Loveleen Kaur Dhillon joined the University of Manitoba (UM) as its agronomist in residence for special crops in February 2025, a new five-year position funded by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA). She grew up on a farm in Punjab, India, and has always been fascinated by what makes crops adapt and thrive across varied soils, seasons and climates.

Dhillon earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural biotechnology at Punjab Agricultural University, then completed her PhD in plant science at the University of Saskatchewan. After her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral fellow on agronomy and plant breeding-related projects before moving to Winnipeg in 2024. She lives with her husband, two-year-old son and mother-in-law.

What got you interested in this area of work?

My interest in agriculture really initiated in Grade 12, when a guest speaker from an agricultural university came to our school. I was already used to talking with my dad about crops, and I had always been fascinated by how a tiny seed could push through the soil and grow into a plant. When I entered university, something just clicked, and I knew this was the field for me. I had the chance to learn from experts in rice and wheat breeding, and being from Punjab, where nearly 70 per cent of people are connected to agriculture, it felt like a natural path.

Can you tell us about your role at UM?

As the agronomist in residence for special crops, my research looks at corn, flax and sunflowers. Currently, my focus is finding the critical period for weed control in these crops. This year I had trials running across different locations in Manitoba, working with the diversification centres, private contractors and trials at UM’s research farm at Carman.

Apart from weed control, I’m collaborating with researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Ottawa on corn cold tolerance trials. They’ve generated corn inbred lines that can be seeded in cold soils, which could be exciting for Manitoba because of our shorter, colder growing season. I’m also looking at different seeding windows for corn, testing various seeding dates and varieties to see what works best for Manitoba.

Research planning takes a lot of my time. Being new to my position at the university this year, I had to set up my lab, develop protocols and manage the administrative work, while also being on the road most of the summer. Once the plants were out of the ground, I was busier than ever, but it was fun to be outside visiting sites and watching the crops grow.

This winter my focus will shift to extension, going to conferences, meeting farmers and communicating what we’ve found this summer. I’m excited to see the results and hope to have more to share once I analyze the data over the winter.

What can you say about the value of farmers providing funding and support to your program?

One word: thanks! It’s incredibly motivating to know that farmers are investing in my work. It tells me that they are open to exploring new possibilities for their farms, and it challenges me to deliver research that truly makes a difference. Farmers’ support means everything, and for that I am deeply thankful.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Farmers invest in this research because they see potential in these crops and want answers to the challenges they face. My role is to take those questions about weeds, fertility or management and turn them into practical solutions. It really is a partnership – farmers provide the support, and we work to deliver research that helps improve their operations. That funding directly translates into recommendations on what fertilizer works best, when to apply it or how to manage weeds more effectively. I’m deeply grateful for their trust, and I hope they continue to grow these special crops. They’re called “special” for a reason – they can bring real value to their farms.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Life with a two-year-old can be busy, but I enjoy cooking and reading.

What is the best part about your job?

From an early age, I knew I wanted to contribute to advancing farming practices, and that’s what excites me most about my job. I get to do exactly what I always dreamed of doing. During my PhD, I worked on promoting the adoption of field peas in Saskatchewan, and now I’m focused on special crops, supporting the adoption of these crops that can strengthen agriculture and promote sustainability. Every new project I take on is designed with farmers in mind. For me, the best part of this job is being able to use science to make a real difference in farmers’ lives.

What are you excited about for the future of agriculture?

What excites me most is how fast agriculture is evolving. We’re updating the basics, yes, but also stepping into a future shaped by plant breeding breakthroughs, faster cropping systems and AI-driven tools. These innovations are transforming farming in ways we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. Agriculture has always been resilient, and I believe its future is brighter than ever.

Who or what inspires you?

My greatest inspiration comes from the farmers themselves. The trust they place in me through MCA, and even a simple letter from a farmer sharing their excitement about this agronomist role, reminds me that this work matters. Their support, both personal and financial, drives my commitment to stay honest, dedicated and focused on research that serves them. In many ways, their confidence is what drives me to give my very best.

Follow @LoveleenKaur024 on X.

Filiz Koksel is an associate professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences (FHNS) at the University of Manitoba (UM). She was appointed Manitoba Strategic Research Chair in Sustainable Protein in July this year.

Born in Winnipeg while her father was completing graduate studies at UM, Koksel grew up in Turkey, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in food engineering from Middle East Technical University in Ankara. She later returned to Winnipeg to complete her PhD in food science at UM and joined the Department of FHNS as a faculty member in 2017.

