Canadian Immigration Updates

Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more

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
Proctor, Jonathan Environment
Protopopova, Alexandra Other biological sciences; Social structures; rabbit; dog; cat; animal shelter; Animal behaviour; Animal welfare; community initiatives; climate change and pet ownership; cultural differences in human-companion animal relationships; free-ranging dogs
Riseman, Andrew plant breeding; plant genetics; horticulture; roots; stress physiology, Plant breeding, intercrop interactions, nutrient use efficiency, root physiology, biotic/abtioic stressor
Robin, Tabitha
Sargent, Risa Plant biology; Biological control; community ecology; evolutionary ecology; Floral trait evolution; Flowering plants; Herbivory; Pollinator-mediated interactions
Smukler, Sean Natural sciences; Agricultural ecology; Soil health; Climate change adaptation and mitigation; Ecosystem services
Stefanska, Barbara Nutrition and Cancer; Breast Cancer; Hepatic Diseases; Gene Regulation and Expression; Epigenetics, Cancer epigenetics, Nutritional epigenomics
Vercammen, James Market Analysis; Marketing and Distribution; R&D and Innovation; Sustainable Development; Supply and Demand Dynamics; food prices; agri-environmental contracts; agri-risk and insurance; commodity futures markets
von Keyserlingk, Marina animal welfare,  ethics of animal use,  farm animals, dairy cattle welfare, Animal Welfare Behavior, housing and management and how these contribute to animal health and welfare of dairy cattle
Wang Kazun, Siyun Food sciences (including food engineering); Agri-food Transformation Products; Microbiology; Bioactive Molecules; Food microbiology; Food safety
Weary, Daniel Animal and dairy sciences; Animal welfare; Applied animal behaviour; Dairy cattle; Laboratory animals
Wittman, Hannah Sociology and related studies; Farming systems research; food sovereignty; Sustainable agriculture; socio-ecological systems; Agroecology
Xu, Zhaoming Nutrients, Zinc, growth, and growth regulation, Regulatory role of zinc in apoptosis, Zinc and breast cancer
Yada, Rickey Enzymes (including kinetics and mechanisms, and biocatalyst); Other biological sciences; Food science; Food protein chemistry; Structure-function relationships; Enzymes; aspartic proteases
Yang, Tianxi Food sciences (including food engineering); Analytical chemistry; Nano-technology; Chemical engineering; Develop novel Point-of-Care tools for food safety monitoring; Design smart nanomaterials for sustainable farming and precision agriculture; Create sustainable and multifunctional packaging materials to improve food safety and quality
Zulyniak, Michael Human nutrition and metabolism; Population health interventions; Systems biology; Nutritional epidemiology; metabolic diseases; Pregnancy; gestational diabetes; type-2 diabetes; Metabolism; Genetics; health disparity; Nutrition; lifestyle; precision nutrition

Pages

Graduate Student Stories

Sydney Moore

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

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

Jens Johnson

Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Science (PhD)

Disentagling drivers of wild bee abundance and diversity and pollination services
All Student 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.

 

Early pain experiences in dairy calves on pain sensitivity later in life
Publication: JDS Communications
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 5
Page Range: 390-394
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
Understanding the impact of maternal and infant nutrition on infant/child health: multiethnic considerations, knowledge translation, and future directions for equitable health research
Publication: Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme
Volume: 49
Page Range: 1271-1278
Publication Date: 1 September 2024

View Publication
Automated, longitudinal measures of drinking behavior provide insights into the social hierarchy in dairy cows
Publication: JDS Communications
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 5
Page Range: 411-415
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
The impact of genetically modified crops on bird diversity
Publication: Nature Sustainability
UBC Author(s): Frederik Noack (Food and Resource Economics / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 7
Page Range: 1149-1159
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
Electrospinning-based sensing technologies: Opportunities for food applications
Publication: Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
UBC Author(s): Tianxi Yang (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 23
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
Optimizing vitamin D status in polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis
Publication: Nutrition Reviews
UBC Author(s): Crystal Dawn Karakochuk (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00296643
Volume: 82
Page Range: 1176-1186
Publication Date: 1 September 2024

