Blog: Meet a Researcher

Allan Feurtado is the Team Lead of Integrated Omics and Climate Resilience at the National Research Council Canada (NRC). Growing up in Ontario, he developed an interest in plants and crops that led him to study at Queen’s University, the University of Guelph and then Simon Fraser University. His research focused on seed dormancy and germination, which eventually brought him to the Prairies and his current role at the NRC.

Where did you work before the NRC?

I first came to the NRC in Saskatoon as a PhD student through Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC. What was originally meant to be a one-year visit, to work with specialists in plant hormone research, turned into the place where I completed my PhD. After my PhD, I stayed at the NRC in a postdoctoral research associate role, working on seed maturation and germination. Over time, I became interested in abiotic stress, because of the parallels with events in seed development and maturation. This eventually led to my current position as team lead and research officer with the NRC’s Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre.

What got you interested in your current area of work?

My interest in plant roots stemmed from our discovery that the root system plays a significant role in wheat lodging resistance in our Prairie environments. Root biology had always interested me and its connection to lodging issues faced by farmers renewed my interest to develop a project centred on root system architecture – the shape and spatial arrangement of root systems. The second priority was figuring out the best way to look at roots. That’s where my interest in photography and imaging came in. I started thinking about how we could best use imaging technology and analysis to gain better insight into the root system diversity of our crops, and that’s also when I teamed up with root researcher Leon Kochian at the University of Saskatchewan.

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

One of the current projects I’m working on is “Root of the Problem 2.0: Solidifying barley lodging,” which is a continuation of earlier work where we looked at various stem and root traits to determine which were impacting lodging resistance. The work is being done in collaboration with barley breeder Aaron Beattie at the University of Saskatchewan. Through the first “Root of the Problem” project, we conducted field trials in a small set of barley cultivars with varying lodging tendencies to confirm and validate the major traits contributing to lodging resistance in barley. We found that, in addition to plant height, wider root angles help anchor the crop and improve lodging resistance.

Since it is quite labour intensive to study roots in the field, we also wanted to use our indoor root imaging techniques to see if we could develop an efficient method that could be used to initially screen for lodging resistance. We found that root angles measured shortly after germination using hydroponic pouches were also associated with lodging resistance in the field.

Those findings led to Root of the Problem 2.0, which began in summer 2024 as a four-year project. Our goal is to further validate our findings and build an AI / machine learning model that breeders could use to select for lodging resistance using indoor root imaging. We’re also evaluating a larger collection of barley, around 250 genotypes, to better understand the genetics of root traits and develop root-based markers that will be very useful for barley breeders. We are continuing to collaborate with Aaron Beattie on the work and have added Ana Badea at AAFC Brandon to collect additional lodging data that will be important for building our models.  

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

It’s critical. At the NRC, part of our research is supported through external funding, so being able to work on projects that are directly relevant to industry and collaborate with breeders is incredibly important. Results coming out of our projects are applicable across the Prairies and involve funders from both crop organizations and government partners.

Support from farmers and the industry is essential for the research we want to do, especially bringing together the collaborations needed to elevate our research discoveries and outputs. Another important piece is science communication. It’s valuable that organizations like Manitoba Crop Alliance are interested in sharing our research with farmers and helping connect the science to the people who will ultimately benefit.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

It has been important for me to build connections with crop development teams and breeders, and to work closely with them so the knowledge we are generating goes directly into breeding programs and helps develop the next generation of crops. Our goal is to give breeders tools to select barley with improved lodging resistance, which will ultimately help farmers reduce losses and improve crop productivity.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

My main hobby is photography, which relates back to my interest in image-based analysis of plants and our root imaging technologies. I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures, especially landscapes, nature, wildlife and places around Saskatchewan and Western Canada.

What is the best part about your job?

A couple of things come to mind. What really excites me is the science itself and the knowledge we can generate. Over the last decade, it has been exciting to see where that knowledge can go and the impact it can have through collaborations with plant breeders and other industry experts. The other part is working with collaborators and co-supervising students. I enjoy mentoring students, transferring knowledge and helping develop our next generation of potential scientists. It has been incredibly rewarding.

What is a good piece of advice you’ve received that has stuck with you?

