All living things depend on the sustainability of the earth’s resources, and understanding how to protect and better manage those limited resources is crucial to our survival. Critical environmental issues like water pollution, food shortages and rising temperatures could have a catastrophic effect on our ability to meet basic human needs in the near future. Experts in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems are working on solutions to many of these challenges.

Our researchers are studying everything from climate change and storm water management to the relationship between food, nutrition, diet and health. The research discoveries being made here have the potential to reach across borders for world-wide applications.

We are also sharing what we’ve learned with the next generation of scientists - our students. They come to us with a strong sense of global responsibility, passionate about creating positive and lasting change on issues of importance. We believe that by providing them with the opportunity to learn outside the traditional classroom - taking part in a community-based experiential learning project or studying overseas - we can enhance their education and help them develop to their full potential.

 

 

Research Centres

Research Facilities

The Faculty of Land and Food Systems offers unique hands-on learning sites for graduate students, in addition to traditional labs where food science, food processing, and nutrition and health research take place.

UBC Farm is 24-hectare site on UBC Vancouver campus, which is a living laboratory that contains agricultural, forest, and transitional landscape areas for interdisciplinary field research. The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS) located at UBC Farm is a unique research centre that aims to understand and fundamentally transform local and global food systems towards a more sustainable, food secure future.

The Dairy Education and Research Centre, located a 2-hour drive from UBC Vancouver campus, is an internationally recognized dairy cattle research centre supporting the development and adaptation of new technologies for the dairy industry in British Columbia and beyond. The Centre has a large research herd that can provide sufficient numbers of experimental animals at a given physiological stage to meet most research requirements. These features support a vibrant critical mass of students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, visiting scientists, and faculty. A 10,800 square-foot student residence building opened in September 2015, which allows students and researchers to live on-site at the Agassiz, B.C. research station, and more closely monitor their research projects in dairy cattle welfare, animal reproduction, and resource recovery.

The Wine Research Centre has sites at both UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses, with modern and fully equipped laboratories. Researchers in the Wine Research Centre also have access to the outstanding research facilities in the Michael Smith Laboratories (MSL) which is conveniently located adjacent to the Centre. The MSL has established itself as a force in the global biotechnology research community. Research areas include grapes, vineyards, and soils; wine and fermentation; winery performance and sustainability; and wine territory competitiveness.
 

 

Research Highlights

In the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, our researchers are focused on finding viable solutions to pressing global crises and are known worldwide for their innovation and leadership in areas such as food science, dairy reproduction and animal welfare, sustainable agriculture, and community health and nutrition.

Our researchers have attracted millions of dollars in research funding from sources including Genome Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Michael Smith Scholar, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Our experts are conducting ground-breaking research in many areas including:

  • animal biology, health, and welfare;
  • ecofriendly alternatives in pest management;
  • food technology, genomics, and safety;
  • food processing and food waste management;
  • plant and soil health;
  • watershed management;
  • food security and sovereignty;
  • community health and nutrition;
  • agricultural land use and impact.

