AG e-news May 23, 2017
News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, May 29 – A special presentation entitled “X-ray imaging and radiation therapy methods at the Synchrotron” presented by Tomasz W. Wysokinski, Canadian Light Source Inc, will take place at 11:00 am in Senate Chamber, Room E3-262 Engineering Building. Researchers will benefit in learning about the Canadian Light Source capabilities and how to access these facilities for their research. Please also share this invitation with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
Wednesday, May 31 – The Thermo Fisher Ag Days workshop will take place in Room 130 Agriculture Building from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Meet their team and discover the tools, tips and tricks for working in this “growing field”. Register now as space is limited – www.thermofisher.com/eventregistration.
Friday, June 2 – It’s time once again for Campus Beautification Day beginning at 9 am and continuing throughout the day (rain date is June 5). If you can, please volunteer some time to help make our campus beautiful, meet and have fun with co-workers and maybe win some prizes. Refreshments and lunch beginning at 11:30 on the Curry Place Walkway for all volunteers. Great door prizes include the grand prize of two airline tickets from Westjet. There will be general spring cleanup, raking, weeding, and planting flowers. There will be some extra gardening tools available, but it would be helpful if you could bring your work gloves, spades and rakes (if you have), and wear suitable footwear. For more information visit http://umanitoba.ca/campus/physical_plant/gensvcs/983.html.
Friday, June 2 – The 7th annual Functional Foods and Natural Health Product Symposium is an annual symposium organized by the graduate students from the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba promoting research activities performed by graduate students from the University of Manitoba and surrounding institutions. It serves as a forum for industry and government members to become familiar with the current research being done by graduate students in our department as well as provide networking opportunities for students. It will run 8:25-4:15 at the Richardson Centre of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals. Visit http://ffnhp.ca/ for more information on the program, including keynote speakers.
June 3-4 – The 3rd Annual Northern Great Plains Lipids Conference will be held at St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Four Thematic Sessions with speakers Marie-Claude Vohl (Laval University): Nutrigenomics/Nutrigenetics; Brent Hulke (USDA-ARS): Plant Lipids; William Harris (University of South Dakota): Lipids and Clinical Outcomes; and Douglas Mashek (University of Minnesota): Lipids Signaling. The event will feature Lipids School on Lipid Metabolomics, poster/oral opportunities for trainees, and the opportunity to publish in a special issue of Lipids. For more info and to register visit https://ngplc.blog.
Thursday, June 8 – The morning session of the 138th Annual Spring Convocation on June 8 features the graduands of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences including M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs. Graduating students and their families have been invited to attend a post-convocation celebration in the Agriculture Building Atrium. Faculty and staff are also invited to attend – please RSVP to Kim at kim [dot] stefaniuk [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.
Friday, June 9 – There will be a Department of Soil Science M.Sc. Thesis Defense at 9:30 am in Room 346 Ellis Building. Magdalena Rogalsky will present “Phosphorus Beneficial Management Practices for Corn Production in Manitoba”.
June 18-22 – The Canadian Phytopathological Society and Canadian Society of Agronomy are holding a joint annual meeting in Winnipeg at the Delta Hotel. Three symposia will be held on the agronomy and pathology of Fusarium, soybean and pulse diseases, and strategies to extend the growing season. Conference participants can register for pre-conference workshops on experiment design and science writing, as well as a full day field tour to experience agronomy and pathology research at three research stations in Manitoba. Additional information is available at the conference website http://phytopath.ca/meetings/2017-joint-meeting-canadian-phytopathological-society-canadian-society-agronomy/
August 6-8 – The Canadian Society for Bioengineering annual general meeting and conference themed “Food, Fuel and Fibre for a Sustainable Future” will be held at Canad Inns Polo Park, Winnipeg. The event will also host the national gathering of the CIGR Section VI Bioprocesses (Postharvest Technology and Process Engineering). For more details, see the conference website: www.csbe-scgab.ca/winnipeg2017
September 25-28 – The Agricultural Bioscience International Conference is coming to Winnipeg! Themed “Solutions Start Here”, ABIC 2017 is the premier global meeting which promotes innovation in bioscience to ensure sustainable food, feed, fibre and fuel security as the climate changes. Delegates from around the world will gather to promote the application of agricultural biotechnology. Program and keynotes can be explored at the conference webiste. Register today at http://www.abic.ca/abic2017.html.