She lives in Winnipeg with her husband and their five-year-old daughter.

Tell us a bit about what you’re working on at UM.

My research focuses on food processing, transforming ingredients, both plant-  and animal-based, into nutritious, appealing foods. These processes range from mixing or milling for bakery applications, to extrusion cooking, which is a process used for making puffed snacks like Cheetos or breakfast cereals like Cheerios. Extrusion also allows us to produce a wide range of plant-based meat alternatives.

Broadly, my research explores how to process different ingredients from cereals, pulses, oilseeds and other materials into foods that are both nutritious and appealing to consumers. We test at the ingredient, processing and food levels, and measure a wide range of quality attributes.

We look at nutritional quality; for example, whether proteins or starches are digestible. Starch digestibility affects how quickly blood sugar spikes, while protein digestibility affects how efficiently our bodies absorb amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

Another key area is techno-functionality, which refers to how food components interact with other components in their environment (e.g., water or oil). Can they bind oil and water? Form stable emulsions or strong gels? These properties are important for shelf life, stability and product texture.

Finally, we study the physical and sensory quality of the products, including appearance, texture and mouthfeel, all critical to consumer acceptance. Are high-protein snacks as crispy as their starchy counterparts? Do high-fibre cereals remain crunchy in milk? Why are plant-based meats sometimes chewier or gummier?

We’re also exploring advanced oxidative processes (AOP) in the “Decontaminating stored flax’ project funded by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnerhip (a joint federal, provincial and territorial program). Led by Dr. Jitendra Paliwal in collaboration with Dr. Claudia Narvaez, this project aims to reduce the microbial load in flaxseed – a growing concern, as flaxseed is increasingly consumed raw, such as sprinkled on yogurt. The decontamination work (a combination of UV light, hydrogen peroxide and ozone treatment) happens in Dr. Paliwal’s lab and my team studies whether flaxseed’s techno-functional properties, like water binding and gel formation, change after treatment.

What got you interested in this area of work?

My biggest influence was (and still is) my father, also a food scientist specializing in cereal products. He worked in a government lab in Turkey, and I remember visiting him as a child on Take Our Kids to Work Day. Watching cereal scientists test bread dough quality felt like playing in a giant Play-Doh factory, it was fascinating.

I was also very fortunate to have Dr. Martin Scanlon, now the dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at UM, as my PhD supervisor. He gave me the freedom to explore areas that genuinely interested me, which shaped both my research direction and how I mentor students.

What can you say about the value of farmers providing funding and support to your organization?

Farmer support is essential for sustaining my research program. Their funding enables us to train students who often stay in Manitoba and become future industry experts. It also ensures that research findings flow back to the people who make the work possible. We regularly share reports and are always open to discussing results and implications directly with farmer organizations.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Food safety in flax and other grains is a major issue. While my focus is on techno-functionality, our team includes Dr. Claudia Narvaez, a food microbiologist, so we can address multiple aspects of the problem.

As flax becomes more popular for its nutritional benefits, microbial contamination has become a growing concern. Conventional treatments exist, but they can be costly or compromise quality. We are looking for safer, more cost-effective methods that maintain product functionality and help farmers expand markets, improve product quality and gain economic value from their crops.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

Five years ago, before I had my little one, my answer would have been very different! Most of my time now revolves around caring for my family. When I can, I enjoy live music and discovering new restaurants and cafes around Winnipeg.

What is the best part of your job?

Definitely being around students. While much of my time is spent writing grants and papers, I still spend time in the lab. I have a great team of M.Sc. and PhD students, research assistants and post-doctoral fellows. Their energy and curiosity keep the work exciting, and some days, I learn more from them than they do from me. It’s rewarding to watch them grow into the next generation of scientists and mentors.

What are you excited about for the future of agriculture?

Although my research has mainly focused on plant-based foods, my new chair role expands into hybrid and animal-based systems. I’m excited to explore how both sectors can work together toward sustainable and balanced protein production, which is vital for Manitoba’s agricultural future.

What is your favourite food or meal to cook?

I love baking bread. I have this passion for bread since my PhD, which focused on bubbles in bread dough, as they play a crucial role in texture and quality. Gas bubbles make up 10–15 per cent of dough after mixing and expand to 70–80 per cent in the final loaf. Without them, you’d have a dense brick instead of soft bread! For me, baking is meditative—a chance to slow down, unplug and just enjoy the process (even if the results aren’t always perfect).

