AG e-news May 8, 2017
News and events from the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, May 9 – The Metis Earth-to-Table Workshop Series will feature Monica Cyr, M.Sc. student in Human Nutritional Sciences, for this session on “Metis Traditional Foods and Culinary Knowledge”. The workshop will take place 6 pm – 8 pm in Elsie Bear’s Kitchen (basement level) at the MMF Home Office, 150 Henry Avenue. Monica will be sharing food preparation and consumption practices of Metis people in southern Manitoba. To register dall Brielle Beaudin-Reimer at (204) 586-8474 (ext. 399).
May 10-11 – A National Microbiome Workshop on “Statistical Challenges and Opportunities for the Analysis of Microbiome Data” will take place in Winnipeg at the Apotex Building, 750 McDermot Ave, University of Manitoba. Co-organized by Ehsan Khafipour, Animal Science, the event will feature a number of national and international speakers who are leading the research in this field. For more information please visit http://chimb.ca/events/DSworkshop2017.
Saturday, May 13 – Science Rendezvous 2017, a nation-wide science open house, will once again be held at the University of Manitoba campus. Bring your family down and check out the Faculty booth in the Engineering Atrium between 11 am and 4 pm. There are also lots of other exhibits planned, from the Chemistry Magic Show to a robotic painting snake to a science photo booth. Get your geek on and come visit! See the complete list of activities at http://www.sci.umanitoba.ca/?page_id=916.
Tuesday, May 16 – Science on Tap – As part of Science Odyssey Week, scientists and beer enthusiasts will meet at the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre – Malt Academy for this adults-only night of experiments and merriment. Guest speakers include Michel Aliani, Human Nutritional Sciences. Tickets $60. Limited spots available. For details, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1413635295323977/.
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’s 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.
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.
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. The deadline for submission of abstracts and early registration is May 15, 2017. 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/.
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
The 110th Diploma in Agriculture Convocation took place on Friday, May 5 with the largest graduating class (75) in over 30 years. Brian Archibald received both the Governor General’s Bronze Medal and the President’s Medal. Don Flaten was selected as Teacher of the Year by the graduates, and Certificates of Merit were presented to Martin Entz and Jim Downey. Read more at http://news.umanitoba.ca/school-of-agriculture-graduates-largest-class-in-over-30-years/ and http://news.umanitoba.ca/agricultural-alumni-recognized-for-leadership-and-service-contributions/.
The annual Students’ Teacher Recognition Reception gives outstanding graduating students an opportunity to honour teachers who have made important contributions to their education. Recognizing that academic growth and development occurs over many years, the selected students are asked to select two teachers: one from their Kindergarten to Grade 12 years, and one from their years at the University of Manitoba. The Faculty nominated degree student William Pallister who recognized Jared Carlberg, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics The School of Agriculture nominated diploma student Brian Archibald and he recognized Don Flaten, Soil Science.
Ying Chen, Biosystems Engineering, received the “Faculty of Engineering Award for Excellence in Engineering Education” award at the Faculty of Engineering Retreat May 2.
Joyce Slater, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, was a keynote speaker at the Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health “Nutrition Exchange” conference on May 3, 2017. Joyce presented the talk “Food literacy: Can we rise from the ashes of the modern foodscape?”
Martin Scanlon, Associate Dean (Research) and Food Science, was recently elected to serve a three-year term as a member of the Board of Directors for AACC International.
Kateryn Rochon, Entomology, presented “Ticks and Myths” the Seniors’ Alumni Learning for Life Program on April 19. The Faculty has been heavily involved in this year’s Alumni program, with presentations from Ranjan Sri Ranjan, Biosystems Engineering, as well as upcoming presentations from Christina Lengyel and Carla Taylor, Human Nutritional Sciences – http://news.umanitoba.ca/alumni/seniors-alumni-program/spring-2017-sessions/.