STAFF AND STUDENT NEWS
Sirini Amarakoon, M.Sc. student in Animal Science, won first place in graduate student poster competition of Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada held May 10-11 at Quebec City for the poster “Regulation of oxidative stress in weanling piglets by dietary supplementation of plant based products”.
Students in HNSC4600 won poster awards at the Health, Leisure & Human Performance Research Institute (HLHPRI) Research Day held at University of Manitoba last week. Ceone Dyck, Karlee Maki, Oribim Kingson “Human Nutritional Sciences Employment Outcomes” won first place for undergraduate category, $500. 2. Brianne Collette, Casey Kunzelman-Gall, Rebecca Scott, Willeke van Meijl “Influences on Body Image Satisfaction Among University Students” won 2st place for undergraduate category, $250.
Laura Soriano, Biosystems Engineering, presented the poster “Wicking Properties of Brassica Fiber (Canola Waste Biomass) in Three Different Growth Stages” (Laura Soriano, Mashiur Rahman, PhD) in the 2017 Manitoba Materials conference on May 9 at the University of Manitoba. Her poster was the winner in the undergraduate student poster category.
The Department of Human Nutritional Sciences welcomes Dr. Erika Zago, a postdoctoral fellow who will be working with Usha Thiyam-Holländer. Erika obtained her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry (France). Dr Zago has experience in the valorisation of oilseed co-products and synthesis of added-value molecules. In her doctorate degree, she studied the production of canolol during different canola oil extraction processes in a partnership with the French Technical Centre for Oilseed Crops, Grain Legumes and Industrial Hemp (Terres Inovia).
Carmela Cianflone has joined the Department of Soil Science as Administrative Assistant. Carmela was previously Program Coordinator – Office of Physician Assistant Studies, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She has also worked in the IH Asper School of Business, the University Bookstore, University Audit Services and Ceridian Canada Ltd.
Karin Wittenberg, Dean, was in Montreal as a member of the Sustainable Dairy Research Committee for Growing Forward 2 Cluster funds. She is also participating on the Research Committee for Cluster 3.
Karin was a presenter/panel member, along with three others at the MCWESTT Conference. Annemieke Farenhorst, Soil Science, was an organizer, and also led a workshop at the conference.
Peter Jones, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, presented “Nutrigenetics: What does the future hold?” during the plenary session Personalized Nutrition at the 14th Annual NHPRS of Canada Beyond Tradition Conference in Vancouver, BC on May 9.
Peter also presented at the ESPGHAN 50th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Conference in Prague, Czech Republic on May 11 on “A new lipid composition for infant nutrition enhances cholesterol absorption and reduces endogenous cholesterol synthesis in a piglet model.”
Peter Jones and Jyoti Sihag presented “Dietary Fatty Acid Composition Impacts Plasma Fatty Acid Ethanolamides and Body Composition in Golden Syrian Hamsters” at Experimental Biology in April in Chicago.
Ryan Cardwell, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, attended the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Summer Institute at the Fort Garry Hotel and participated in a session on Manitoba Agriculture.
Simon Belanger and Erika Kaufmann, Human Nutritional Sciences, presented their HNSC 4600 research “Food Skills Among Nutrition Students” at the Dietitians of Canada Manitoba Research Day on May 3.
Science Rendezvous was a big success, drawing over 3,000 visitors on the public day on May 13. This year was the first time a separate day for school visits was held and on May 12, 945 students and 100 teachers came through the exhibits. The Faculty booth captivated visitors with potato power and a honeybee exhibit. A big thanks to all the volunteers that participated!