Check out @foodprolab on Instagram or connect with Filiz Koksel on LinkedIn.

Justin Pahara is a research scientist and project lead in nanotechnology (biotic stresses and adaptation) at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Lethbridge. He earned an undergraduate degree in immunology and infection and a master’s in cell biology (cancer research) at the University of Alberta before completing a PhD in chemical engineering and biotechnology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Pahara lives on one of the longest-running family farms in Lethbridge County, established in 1918.

Where did you work before AAFC?

Before AAFC, I was in commercial entrepreneurship at Amino Labs, an educational biotechnology company that creates kits and tools for high school teachers and home learners to learn about genetic engineering and biotechnology. I created the main core technology for the company.

What got you interested in this area of work?

When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor, but during undergrad I became more interested in how medicines were created and who created them rather than prescribing them. That led me more toward research.

I was drawn to a gap within the space: most labs focus on developing RNA, but few focus on how to reliably deliver it to targets. I already had a background in nanotechnology from my chemical engineering studies, and the bigger question became how to apply it to agriculture. This felt like an area where I could make an impact.

Tell us a bit about what you’re working on at AAFC.

We focus on molecular delivery, engineering nanostructures about 10,000 times smaller than a human hair to go into different organisms. A current project funded in part by Manitoba Crop Alliance is “Screening RNA penetration to achieve gene knockdown in plants for the development of Smart Crop Technologies.”

Most crop treatments today are broad-spectrum, like insecticides or herbicides, and can impact a lot of different organisms and plants in our ecosystem beyond the target. As part of our program, we are working on building highly targeted crop treatments that only target what we want.

That is where RNA interference comes in. Plants and cells have mini-immune systems that chop up harmful RNA, from a virus for example, to prevent it from replicating. By sending in smaller pieces of RNA with the nanostructures we’re developing, we can tell plants to knock down or lower the expression of specific genes.

The challenge is delivery. Our focus is getting these nanostructures into plants, insects and fungi so they could be used by farmers. We’re looking at crop treatments like seed coatings or sprays that could work in the field.

This project began in April 2025, building on past research and learnings within our programs. We are targeting two genes to show proof of principle within this project. One is green fluorescent protein from jellyfish in engineered plants, which glows green under UV light. The other is EPSPS, the enzyme targeted by glyphosate (Roundup). Kochia, a widespread weed across the Prairies, is becoming very resistant to glyphosate. By studying it, we’re hoping to find new approaches for controlling this highly resistant weed.

What can you say about the value of farmers providing funding and support to your organization?

It’s important because farmers decide what matters most to them, and most of our research is externally funded by farmers. Our lab is engineering technology focused, and we want to build things that are useful to farmers.

Funding from producer groups is a step towards creating something useful, rather than “pie in the sky” research that may only be useful decades later. Our goal is to de-risk these sophisticated technologies so the industry can carry them forward. Ideally, we enable small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada to develop these technologies since they often lack the capacity or resources of multinational companies.

Without farmers, this research wouldn’t happen and we’d have to rely on multinational companies, who may or may not pursue these types of solutions.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Although the benefits aren’t immediate, we hope by the end of the decade to start getting some next-generation crop treatments out the door. We focus on crop treatments that farmers need, while navigating regulatory aspects, since nanotechnology and RNA applications are very new.

One of the cool things about RNA is that it can be tweaked like code. There’s a very high likelihood that we’ll be able to invent a system with RNA and the nanoparticle that goes into a target, and if that target develops resistance, we can adjust the code slightly and the overall product stays effectively the same. Regulators currently treat each change as a new or different formulation, so part of our work is learning more about regulation and opening dialogue to help pave the way for more efficient adoption.

I’m also open to hearing from farmers about their challenges. Feel free to email me at justin.pahara@agr.gc.ca. This helps us make our nano formulations more practical. For example, we’ve built specialized spray chambers that allow us to safely spray these nano formulations, and we used industrial nozzles like a farmer would. This allows us to develop treatments in a realistic context early on, rather than finding out later that something won’t work in the field.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

We do a lot of gardening and grow a lot of food we eat. I’m into clean energy, we have solar systems and I’m also writing a sci-fi novel for fun.

What’s the best part about your job?

Exploring the unknown. Our lab builds things that don’t exist. We don’t know how they’ll work or how to get there, which makes the little wins exciting. A big part of that is working with a great team.

Follow @jpahara on X (formerly Twitter).