By farmnewsNOW Staff

Sask. researchers receive funding for expanding work on plant pathogens

Aug 29, 2023 | 3:00 PM

A research initiative looking into plant pathogens has received nearly $800,000 in funding from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

The fund, which is run through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), supports research and infrastructure for innovative projects in Canada.

One of those projects, led by Dr. Chris Todd from the University of Saskatchewan was awarded $796,910 in funding. The Environmental Plant Pathogen Interaction Centre (EPPICentre), was originally created to explore clubroot disease in crop plants.

“Having the capacity to quickly respond is going to be really important going forward,” Todd said.

For Todd, the head of the College of Arts and Science’s biology department, evolving the plant pathogen centre is the next step in continuing the research into crop and plant health in Canada.

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“We’re really looking at some fundamental questions of the plant-pathogen interaction,” Todd said. “It’s going to allow us to explore additional opportunities where a secure facility would be an advantage.”

According to Todd, the research team’s needs outgrew the capacity of the first centre, which he said is a testament to the work being done at the university.

He said added the school’s support and the funding in looking to expand the EPPICentre was a boost of confidence in the work being done by researchers.

“It’s gratifying that the university is supporting a project like this. It’s going to generate a facility that the next generation of plant biologists can get trained on and use, and potentially expand into phase three or four or beyond over time,” he said.

Two other USask projects received funding from the CFI:

• Dr. Bishnu Acharya (PhD) – High Temperature and Pressure Reactors and Analytical Tools for Processing and Synthesis of Bioproducts from Biomass – $149,600
• Dr. Dylan Olver (PhD) – An Optical-based Microvascular Imaging Platform (mVIP): The role of the Microcirculation in One Health – $136,598