The Department of Food Science welcomes Suelen Ávila, PhD student in Food Technology, Paraná Federal University, Brazil, who is working on her thesis “Chemical composition and biological activity of stingless bee (Apidae: Meliponini) honey from south of Brazil”. Suelen’s thesis project is co-supervised by Drs. Rosemary Hoffmann Ribani (Curitiba, Brazil) and Trust Beta (Manitoba). She will spend four months in Manitoba (April-August 2017) and her sponsorship is being provided under the Brazilian Institutional Program Doctoral Sandwich Abroad –(PDSE)/CAPES program. The Department also welcomes Franklin Brain Apea Bah, a postdoctoral fellow who will be working with Trust. Franklin obtained his PhD in Food Science from the University of Pretoria in September 2015. He has been working as a research scientist specialising in Food Science and Radiation Processing at the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (BNARI/GAEC) in Accra, Ghana.
Xiang Li (Zoe), Food Science student, secured an Undergraduate Research Award. Zoe ‘s research experience will run from May 1-August 18 under the guidance of Trust Beta.
Agribusiness undergraduates Micheline Le Heiget, Fiona Jochum, Mark Carlson, Sheena Meggison, William Pallister and Michael Wilton received recognition for winning CIBC Scholarships at a reception recently. Visit http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/dept/agribusiness/2446.html to learn more.
The Manitoba Schools Science Symposium took place April 21-23. The Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals sponsors two awards and this year’s winners were Rohan Sethi, Grade 9 at St. Paul’s High School “Effects of Consuming Smoothies Containing Faba Bean Ingredients on Glycemic Control and Satiety” and Avery Skog, Grade 7 at Morris School “What H2O Does My Kefir Prefer?”. Rohan, who was under the guidance of Rebecca Mollard and Peter Jones, received awards for Best Individual Intermediate Award, Mathematical and Statistical Analysis Award as well as a Finalist for Canada Wide Science Fair in Regina in May where he will be representing Manitoba at the National Level. This is Rohan’s second year at the Canada Wide Science Fair, having competed in 2016 in Montreal.
IN THE NEWS
Ryan Cardwell, Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, was interviewed for a New York Times story about Donald Trump and Nafta, titled “Revisiting Nafta: The Stakes for Key Industries” – https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/business/economy/nafta-impact-industries-cars-agriculture-apparel-pharmaceuticals.html?_r=0
Martin Nyachoti, Animal Science, was interviewed on Farmscape in the story “Higher canola meal inclusion offers to reduce costs of lacttating sow diets” – read or listen to it at http://www.farmscape.ca/f2ShowScript.aspx?i=25989&q=Higher+Canola+Meal+Inclusion+Offers+to+Reduce+Costs+of+Lactating+Sow+Diets.
Mario Tenuta, Soil Science, was interviewed in the article “Fumigation a potential solution for ‘tired potato land'” in the Manitoba Co-operator (May 4) – https://www.manitobacooperator.ca/crops/fumigation-a-potential-solution-for-tired-potato-land/.
PUBLICATIONS
Jeke, N., F. Zvomuya, and L. Ross. 2016. Accumulation and partitioning of biomass, nutrients, and trace elements in switchgrass for phytoremediation of municipal biosolids. Int. J. Phytorem. 18:892-899
Qasem, W.A., Azad, M, Hossain, Z., Azad, E, Jorgensen, S., Castillo San Juan, S., Cai, C., Khafipour, E., Beta, T., Roberts, J.L., and Friel, J. (2017) Assessment of complementary feeding of Canadian infants: effects on microbiome & oxidative stress, a randomized controlled trial. BMC Pediatrics 17:54, DOI: 10.1186/s12887-017-0805-0 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12887-017-0805-0) (pages 1-12)
Ma, S., Zhang, M., Beta,T., Dong, T., Bao, X., and Li, Z. Purification and structural identification of glutelin peptides derived from oats. CyTA – Journal of Food, DOI: 10.1080/19476337.2017.1301555 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19476337.2017.1301555) (pages 1-9)
