Skip to main content
  1. U of G Homepage
  2. Research
  3. OAC Research Areas

OAC Research Areas

For nearly a century and a half, OAC has been a leader in the areas we serve: food, agriculture, communities and the environment. To continue to lead, the pursuit of excellence must always be a priority.

Our Priorities:

  • Supporting research success, including collaboration, interdisciplinary work, and research in emerging areas
  • Collaborating with Indigenous communities to create partnerships and new research, and academic program opportunities that serve reconciliation
  • Encouraging engagement and outreach with broad communities to share knowledge, identify research needs, and build connections
Media Guide
Our Global Impact
Student Research Opportunities
Graduate Programs

Animal Bioscience

OAC's animal bioscience research explore both basic and applied sciences in the feeding, breeding, housing and care of animals used by humans. This includes the ethical and sustainable production of food and other animal products that can improve the health and well-being of people.

Renée Bergeron (dairy and swine)
Trevor DeVries (dairy)
Alexandra Harlander (poultry)
Katrina Merkies (equine)
Stephanie Torrey (poultry)
Dan Tulpan ( computational biology )
Tina Widowski (poultry)

Breeding, genetics and genomics

Christine Baes (dairy and poultry)
Angela Cánovas (beef and small ruminants)
Filippo Miglior (dairy)
Andy Robinson (swine and fish)
Flavio Schenkel (dairy)

John Cant (dairy)
Marcio Duarte (meat science and muscle biology)
Rich Moccia (aquaculture)
Katie Wood (beef)

Dominique Bureau (aquaculture)
Jennifer Ellis (animal systems modelling)
David Huyben (aquaculture)
Ming Fan (swine)
Elijah Kiarie (poultry)
Vern Osborne (ruminant)
Anna-Kate Shoveller (companion animals)
Dan Tuplan (bioinformatics)

Grégoy Bédécarrats (poultry)
Lee-Anne Huber (swine)
Niel Karrow (ruminant)
Julang Li (swine)
Wendy Pearson (equine)
Eduardo Ribeiro (dairy)
Michael Steele (dairy calves and young ruminants )
E James Squires (swine)

Capacity Development and Extension

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Ataharul Chowdhury (capacity development)
Helen Hambly Odame (social analysis of agricultural innovation)
Al Lauzon (rural change and development)

Environmental Sciences

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Madhur Anand (global ecological change)
Sue Chiblow (Indigenous environmental science)
Catherine M. Dieleman (boreal forest ecology)
Jackie Goordial (environmental microbiology)
Ernesto Guzman (honey bee biology and health)
Marc Habash (microbial science)
Jesse Popp (Indigenous environmental science)
Ryan Prosser (environmental toxicology)
Nigel Raine (pollinator conservation)
Neil Rooney (combining environmental science and traditional knowledge)
Jonathan Schmidt (insect biology)
Paul Sibley (environmental toxicology)
Andrew Young (insect biology)

Emmanuelle Arnaud (glacial deposits and water quality)
Asim Biswas (soil science)
Kari Dunfield (environmental microbiology)
Adam Gillespie (soil biochemistry)
Susan Glasauer (biogeochemistry)
Thomas Graham (controlled environment agriculture)
Beverly Hale (soil remediation)
Richard Heck (soil science)
Scott Krayenoff (land-atmosphere interactions)
John Lauzon (nutrient cycling and management)
James Longstaffe (environmental chemistry)
Ivan O'Halloran (soil fertility management)
Laura Van Eerd (agricultural systems and soil health)
Paul Voroney (soil science)
Claudia Wagner-Riddle (land-atmosphere interactions)
Jon Warland (land-atmosphere interactions)

Brandon Gilroyed (renewable energy)
Paul Goodwin (plant-microbe interactions)
Rebecca Hallett (integrated pest management)
Tom Hsiang (plant pathology)
Hung Lee (environmental microbiology)
Cynthia Scott-Dupree (sustainable pest management)
Youbin Zheng (plant production in controlled environments)

Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Sylvanus K. Afesorgbor (international political economy)
Andreas Boecker (marketing and traceability)
John Cranfield (food economics and marketing)
Brady Deaton (natural resources in food production)
Glenn Fox (agricultural and resource economics)
Getu Hailu (production economics)
Spencer Henson (food safety and quality economics)
Alan Ker (insurance and risk)
Yu Na Lee (risk and uncertainty)
Tongzhe Li (experimental economics)
Jose Ledesma-Jose (experimental economics)
Rakhal Sarker (exchange rate variability and trade)
Mike von Massow (economics of food demand)
Richard Vyn (land economics and marketing)
Alfons Weersink (agri-environmental policy)

Food Science

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Shai Barbut (meat structure and quality)
Maria G. Corradini ( Food quality design and measurement)
Lisa Duizer (sensory properties of food)
Jeff Farber (food safety)
Douglas Goff (physical chemistry and structure of food)
Lawrence Goodridge (food safety)
Arthur Hill (dairy science and technology)
Iris Joye (cereal science and technology)
Gisèle LaPointe (dairy microbiology)
Loong-Tak Lim (food packaging)
Alejandro Marangoni (physical properties of fats and oils)
Massimo Marcone (food chemistry)
Don Mercer (food processing)
Yoshinori Mine (molecular food science)
Michael Rogers (health implications of what we eat)
Paul Spagnuolo (nutraceuticals)
Keith Warriner (food safety)

Landscape Architecture

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Nadia Amoroso (visual communication and digital design)
Afshin Ashari (design media and professional practice)
Steve Clarke (regenerative and resilient communities)
Robert Corry (agricultural land conservation)
Larry Harder (professional practice and technical aspects of design)
Martin Holland (intersection of landscape design and cultural studies)
Sean Kelly (design and planning of destination resorts)
Karen Landman (green infrastructure and urban agriculture)
Zannah Matson (histories and contemporary reinterpretations of landscapes)
Brendan Stewart (cultural heritage planning)

Plant Agriculture

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Helen Booker (wheat breeding and genetics)
Mehrzad Eskandari (soybean)
Elizabeth Lee (maize)
Lewis Lukens (bioinformatics and quantitative genetics)
K. Peter Pauls (beans)
Istvan Rajcan (soybeans)
Jayasankar Subramanian (tree fruit)
John Sulik (precision agriculture)
David Wolyn (asparagus)

John Cline (pomology)
Chris Gillard (dry bean agronomy)
David Hooker (field crop agronomy)
Melanie Kalischuk (specialty crops)
Joshua Nasielski (agronomy and crop physiology)
Mary Ruth McDonald (protection of vegetable crops)
Manish Raizada (microbes and sustainable agriculture kits)
Darren Robinson (weed management)
Art Schaafsma (entomology and pathology)
Kimberley Schneider (forage and service crops)
Peter Sikkema (weed management)
John Sulik (remote sensing)
Rene Van Acker (weed science)

Gale Bozzo (post-harvest and secondary metabolism)
Hugh Earl (oilseeds and agronomy)
Katerina Serlemitsos Jordan (turfgrass science and nematology)
Eric Lyons (turfgrass science)
Barry Micallef (greenhouse vegetables)
Praveen Saxena (plant cell technology)
Francois Tardif (weed science)

Amar Mohanty (biomaterials and transportation)
Manjusri Misra (biomaterials and nanotechnology)

Rural Planning

OAC researchers tackle real-world challenges through communication, education, community engagement, leadership, technology and innovative partnerships.

Nicholas Brunet (environmental management)
Wayne Caldwell (rural studies and development)
Leith Deacon (sustainable community planning development)
John Devlin (development and policy)
Sara Epp (agricultural planning)
Ryan Gibson (rural and regional development)
Dave Guyadeen (plan development, implementation, and evaluation)
Sheri Longboat (environmental challenges facing Indigenous peoples)
Silvia Sarapura (rural planning for development)

Learn more

U of G Office of Research
About OAC