Graduate Degree Programs

Research Supervisors in Faculty

Name Research Interests
Barichello, Richard Agricultural economics
Black, Jennifer Human nutrition and dietetics; Community Health / Public Health; food banks; food environments; Nutrition; Public health; school food environments; social determinants of health
Black, Thomas Andrew Biometeorology; Soil physics; Microclimate modification
Brar, Gurcharn Plant biology; Cereal pathology (wheat and barley in particular); Functional pathogenomics; Fungal biology; Genetics of host-pathogen interactions - disease resistance in crop plants; Plant imaging; Population genetics and genomics; Resistance breeding
Brisco, Anna
Carrillo, Juli Plant-insect interactions; Agroecology; Invasive species; evolution; Ecology; community ecology; Environmental Change; Plant evolution; Population Ecology
Castellarin, Simone viticulture and grapevine physiology; physiological and molecular aspects that underlay fruit ripening and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and how they are modulated by the environment and viticultural practices; molecular viticulture
Cerri, Ronaldo Animal and dairy sciences; Animal behaviour; Animal developmental and reproductive biology; Animal physiology; Agricultural Machinery and Technology; Animal Production; Animal Reproduction; Biotechnology and Activity monitors; Dairy cattle reproduction; Endocrine Regulation; Endometrium-conceptus cross communication; Estrous cycle physiology in cattle; Inflammation and stress; Production medicine in dairy cattle
Cohen, Tamara understanding the interplay between different lifestyle behaviours; how eating behaviours relate to weight management; Obesity
Cornelis, Jean Thomas Earth and related environmental sciences; Pedology; Biogeochemistry; Soil-Plant Interactions
Dee, Derek Environment and natural resources economics; Food sciences (including food engineering); Natural resource management; Agri-food Transformation Products; aspartic proteases; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Biophysics; Enzymes and Proteins; food chemistry; food proteins; funtional amyloid; meat analogues; Nanomaterials; Nutriceuticals and Functional Foods; prions; protein aggregation; protein engineering; Protein Folding; protein nanofibrils; Proteins; psychrophilic enzymes
Farrell, Anthony Angiogenesis
Fraser, David Welfare of animals on farms, animal ethics, animal behaviour, Animal welfare, innovations in animal housing and management, practical and cultural dimensions of applying ethics to animal issues
Frommel, Andrea Animal physiology, environmental stress; Sustainable Aquaculture; climate change; Early development in fish; Alternative feeds in aquaculture; Fish physiology
Gulati, Sumeet Agricultural economics; Economics of Human Wildlife Conflict; Economics of Urban Transportation; Effectiveness of Carbon Taxes; Effectiveness of Environmental Policy; International Trade and its Effect on the Environment; Political Economy of Environmental and Trade Policy
Jessri, Mahsa Human nutrition and dietetics; Community Health / Public Health; Epidemiology; Nutrition; Health Policies; Lifestyle Determinants and Health; Health Promotion; Health Prevention; Statistics and Probabilities; Preventive Medicine; Artificial Intelligence; Chronic Disease Prevention; clinical epidemiology; Dietary Assessment; Dietary Pattern Modeling; Dietetics; Machine Learning; Nutritional Epidemiology; predictive analytics; Public and Population Health; Simulation
Jovel, Eduardo Ethnobotany, mycology, natural product chemistry and Aboriginal health
Karakochuk, Crystal Dawn Human nutrition and dietetics; Nutrition; Global Health and Emerging Diseases; Hematology; Biochemical markers of iron status; Clinical dietetics; Determinants and causes of anemia; Inherited blood disorders (sickle cell, thalassemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency); International nutrition; Maternal and child nutrition; Micronutrients (namely iron, folic acid, and zinc); Risk-benefit of micronutrient supplementation
Kitts, David Food chemistry and toxicology, cellular and molecular mechanism, oncology
Knipfer, Thorsten
Krzic, Maja Soil sciences; Soil quality; Soil management
Lamers, Yvonne Human nutrition and dietetics; Nutrition; Nutrients; Biological and Biochemical Mechanisms; Breast Feeding and Infant Nutrition; Clinical Chemistry; Maternal and child health; Micronutrients; Newborn Screening; Nutritional Biochemistry; Nutritional Biomarker; Periconceptional folic acid supplementation; Pregnancy; Prenatal Supplements; Toddler Nutrition; Vitamins
Martens, Tabitha
McAusland, Carol Interactions between globalization and public good provision, impacts of trade liberalization on environmental politics, potential use of trade policy to stem damages from exotic species introductions and biological invasions Environmental impacts of international trade, implications of skilled labor migration for the global provision of public goods
Measday, Vivien Chromosome segregation in the budding yeast using molecular biology and genomic tools

Pages

Open Research Positions

This list of possible research projects is non-exhaustive. It only shows positions that are specifically advertised in the G+PS website.

Graduate Student Stories

Hadis Mozaffari

Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)

Examining the Impact of Dietary Diversity on Type 2 Diabetes

Sydney Moore

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

Improving herd health detection of dairy cows through the use of automated sensory technologies

Thomas Brenner

Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)

Characterization of bacteriophages as an alternative treatment strategy for foodborne salmonella in the poultry industry

Adelia Jacobs

Master of Science in Human Nutrition (MSc)

Nutritional Epidemiology

Jens Johnson

Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science (PhD)

Disentagling drivers of wild bee abundance and diversity and pollination services

Anna Ratuski

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

Use of environmental enrichment to improve the welfare of rodents used in science

Brock Williams

Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)

Folic acid supplementation in children with sickle cell disease

Michael W Brunt

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

How perceptions of transparency influence the social acceptability of animal use in science
All Student Stories

Alumni on Success

Elisabeth Ormandy

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) [2012]