View Publication
Redefining dominance calculation: Increased competition flattens the dominance hierarchy in dairy cows
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: 107
Page Range: 7286-7298
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
Are milk quota prices a rational investment? Modeling quotas as financial assets
Publication: Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics
UBC Author(s): James Vercammen (Food and Resource Economics / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Richard Barichello (Food and Resource Economics / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00083976
Volume: 72
Page Range: 251-269
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
A random walk for agricultural total factor productivity
Publication: Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics
UBC Author(s): James Vercammen (Food and Resource Economics / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 00083976
Volume: 72
Page Range: 213-233
Publication Date: September 2024

View Publication
Environmental impacts of genetically modified crops
Publication: Science (New York, N.Y.)
UBC Author(s): Risa Sargent (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 385
Page Range: eado9340
Publication Date: 30 August 2024

View Publication
Cold Plasma for the Modification of the Surface Roughness of Microparticles
Publication: ACS Omega
UBC Author(s): Anubhav Pratap-Singh (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 9
Page Range: 35634-35644
Publication Date: 20 August 2024

View Publication
Erratum: Author Correction: Effects of temporary access to environmental enrichment on measures of laboratory mouse welfare (Scientific reports (2024) 14 1 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65480-9)
Publication: Scientific reports
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 14
Page Range: 18698
Publication Date: 12 August 2024

View Publication
Value addition of mango kernel for development and characterization of starch with starch nanoparticles for packaging applications
Publication: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
UBC Author(s): Tianxi Yang (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 01418130
Volume: 274
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Exploring the parity paradox: Differential effects on neuroplasticity and inflammation by APOEe4 genotype at middle age
Publication: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
UBC Author(s): Katja Yvonne Lamers (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 08891591
Volume: 120
Page Range: 54-70
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Effect of electric and electromagnetic fields on energy consumption, texture, and microstructure of dried black garlic
Publication: Journal of Food Engineering
UBC Author(s): Anubhav Pratap-Singh (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 02608774
Volume: 375
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Fibrillization of lentil proteins is impacted by the protein extraction conditions and co-extracted phenolics
Publication: Food Chemistry
UBC Author(s): Simone Castellarin (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Derek Dee (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 03088146
Volume: 448
Publication Date: 1 August 2024

View Publication
A new hydrocolloid to rival gum Arabic: Characterisation of a traditional food gum from Australian Acacia cambagei.
Publication: Food Hydrocolloids
UBC Author(s): Vasileios Kontogiorgos (Food, Nutrition & Health / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 0268005X
Volume: 153
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Access to an outdoor open pack promotes estrus activity in dairy cows
Publication: PLoS ONE
UBC Author(s): Daniel Weary (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems), Marina von Keyserlingk (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
Volume: 19
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Gene editing in animals: What does the public want to know and what information do stakeholder organizations provide?
Publication: Public Understanding of 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: 09636625
Volume: 33
Page Range: 725-739
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Slow burn: Weak energy transition in a growing economy
Publication: Energy Economics
UBC Author(s): Sumeet Gulati (Food and Resource Economics / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 01409883
Volume: 136
Publication Date: August 2024

View Publication
Interactive effects of soils, local environmental conditions and herbivores on secondary chemicals in tallow tree
Publication: Journal of Plant Ecology
UBC Author(s): Juli Carrillo (Applied Biology / Faculty of Land and Food Systems)
ISSN: 17529921
Volume: 17
Publication Date: 1 August 2024