Recently, I had a conversation with a new colleague about science being a team effort. We talked about surrounding yourself with people who bring diverse perspectives and expertise and about how critical this is to advancing research for Canada.

I’ve really seen the importance of that over the last five years through engaging with crop development teams, breeders, computer scientists, data engineers and AI/machine-learning experts. I see myself working at the intersection of crop biology and technology, where collaboration is essential.

It’s all part of surrounding yourself with an array of expertise and bringing different perspectives together to elevate what you are able to accomplish. That is advice I’ve received from several people over my career.

Rotimi Aluko is a professor at the University of Manitoba (UM) in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, as well as director of the Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research. Originally from Nigeria, he completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in biochemistry there before earning a PhD in food science at the University of Guelph. He moved to Winnipeg in 2001, where he lives with his wife. Their two children are grown; one lives in Winnipeg and the other is in Alberta.

Where did you work before UM?

I’ve been here for 25 years, but before UM I worked as a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Saskatoon.

What got you interested in becoming a professor?

From my undergraduate days I was fascinated by my professors, how they taught, carried themselves and were respected in society. I worked as a scientist with AAFC after my PhD, but I was always on the lookout for a professorial position. It had been a longtime goal, so when the opportunity came up, I took it.

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

If I’m not teaching, I’m usually giving feedback on various documents. This includes grant applications, student theses and manuscripts, and preparing documents that highlight the centre’s activities.

In one of our current research projects, “Genotype and environment effects on sunflower and new sunflower protein study,” co-funded by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA), we are looking at genotype versus environment effects on sunflower seed protein content and quality.

This project has two main objectives. First, we are quantifying chlorogenic acid, the compound that causes sunflower protein to turn greenish during aqueous processing. That colour isn’t always desirable in food products, so we are screening different varieties to identify those with lower levels of chlorogenic acid. We are also screening different growing environments to see if that affects the chlorogenic acid content. If we can identify varieties with low chlorogenic acid, they could be recommended to farmers, assuming all other aspects of the seed are acceptable.

Second, we are looking at protein quality. Proteins are made up of units called amino acids, and the quality of the protein is determined by the amino acids present that the human body cannot synthesize on its own. We are developing a rapid system to measure essential amino acids, which determine protein quality. The goal is to identify sunflower varieties and growing locations that result in higher-quality protein for use in the food industry.

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

It’s invaluable. This research would not be possible without the financial support and collaboration of farmers and MCA. Beyond funding, farmers also provide the seeds to do the work. That level of support allows us to generate results that can be applied back to the industry.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

The goal of this project is to identify sunflower varieties that produce high-quality protein with a desirable colour for food use. That creates stronger demand from the food industry, especially with growing interest in plant-based products. If successful, this will give Manitoba farmers an advantage by producing seeds that are more valuable in the marketplace and can improve returns.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

I am a history buff. I like to learn about history by relaxing and watching documentaries.

What gets you most excited about your work?

When we get results that meet our objectives and lead to useful outcomes, whether for the food industry or farmers, that’s what excites me. It shows the time and investment in the research is making a real impact.

What are you excited about for the future of agriculture?

I am excited about the growing emphasis on plant-based foods. The cultivation of crops is sustainable, and the current emphasis on using more plant products in our food system is highly encouraging because it points to a more sustainable future for food, agriculture and human nutrition.

What is your favourite food or meal?

As a Nigerian, my favourite food is Jollof rice. It is a specialty rice dish with a unique preparation, and I think it’s traditionally made in Nigeria and Ghana. It’s a wonderful dish with many different versions: spicy or not spicy, with vegetables, meat or fish.

Connect with Rotimi on LinkedIn.

Sam Markell is a professor and extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University (NDSU). He was born in rural Minnesota and lived on a small farm until he was 10 before moving to Minneapolis. After graduating high school, he came to NDSU to play football and study engineering. He played football for four years but changed majors multiple times before falling in love with science. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry, followed by a master’s degree in plant pathology, before completing his PhD at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Markell lives in Fargo, N.D., with his wife. They have twin daughters attending NDSU and a son in high school.

Where did you work before NDSU?

I was a research specialist while I was a student at the University of Arkansas, but this was my first job after graduating with my PhD in 2007.

What got you interested in this area of work?

