Raahil Madhok
Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
Quasi-experimental evidence on the impact of human activity on the environment
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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
Graduate Student Stories
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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.
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. 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) |
| 2021 | Dr. Lecorps investigated the effects of some common stressful and painful procedures on dairy cattle welfare. He found that some procedures likely induce negative mood and that some personality traits (e.g. pessimism) may render calves more vulnerable to stressors. His work shows that more research is needed to improve the welfare of dairy cattle. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2021 | Dr. Mills studied farmer decision-making and the role of their advisors to improve the welfare of dairy cows. The goal of this work is to help farmers better manage their businesses and improve the lives of the animals under their care. | Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD) |
| 2020 | Dr. Mujica Coopman investigated the relationship of combined B vitamin and related nutrients with offspring birth size and fetal growth programming. Her findings suggest that vitamin B12 characterized maternal B vitamin and nutrient-related patterns and may play a key role in fetal growth and development. | Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD) |