IN THE NEWS
Mario Tenuta, Soil Science, was quoted in the Western Producer (May 11) article “Soybeans offer carbon reduction opportunities” – http://www.producer.com/2017/05/soybeans-offer-carbon-reduction-opportunities/
Patrick Walther and Yvonne Lawley, Plant Science, were interviewed in the article “Disc tillage not the only answer to corn residue” in Manitoba Co-operator (May 17) – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/looking-beyond-disc-tillage-to-deal-with-corn-residue/
Martin Entz and Michelle Carkner, Plant Science, appear in the CBC feature We Are Canada which highlighted Jane Rabinowicz from the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security and the sponsor for the University of Manitoba’s Farmer Participatory Plant Breeding program – http://watch.cbc.ca/we-are-canada/season-1/episode-6/38e815a-00c4071d528
Myrna Grahn, Farm and Food Discovery Centre, was interviewed on Farmscape in the story “Farm and Food Discovery Centre More Interactive and Curriculum Focussed”. Read or listen online at http://farmscape.ca/f2ShowScript.aspx?i=26021&q=Farm+and+Food+Discovery+Centre+More+Interactive+and+Curriculum+Focussed.
Colin Penner, School of Agriculture, was interviewed on Manitoba Farm Journal about the increase of young people interested in agriculture – at https://www.pembinavalleyonline.com/radio/mb-farm-journal scroll to May 11 and listen at the 0:53 mark.
The School of Agriculture 2017 convocation was noted by several media outlets including the Manitoba Co-operator and Pembina Valley Online – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/news-opinion/news/local/u-of-ms-school-of-agriculture-sees-large-graduate-class/ and https://www.pembinavalleyonline.com/ag-news/u-of-m-hands-out-75-ag-diplomas
PUBLICATIONS
Sharpley, A.N., Kleinman, P.J.A., Jarvie, H.P., and Flaten, D. 2016. Distant views and local realities: The limits of global assessments to restore the fragmented phosphorus cycle. Agric. Environ. Lett. 1:160024 doi:10.2134/ael2016.07.0024
Xu, W., Tenuta, M., Wang, F. Bromide and chloride distribution across the snow-sea ice-ocean interface: A comparative study between an Arctic coastal marine site and an experimental sea ice mesocosm. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans,121, doi:10.1002/2015JC011409.
Rebecca Mollard, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada’s K Cuvelier, J Storsley, S.J. Thandapily and N. Ames. 2017. A Review of the Impact of Whole Pulses on Glycemic Response. Cereal Foods World. March/April 2017, Volume 62, Number 2. Pages 53-58 http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/CFW-62-2-0053
Kirsten Podolsky-MacMillan, Agronomist in Residence, Plant Science, is the lead author on a new extension publication, “Soybean Production Guidelines”, recently released by Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers. Available for viewing at http://www.manitobapulse.ca/soybean-production-guidelines.
GENERAL NEWS
Faculties, departments or any other campus employers looking to hire a student for a part-time position from September 2017 to March 2018 are encouraged to enroll in the Work-Study Program. University employers that enroll in this program and hire eligible students are reimbursed (to a limit) from the program at the end of the fiscal year. Applications for employers close July 7, 2017 – http://news.umanitoba.ca/funding-available-to-hire-students-on-campus/
In case you missed this news the first time, please see information on staff compensation as it is impacted by Bill 28 – http://news.umanitoba.ca/info-for-employees-on-provinces-new-pattern-of-compensation/
Becoming a Young Farmer Research Project – Researchers at the University of Manitoba are doing research in Canada, China, India and Indonesia to understand why and how young people opt for a livelihood in farming, the challenges they face, and the support available to them. Share your experiences with them by contacting Meghan at entzm3 [at] myumanitoba [dot] ca or call (204) 918-7675. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1666770770284873/
Two nutrition trials you might be interested in:
The first trial is looking at the effects of oatmeal on blood sugar. To participate, you need be between 18-75 years old and have normal blood sugar. Contact oatmealtrial [at] umanitoba [dot] ca to participate or for information.
The second trial is looking at the effect of natural plant compounds on blood cholesterol concentrations. The study is open those who are between 18-70 years, have elevated cholesterol, are not taking medication to lower cholesterol and are non-smokers. Genetic testing will be done in this study and participants will be compensated for their participation. Email GenePredict-PS [at] umanitoba [dot] ca for more information.