When I was in college I had multiple majors. I was in engineering, then history and social sciences education. I bounced around until I found an ecology class. I loved the systems approach, and from there, plant pathology was a natural step. The science side really got me interested, and science for a purpose is a big part of why I’m a plant pathologist.

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

My work is seasonal. Winter is meeting season, where we travel to grower and industry events to share research results. We also focus on writing for publications and extension. In the spring, we plan research projects, deciding what to plant and where. Most of our work evaluates the tools farmers use to manage diseases, whether that’s genetics or new chemicals. Summer is a mix of field research and monitoring how those tools are performing, along with communication and travel. In the fall, we focus on data analysis, writing and we usually propose new research before the cycle repeats and we go back into meeting season.

A project we’re working on, “Determination of rust virulence in sunflower,” is co-funded by Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA). Rust can significantly reduce yield. We’ve seen losses as high as 80 per cent, although that’s rare. More commonly, losses of 10 to 30 per cent can occur. We manage rust through fungicides and scouting, and genetic resistance. Our hope is that farmers can plant a hybrid resistant to rust and not have to worry. However, the challenge is that the pathogen can evolve to overcome the genetic resistance, making the hybrid susceptible to the new pathogen “race.” This is similar to how antibiotic resistance occurs to human pathogens and diseases.

This project looks at the rust pathogen across the north-central U.S. Great Plains, which is the same population across Manitoba. We’re studying its variability to determine which resistance genes are useful against rust in our region. We’re also looking at how the pathogen populations are related in other regions of North America. The goal is to monitor changes and ensure our genetic resistance remains effective. The last survey was done in 2012, so this is long overdue.

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

Farmers know the areas they need help. Funding is a direct way of telling scientists what’s important and what we need to deliver. It also means farmers influence the direction of the science. When farmers and researchers work closely together, both sides get better. Developing that relationship is critical. Farmer funding also helps leverage additional support by showing the government how important the work is to farmers.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Farmers are good at identifying projects that will bring value. By funding research, they help ensure the work delivers the results they need. Because I’m in extension, I’m also able to share those results through meetings, presentations and articles. That communication piece is important.

I’m always impressed with how engaged the farming community is. Every farmer is running a complex business, yet they take the time to stay informed and influence agriculture in different ways. I really admire and appreciate that.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

I play musical instruments, including mandolin, guitar and Irish bouzouki, which is like a large mandolin. I also work out. Sports have always been a big part of my life. We recently started curling in a league, which has been humbling getting crushed by high school kids, and I enjoy mountain biking when I can.

What is the best part about your job?

Communicating with farmers and researchers. It’s connecting with people where my work can make a difference. I enjoy presenting, writing and putting together extension articles and alerts.

What are you excited about for the future of agriculture?

There’s a significant generational shift happening in both farming and science. My graduate students bring different skill sets and new ways of communicating. They’re part of the social media generation and I think will do a better job getting messages out. Farmers are changing in similar ways. The next generation will adapt quickly as agriculture evolves. It’s exciting to see younger farmers asking new kinds of questions.

To learn more about Sam Markell, visit NDSU’s website.

Physics professor Christopher Bidinosti has been at the University of Winnipeg since 2007, and much of his recent work sits at the intersection of computing and agriculture. As a co-founder of the TerraByte research group, Bidinosti is helping advance digital agriculture in Manitoba by supporting plant science research with new data and imaging tools.

Where did you work before?

I’ve been in universities most of my life. Before coming to the University of Winnipeg, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University and prior to that at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. Before that, I was a graduate student at the University of British Columbia and an undergraduate student at Brandon University. I also worked at Ayerst Organics in Brandon, MB, where they extracted estrogen from the pregnant mare’s urine and made hormone replacement drugs.

What got you interested in this area of work?

I’ve always had an interest in plants, gardens and growing food. Even though I don’t do it, I still find it fascinating. So, when my colleague and I were working on advanced computing techniques about 10 years ago, I saw this as an opportunity to engage my interest in agriculture. With the shrinking cost and size of sensors, like cameras in our phones, and the massive increase in computing power, it felt like the right time to jump into this kind of research.