Job Title
Co-founder and Executive Director

Employer
Animals in Science Policy Institute

Andrea Goldson Barnaby

Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD) [2012]

Job Title
Lecturer and Programme Coordinator

Employer
University of the West Indies

Naomi Robert

Master of Land and Water Systems (MLWS) [2015]

Job Title
Research Associate

Employer
Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Elaine Anderson

Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD) [2009]

Job Title
Regional Environmental Protection Coordinator

Employer
Correctional Service of Canada

Isaac Jonas

Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE)

Job Title
Founding CEO

Employer
Impact Africa
All Alumni Stories

Recent Publications

This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

 

Sprayable cellulose nanofibrils stabilized phase change material Pickering emulsion for spray coating application
Publication: Carbohydrate Polymers
UBC Author(s): Anubhav Pratap-Singh (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 01448617
Volume: 291
Publication Date: 1 September 2022

View Publication
Engineered nasal dry powder for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds
Publication: Drug Discovery Today
UBC Author(s): Anubhav Pratap-Singh (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 13596446
Volume: 27
Page Range: 2300-2308
Publication Date: August 2022

View Publication
Public attitudes toward different management scenarios for “surplus” dairy calves
Publication: Journal of Dairy Science
UBC Author(s): Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00220302
Volume: 105
Page Range: 5909-5925
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Public perceptions of potential adaptations for mitigating heat stress on Australian dairy farms
Publication: Journal of Dairy Science
UBC Author(s): Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00220302
Volume: 105
Page Range: 5893-5908
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Thermal selection and delayed migration by adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) following escape from simulated in-river fisheries capture
Publication: Fisheries Research
UBC Author(s): Anthony Farrell (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 01657836
Volume: 251
Publication Date: July 2022

View Publication
Soil priorities in British Columbia, Canada
Publication: Geoderma Regional
UBC Author(s): Jean Thomas Cornelis (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 23520094
Volume: 29
Publication Date: June 2022

View Publication
Invited review: Risk factors for transition period disease in intensive grazing and housed dairy cattle
Publication: Journal of Dairy Science
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00220302
Volume: 105
Page Range: 4734-4748
Publication Date: June 2022

View Publication
Themed issue: ‘New avenues in cancer prevention and treatment’
Publication: British Journal of Pharmacology
UBC Author(s): Barbara Stefanska (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00071188
Volume: 179
Page Range: 2789-2794
Publication Date: June 2022

View Publication
Blueberry water loss is related to both cuticular wax composition and stem scar size
Publication: Postharvest Biology and Technology
UBC Author(s): Simone Castellarin (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 09255214
Volume: 188
Publication Date: June 2022

View Publication
Characterizing the hypoxic performance of a fish using a new metric: P<inf>AAS-50</inf>
Publication: Journal of Experimental Biology
UBC Author(s): Anthony Farrell (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00220949
Volume: 225
Publication Date: June 2022

View Publication
Antimicrobial properties of spray-dried cellulose nanocrystals and metal oxide-based nanoparticles-in-microspheres
Publication: Chemical Engineering Journal Advances
UBC Author(s): Anubhav Pratap-Singh (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 10
Publication Date: 15 May 2022

View Publication
Determination of free and bound phenolics in northern highbush blueberries by a validated HPLC/QTOF methodology
Publication: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
UBC Author(s): Simone Castellarin (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 08891575
Volume: 108
Publication Date: May 2022

View Publication
Western Canadian dairy farmers' perspectives on the provision of outdoor access for dairy cows and on the perceptions of other stakeholders
Publication: Journal of Dairy Science
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00220302
Volume: 105
Page Range: 4461-4473
Publication Date: May 2022

View Publication
Monolignol export by diffusion down a polymerization-induced concentration gradient
Publication: The Plant cell
UBC Author(s): Simone Castellarin (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 34
Page Range: 2080-2095
Publication Date: 26 April 2022

View Publication
Ocean Futures for the World’s Largest Yellowfin Tuna Population Under the Combined Effects of Ocean Warming and Acidification
Publication: Frontiers in Marine Science
UBC Author(s): Andrea Frommel (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 9
Publication Date: 22 April 2022

View Publication
Young and century-old biochars strongly affect nutrient cycling in a temperate agroecosystem
Publication: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
UBC Author(s): Jean Thomas Cornelis (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 01678809
Volume: 328
Publication Date: 15 April 2022