A number of Richardson Centre members participated at Experimental Biology Chicago 2017, an annual meeting of six societies with more than 14,000 scientists and 50 guest societies. Abstracts are listed below:
Janie Allaire, Denis Talbot, Patrick Couture, André Tchernof, Peter JH Jones, Penny K Etherton, Sheila West, Philip W Connelly, David JA Jenkins, and Benoît Lamarche. “Assessing The Impact of The Diet on Cardiometabolic Outcomes: Are Two Consecutive Measures Post-Intervention Really Necessary?” FASEB J April 2017 31:lb466
Daniela Bernic, Didier Brassard, Arnaud Droit, Florence Roux-Dalvai, Maude Tessier-Grenier, Ethendhar Rajendiran, Yongbo She, Vanu Ramprasath, Iris Gigleux, Émile Levy, Angelo Tremblay, Peter Jones, Patrick Couture, and Benoît Lamarche. “Comparing the Impact of Saturated Fatty acids from Different Dairy Sources on the proteome of High Density Lipoproteins.” FASEB J April 2017 31:lb272
Dylan S Mackay, Adrianne Cardillo, Rebecca C Mollard, and Peter J Jones. “Hemp Food Product Consumption for 4 Weeks Raises Red Blood Cell Alpha Linolenic Acid, but not Total n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content, Compared to a Soybean and Sesame Control Product in Free Living Participants who are Overweight or Obese.” FASEB J April 2017 31:966.34
Hrvoje Fabek, Rebecca C. Mollard, Peter J. Jones, and G. Harvey Anderson. “The Addition of Faba Bean Ingredients to Crackers Reduces Acute Postprandial Glycemia in Healthy Young Men.” FASEB J April 2017 31:966.29
Rebecca C Mollard, Dylan S Mackay, Haizhou Wang, Alejandra Serrano Leon, and Peter J Jones. “Acute Effects of Hemp Protein on Post-prandial Glycemia and Insulin Responses in Adults.” FASEB J April 2017 31:966.28
Alie J Johnston, Dianna Omer, Rebecca C Mollard, Dylan S MacKay, Nancy Ames, Julianne Curran, Danielle R Bouchard, and Peter J Jones. “Acute Effects of Pea Fractions in Extruded Cereals on Glycemic and Insulin Responses in Adults.” FASEB J April 2017 31:966.36
Rebecca C Mollard, Hrvoje Fabek, G. Harvey Anderson, Camille Lagorse, Haizhou Wang, and Peter J Jones. “The Effects of Consuming Smoothies Containing Faba Bean Ingredients on Post-prandial Glycemia in Healthy Young Men.” FASEB J April 2017 31:966.33
Daniela Bernic, Didier Brassard, Maude Tessier-Grenier, Ethendhar Rajendiran, Yongbo She, Vanu Ramprasath, Iris Gigleux, Émile Levy, Angelo Tremblay, Peter Jones, Patrick Couture, and Benoît Lamarche. “Comparing the Impact of Saturated Fatty Acids from Different Dairy Sources on LDL Particle Size Phenotype.” FASEB J April 2017 31:966.5
Didier Brassard, Benoît Arsenault, Marjorie Boyer, Daniela Bernic, Maude Tessier-Grenier, Angelo Tremblay, Peter Jones, Emile Levy, Patrick Couture, and Benoît Lamarche. “Effects of Saturated Fatty Acids from Butter and Cheese on High-density Lipoprotein (HDL)-Mediated Cholesterol Efflux Capacity.” FASEB J April 2017 31:146.1
GENERAL NEWS
Deadline extended! There’s still time to get a nomination in for the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences Support Staff Awards. The new deadline is May 12 – details and nomination form is at http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/staff/supportstaffawards.html.
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/
Agriculture in the Classroom invites you to volunteer at their upcoming Amazing Agriculture Adventure in Brandon, June 6-7. The Brandon event is held at the Keystone Centre and they are expecting over 400 Grade 4 and 5 students to register for this event. They will need class hosts each day to tour the students and teachers through the interactive stations. In addition, they need volunteers to help manage the various stations. To volunteer, please register online at http://aitc.mb.ca/get-involved/volunteers/registration/brandon-aaa-volunteers-needed/.
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.