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

Our research group, TerraByte, works on several aspects of digital agriculture, including data generation, data hosting and sharing, and machine learning models for things like plant classification and disease detection. We primarily work with plant scientists, helping them automate and expedite visual tasks like phenotyping and disease assessment. We like to think of what we do as research helping research.

Michael Beck, Christopher Henry and I have been pushing digital agriculture for a long time. When Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) put out its “hope and dreams” call last fall, we knew we had to pitch the idea for the Manitoba Centre for Digital Ag (MCDA). When you look at other jurisdictions, there is significant investment in digital agriculture, and we felt strongly that Manitoba needed a more co-ordinated approach. The MCDA isn’t about a single building or institution. It’s about bringing researchers, grower organizations, government, and industry together around a shared provincial strategy. Our focus is on mobilizing researchers across universities and colleges to work collaboratively, apply for funding together and make better use of the digital tools we already have. That’s the vision we’re working toward, and we really appreciate MCA’s support in helping move it forward.

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

It’s huge and we appreciate it very much. It’s very forward thinking. There is no doubt that computers will bring as much change to agriculture as engineering, chemistry or genetics have in the past.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

It really goes back to work we do with plant scientists and researchers. If we can help them expedite their breeding programs, then heartier crop varieties that are more pest, disease or heat resistance, for example, can make it to farms much sooner. That’s where we see a real, long-term benefit for farmers.

One example of this is work we do in the lab using low-cost cameras to take images of plants from many different angles and build 3D computer models of them. From those models, we can automatically extract plant traits like height, width, volume and leaf angle, without disrupting the plant’s growth cycle or relying on visual scoring. A lot of plant science still depends on people visually ranking plants, which takes a huge amount of time and can be quite subjective. What we’re doing replaces hours or days of manual work with something that takes minutes and produces consistent results.

For plant breeders, that’s a big deal. It means they can evaluate more plants, more accurately and much faster than before. That speeds up research and helps identify promising varieties earlier in the process. While this work isn’t showing up directly on farms next year, it influences the varieties that farmers will eventually be growing.

We’re very thankful for the trust farmers have placed in us. We’re always happy to talk about what we’re working on and to hear about other projects we could be involved in. This kind of work is an investment in the future, and we take that responsibility seriously.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

Biking, running and reading.

What is the best part about your job?

The best part of my job is working in an area that I find genuinely fascinating and working with inspired students. Over the last several years, my focus has shifted more toward digital agriculture, which brings together engineering, imaging equipment and computation. We often talk about how engineering plus agriculture gave us tractors, chemistry plus agriculture gave us pesticides, genetics plus agriculture gave us breeding, and now it’s computers plus agriculture. No one knows exactly where it will land, but there’s no doubt it’s going to be big, and that’s what makes it so interesting to work on.

What gets you most excited about your work?

The people I work with. I have amazing colleagues and collaborators who are incredibly talented and fun to work with, and I’ve worked closely with some of them for many years. The work itself is also fascinating because of how complicated it is. Plants and real farm fields are insanely complicated systems, even more so than physics, and that challenge is what keeps the work exciting.

Learn more at terrabyte.acs.uwinnipeg.ca

Michael Beck is an assistant professor for data analytics in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg). Before moving to Canada in 2017, Beck earned his master’s degree in mathematics and doctorate in computer science from the University of Kaiserslautern in Germany. He has held postdoctoral positions at both UWinnipeg and the University of Manitoba (UM) and lives in Winnipeg.

What is the best part about your job?

The best part about my job is that I get to work in a very interdisciplinary field, where people from many different departments come together. I work with physicists, plant scientists and other computer scientists; it’s a very wide spectrum of people. I might talk to a farmer one day and a scientist the next, then sit down to write some code or head into the lab and start building a robot. It’s so diverse. That variety is what makes the work exciting and what makes me happy week by week.

What got you interested in working in computer science?

It was after doing my postdoc at UM when Christopher Henry and Christopher Bidinosti (both professors at UWinnipeg) asked if I could work on a project. They wanted me to build a robot, create a database to hold images and do a number of things I had never done before. When they asked if I could do it, I said I hadn’t done anything like it before, but I was willing to learn, and that was all they wanted.

My journey went from a very theoretical background in mathematics toward real-world problems. Curiosity and not being afraid to try something I wasn’t trained for is what got me into computer science, and the interdisciplinary nature of the work is what made me stay.