View Publication
Predicting global diet-disease relationships at the atomic level: a COVID-19 case study
Publication: Current Opinion in Food Science
UBC Author(s): Rickey Yada (Faculty of Land & Food Systems / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 22147993
Volume: 44
Publication Date: April 2022

View Publication
Associations between Listeria monocytogenes genomic characteristics and adhesion to polystyrene at 8 °C
Publication: Food Microbiology
UBC Author(s): Siyun Wang (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 07400020
Volume: 102
Publication Date: April 2022

View Publication
Root pressure-volume curve traits capture rootstock drought tolerance
Publication: Annals of Botany
UBC Author(s): Thorsten Knipfer (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 03057364
Volume: 129
Page Range: 389-402
Publication Date: 1 April 2022

View Publication
Public attitude toward and perceptions of dairy cattle welfare in cow-calf management systems differing in type of social and maternal contact
Publication: Journal of Dairy Science
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00220302
Volume: 105
Page Range: 3248-3268
Publication Date: April 2022

View Publication
Structures of plasmepsin X from Plasmodium falciparum reveal a novel inactivation mechanism of the zymogen and molecular basis for binding of inhibitors in mature enzyme
Publication: Protein Science
UBC Author(s): Rickey Yada (Faculty of Land & Food Systems / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 09618368
Volume: 31
Page Range: 882-899
Publication Date: April 2022

View Publication
Effects of estradiol cypionate dose as an ovulatory stimulus on reproductive performance of lactating dairy cows during the summer season
Publication: Theriogenology
UBC Author(s): Ronaldo Cerri (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 0093691X
Volume: 182
Page Range: 110-118
Publication Date: 1 April 2022

View Publication

Recent Thesis Submissions

Doctoral Citations

A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
Year Citation Program
2022 Dr. Caballero measured how much lysine children use when they eat different plant-based foods, such as rice, oats and corn. Her work will help develop dietary guidelines for children that consume a predominantly plant-based diet. These guidelines will ensure they meet their lysine requirement, which is important for adequate growth and development. Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)
2022 Dr. Koralesky used institutional ethnography to investigate how animal sheltering policies and animal protection laws organize what happens to animals. Her research illuminates frontline work practices involved with responding to concerns about animals in distress, helping animals with behavioural problems and keeping people and animals together. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
2022 Dr. Turki used novel stable-isotope-based techniques to evaluate new dietary therapies for people with inborn errors of metabolism such as modified cornstarch in glycogen storage disease type I, and glycomacropeptide in phenylketonuria. The results of the series of studies will contribute to improving nutritional management in this population. Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)
2022 Dr. Falardeau studied how the cheese microbiome affects the growth of foodborne pathogens. He discovered that differences between traditional and industrial cheese production practices affect the final cheese microbiome, and likely the risk of foodborne illness. This finding can help cheesemakers produce safer cheeses. Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)
2021 Dr. Feng developed several novel chemosensors to rapidly and selectively detect different chemical hazards in various food matrices. The chemosensors developed in his study not only simplify food hazards detection process but also present excellent detection sensitivity. His work will contribute to public health as well as agri-food industry. Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)
2021 Using wearable technologies, Dr. Schirmann investigated how the behaviour of dairy cows changes in response to illness. Her work has shown that cows change behaviours in response to illness and her findings are a key step to identifying automated ways of identifying unwell animals when housed in large groups. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
2021 Dr. Ma developed rapid and sensitive methods to detect antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Her work offers novel perspectives to understand how bacteria gain antibiotic resistance in food supply chains. Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)
2021 Dr. Zhang coined the Integrated Respiratory Assessment Paradigm for accurate, precise, repeatable and comprehensive respiratory phenotype characterization for individual fish. This high throughput method allows biologists to develop and integrate a metabolic model with a genomic-physiology-ecology axis, leading to a better understanding of evolution. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
2021 Dr. Ede examined the potential of place aversion to assess affective pain in dairy calves. Basing the experimental approach on the animal's memory of common painful procedures such as injections and disbudding, calves were shown to display an emotional response to pain. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
2021 Automated activity monitors used on dairy farms help detect periods of sexual receptivity, called estrus, in lactating cows. Dr. Madureira's research demonstrated that estrous expression detected by such monitors was associated with better fertility and reduced pregnancy loss, and can help the efficiency of reproductive management in dairy herds. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

Pages

Interesting Links

https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/faculty/
 

Join us for #ubcAWP25!

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A Luminous Journey: The Art of Arran Stephens

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