hospitality Services. In total, the students found 20 kilos of edible food from three residence kitchens, two restaurants and four retail outlets. Going forward, the recovered food will go to the AMS Food Bank to feed students in need.

“This is really a recognition of the reality of food insecurity on campus and the importance of repurposing perfectly edible food for social and environmental reasons” says Marie-Claude Fortin, Lecturer of LFS 450. “This is the first of many weekly donations to come, an event worth celebrating since it increases both the social and environmental sustainability of the UBC campus food system.”

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Dr. George Iwama Named Chancellor of Quest University Canada

April 26, 2017

Congratulations to George Iwama, Vice-Dean, Aquaculture and Strategic Initiatives, on being named Chancellor of Quest University Canada. Quest University Canada is Canada’s first independent, not-for-profit, secular university. It was founded in 2002 by former University of British Columbia president Dr. David Strangway.

Dr. Iwama received his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of British Columbia specializing in fish physiology and aquaculture. After postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Texas and Dalhousie University, he returned to UBC to join the faculty in Animal Science, where he was subsequently tenured and granted full professorship. In 2000 he went on to serve four years as Director General of the National Research Council’s Institute for Marine Biosciences in Halifax and led the creation of the NRC Institute for Nutriscience and Health on Prince Edward Island.

In 2004 Dr. Iwama joined Acadia University as the Dean of Science and then became Vice President Academic and Provost. In 2007 he became Dean of Science at Carleton University. In 2009 he began his tenure as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia. During his time as President, he strengthened the university’s relationship within the University of the Arctic consortium and hosted the Undergraduate Regional Office for North America. In addition, he spearheaded campus sustainability efforts, sharing the 2010 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education award with Harvard University.

In 2014 Dr. Iwama returned to his native island to join the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University as Executive Vice President, subsequently serving as Provost and Vice-CEO. He returned home to Vancouver in 2016 and has been actively developing several projects at his alma mater, UBC, as Vice-Dean of Aquaculture and Strategic Initiatives in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and as Assistant Director of the Institute for the Oceans & Fisheries in the Faculty of Science. He also is an editor for the journal Aquaculture from Elsevier Press.

Dr. Iwama has three sons and two grandchildren together with his wife, Dr. Marilyn Iwama. During Dr. George Iwama’s tenure at Acadia University, he piloted a block teaching program and had the opportunity to share his experiences with our Founder, Dr. David Strangway, and learn more about Quest. He has stated that it will be an honour and a pleasure for him to serve as the next Chancellor of Quest University Canada.

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