Tell us a bit about your role and the Manitoba Centre for Digital Ag.

As an assistant professor, my role is teaching and research, and I work in digital agriculture with TerraByte. We focus on bringing new technologies into agriculture, from machine learning and equipment such as sensors to new data acquisition methods and figuring out how that data can be useful. This can mean helping plant breeders, agronomy research or even directly on the farm. We have people from physics and computer science working with plant scientists, and together we solve research problems. We don’t know everything about plants, and plant scientists don’t have a full picture of what technologies are available, so bringing those worlds together is where real progress happens.

The Manitoba Centre for Digital Agriculture (MCDA) grew out of this same thinking. When Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) put out a “hopes and dreams” call, we responded with the idea of bringing together the many people already working in digital agriculture across Manitoba. Right now, there are individual efforts, but no co-ordinated, province-wide strategy. The MCDA is intended to connect post-secondary institutions, grower associations such as MCA and MPSG, government, industry and farmers, so that work can happen more strategically.

Similar centres exist in the U.S., the UK, Australia and even in Saskatoon, and the level of investment and synergy in those institutions far exceeds what we currently see in Manitoba. Without something like this, my concern is that Manitoba risks being left behind, with new technologies developed elsewhere and brought in at a cost. We want innovation to happen here, not only for economic reasons, but because solutions developed locally are better suited to our conditions. The MCDA isn’t a brick-and-mortar building. It’s more of a consortium that brings people together, avoids duplicated efforts and helps navigate an increasingly complex digital agriculture landscape. No single group can do this alone, and that’s really what the MCDA is about.

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

It’s absolutely instrumental. What we’re trying to build with the MCDA is very ambitious, and it’s hard to find funding channels for something like this. So, when MCA came to us and said, “Tell us about your hopes and dreams,” and then followed through with funding, that was absolutely massive. It’s an opportunity we would have a very hard time finding anywhere else, and we’re incredibly grateful. We really appreciate MCA and its members trusting us with this responsibility.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

This is still research, and the work we’re doing isn’t going to show up on farms next year. To some level, this is fundamental research. There was a time when chemistry had no business in agriculture, then someone invented fertilizer. There was a time when biology or genetics had no business in agriculture, but look at plant breeding now. I think digital agriculture is a similar story. We don’t yet know exactly what it will look like in 10 or 20 years, but farmer funding will help us shape that future here in Manitoba, together with the people who are living and working in this system.

There are some very tangible benefits already. One example is our work with plant breeders studying Fusarium head blight in wheat. We’re helping researchers assess diseased wheat heads more accurately and faster, which in turn accelerates breeding program and helps deliver more resistant varieties sooner. These are the kinds of projects we want to establish more of through the MCDA. We’re very thankful for the opportunity farmers have given us, and we take that responsibility seriously.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

I play a lot of different games, including board games, tabletop RPGs, computer and card games. I also enjoy sports like volleyball and soccer.

Who or what inspires you?

What I find regularly inspiring is seeing people who are really good at what they do, no matter what their field is. Watching people perform at a high level and master their craft is something I find motivating, and that inspiration can come from anywhere.

Do you have a favourite TV series, movie or podcast at the moment?

One series I really like is The Bear. I also enjoyed Arcane League of Legends, which is based on a computer game but stands on its own as an animated series. Recently, we’ve also been enjoying Pluribus.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

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).

George diCenzo is an associate professor in the Department of Biology and cross-appointed to the Department of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University. He also holds an adjunct professor position at the University of Manitoba (UM) in the Department of Microbiology.

diCenzo completed his undergraduate and PhD studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, before moving to Italy for his postdoc at the University of Florence.

He lives in Kingston, ON, with his partner, Rebecca Doyle, who’s also a professor that studies rhizobia and rhizobial inoculants for agriculture.

Where did you work before Queen’s University?

Before joining Queen’s as an assistant professor, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Florence in Italy.

What got you interested in this area of work?

It was partly by chance. I was always interested in biology, sciences and research. At one point, I thought I’d be more involved in medically related research. In my second year of undergrad, I was trying to get into a lab to do research in the summer and got one offer for a spot that following summer, Turlough Finan’s Lab, which studied rhizobia. It was more fundamental research, but it was with this agriculturally important bacterium. I took that position, worked in the lab that summer and I really loved working there and all the research we were doing.