View Publication

Pages

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
2023 Dr. Ravani Cecato studied topics in environmental economics. Her research showed that information dissemination contributes to enforcing environmental regulations. She also showed that migration is an important adaptation strategy to climate change. Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
2023 Dr. Sahar showed how feeding and aggressive behvaiours during the pre-calving period are associated with disease during the post-calving period in diary cattle. Using such behaviours, Dr. Sahar built predictive models that successfully identify cows at high risk of disease before they are sick. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Cochrane studied natural vs synthetic folate supplementation during pregnancy. Her results showed that maternal folate status can be maintained by using either of the two supplements, but that human milk composition is affected. These findings will inform optimal folate supplementation practices during pregnancy for healthy starts in life. Doctor of Philosophy in Human Nutrition (PhD)
2023 Dr. Solis-Becerra examined how indigenous cuisine can serve as an effective tool to achieve local Food sovereignty while preserving regional biocultural diversity. Both are key aspects in the development of sustainable food systems and food security strategies aligned with culturally respectful initiatives. Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
2023 Dr. Ratuski studied approaches to environmental enrichment for mice and rats living in laboratories. She tested the effects of various enrichment strategies on rodent behaviour and emotional states. Her work demonstrates how species-appropriate changes to conventional laboratory housing can promote natural behaviour and improve rodent welfare. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)
2023 Dr. Brenner developed and characterized a bacteriophage treatment that can be safely ingested by chickens or sprayed directly onto their meat to target and kill dangerous Salmonella bacteria. He intends to connect this antimicrobial innovation to the poultry sector to benefit Canadian poultry producers, processors, and consumers. Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)
2023 Dr. Guo demonstrated the flexibility and capability of using buccal tablets with nanotechnology to deliver insulin with fast onset of action as injection which can be administrated more conveniently and had a long duration of blood glucose reduction effect. His research provided a promising way to deliver insulin orally. Doctor of Philosophy in Food Science (PhD)
2023 Dr. Dring studied how municipal governance of agricultural systems in Southwestern British Columbia, Canada contributes to social justice. Through exploration of the politics of conflict and dissent over land use, Dr. Dring argues for the importance of municipal roles in planning just food futures. Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
2023 Dr. Leepile evaluated the prevalence of household insecurity, undernutrition, and anemia among the Indigenous San people in rural Botswana. She also documented the communities' lived experiences, perceptions, and recommendations. Her findings will inform and guide targeted and culturally responsive nutrition and health policies for the San people. Doctor of Philosophy in Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems (PhD)
2022 Dr. Brunt studied the social licence to use animals for scientific purposes and the role of institutional transparency in this process. He identified several opportunities for institutions using animals to engage in activities to increase institutional openness with the public and help renegotiate the social licence to use animals in society. Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Animal Biology (PhD)

Pages

Interesting Links

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

Advancing Innovation and Sustainability in Healthcare Food Services

Advancing Innovation and Sustainability in Healthcare Food Services About  NamePenny PangTitleProject ManagerCompanyVancouver Coastal HealthGrad year2016ProgramFood, Nutrition and Health October 24, 2024 – As a Project Manager with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH),...

Learn More

$7-million donation from Dan On Foundation seeds the future of food innovation at UBC

$7-million donation from Dan On Foundation seeds the future of food innovation at UBC The post $7-million donation from Dan On Foundation seeds the future of food innovation at UBC appeared first on Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

Learn More

Flavour of the Month: Ube

Flavour of the Month: Ube We asked Pia Lim, our Digital Communications Specialist, for her favourite flavour! What is your favourite flavour and why? My favourite flavour is ube! It’s gotten much more popular in the last few years, but I grew up eating this in all kinds of sweets...

Learn More

Improving Sustainability in Wineries

Alumni Spotlight: Mike Anderson Improves Sustainability in Wineries Mike Anderson,BSc. (Biology) 2008 MSc. (Food Science) 2011Director of Farming, Phantom Creek Estates You graduated with a Master of Science, specializing in Food Science. How has your time in LFS impacted you in your...

Learn More

Flavour of the Month: Matcha

Flavour of the Month: Matcha We asked Jenny Kim, our 2024-2025 LFS|US president, for her favourite flavour! Jenny is in her final year in our Global Resource System (GRS) program. Read more about her highlights in LFS and top tips for new LFS students. What is your favourite flavour and why...

Learn More

Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day 2024

Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day Mon, September 30, 2024 Join us for an Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day (OSD). The Faculties of Applied Science, Land and Food Systems and Forestry are honoured to host this event. This is one way the Faculties...

Learn More