I went back the summer after my third year, stayed for a fourth-year thesis and did my PhD thesis all in that same lab. So, in a way, I got into the broader area of working with rhizobia by chance; it was the one lab that gave me a spot when I first applied, and I really enjoyed it.

Tell us a bit about what you’re working on at Queen’s and the UM.

There are three main aspects of my research. One is fundamental work with rhizobia, nitrogen-fixing bacteria that interact with legume plants. We study their genomics, metabolism and diversity to build new knowledge that can support agriculture.

Another area is plastic biodegradation, which is separate from our agriculture work. We’re looking for microbes and enzymes that can break down different plastics for recycling. That’s where my cross appointment to the Department of Chemical Engineering comes in.

And then there’s my applied research in microbial agriculture, where we’re looking for bio-inoculants for different types of crops. Some of that is rhizobia for legumes like beans, some involves other potential microbes that might benefit non-legume crops. That’s the focus of the “Bio-inoculants for the promotion of nutrient use efficiency and crop resiliency in Canadian agriculture” (BENEFIT) project, which I co-lead with Ivan Oresnik at the UM.

The BENEFIT project is funded through Genome Canada by the governments of Ontario and Manitoba, and various grower groups including Manitoba Crop Alliance. It brings together 16 professors across six universities. Broadly speaking, the goal is to try and reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers, or supplement their use, with microbial products, like bacteria and fungi. These microbes can help plants fix nitrogen, solubilize phosphorus, take up nutrients from the environment and some can even have effects on pests, diseases or stresses like cold temperatures.

Microbial inoculants already work well for legumes like soybeans, peas and lentils, where they form a specific interaction with the rhizobia to provide nitrogen to the plants. For crops like wheat and barley that can’t form this interaction with rhizobia, microbial products have historically been less effective. As part of this project, we’re tackling some of those challenges with hopes to develop new microbial products that are more reliable for growers.

To do this, we’ve generated a library of over 2,000 microbes isolated from Canadian soils. The idea is that microbes from Canadian soils are already adapted to our conditions and are more likely to succeed in Canadian fields. We’re now working on characterizing these microbes, looking at how well they’re able to promote plant growth, starting with lab trials and eventually moving to field trials.

We’re also looking at the economics and environmental impact, asking “what level of performance would make these bio-inoculants valuable for growers and for the industry to produce?” The main crops we’re focused on are wheat, barley, canola, beans and peas, with a smaller part on kale. The project is still in its early years. We only have preliminary results at this point; however, we are seeing some promising results for beans that I’m excited about.

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

It’s essential. We don’t get core funding from the universities, so all of our research relies on funding from external sources. Support from farmers allows us to hire people and cover costs associated with doing the work.

Farmer funding is also critical because many government programs require matching dollars from industry. For example, with the Genome Canada grant every dollar from farmers helps us unlock another dollar from government. That leverage means their contributions go even further.

How does that farmer funding and support directly benefit farmers?

Our goal is always to make results public, so farmers or companies can use them to create products that directly benefit farms. If we find a new microbial product, for example, the goal would be to make it commercially available so farmers can access it.

That said, research is never guaranteed. We’re doing everything we can to develop bio-inoculants that can potentially help farmers, but sometimes science doesn’t deliver the results we hope for. It’s important to not overpromise, but with continued support, we’re optimistic that in a few years we’ll have exciting updates to share.

How do you spend your time outside of work?

I like going for hikes with my dog, and I also like watching the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to get eliminated from the playoffs. I still cheer for them every year, regardless.

What is the best part about your job?

There’s lots I like about my job, but if I must pick one, it’s the discovery aspect. With research, we’re always asking questions and trying to find answers to those questions with experiments. I find it a lot of fun when we get results from new experiments, and sometimes answers to those questions, and we’re the first people in the world to know what that is. It’s a lot of fun to be able to do that and spend the time thinking about these things.

What is your favourite food or meal to cook?

Homemade pizza. I have a pizza stone for my barbecue, and making a nice Italian-style pizza on it is the best.

Follow @George_diCenzo on X or connect with him on LinkedIn.