Awards and accolades: Winter 2023

STUDENT SUCCESS

Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 MacGregor Smith Public Speaking Competition for undergraduate students!

• First place: Lois Schultz
• Second place: Lance Sunderwald
• Third place: Hannah Whittal

Two ALES post-doctoral fellows were recently awarded Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

• Pamela Klassen received support for her project, “Addressing the distressing: Evaluating enzyme replacement therapy as a strategy to prevent malnutrition and control digestive symptoms for people with inoperable pancreatic cancer”.
• Keir Forgie received support for his project, “Refining Methodologies in Ex-Situ Lung Perfusion to Improve Donor Lung Availability and Lung Transplant Survival: Optimizing Perfusate Temperature, Flow Rate, and Composition”.

Congratulations to PhD student Jo Ann Chew in the Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science, who was awarded the 2022 Aviagen® Poultry Genetics Scholarship.

FACULTY EXCELLENCE

A number of our faculty members were recently awarded research grants from federal granting agencies.

• Associate Professor Pushpanjali Dashora in the Department of Human Ecology was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council insight development grant for the project, “Participatory video with homeless youth".
• Professor Carla Prado in the Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Science was awarded a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Excel Project Grant for the project, “Using a multimodal and digital intervention to optimize waist circumference, body composition, and cardiometabolic health in endometrial cancer survivors”.
• Associate Professor Rachel McQueen in the Department of Human Ecology was awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council insight development grant for the project, “Tiny source, large problem! Canadians’ preferences for mitigating the environmental impacts of microfibre pollution from domestic laundering”.
• Professor Bill Shotyk in the Department of Renewable Resources was awarded a 2020 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Alliance grant for the project, “Interactions and uptake of trace elements during the reclamation of tailings water and the surrounding landscape at Lake Miwasin”.

Congratulations to the winners of the annual ALES faculty awards:

• Distinguished Service Award(s): Scott Jeffrey and Deanna Williamson
• Faculty Teaching Award: Rachel McQueen
• International Engagement Award: Marleny Aranda Saldana
• NACTA Teaching Award: Matt Johnson
• Research and Innovation: Malinda Thilakarathna
• Tyrchniewicz Innovative: Linda Gorim

Thank you to the departmental committees and members of the ALES Award Committee for their efforts to adjudicate these awards.

Alumni accolades

Two ALES alumni were inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Alberta’s agriculture and food industry, and to the development and sustainability of rural life in Alberta. Congratulations!

• Simone Demers-Collins from Edmonton, 1971 BSc Home Ec and current member of Alumni Council, was recognized for her leadership as an agriculture and agri-food advocate, educator and food champion. She was celebrated with this video.
• Jack Lewis from Parkland County, 1957 BSc Ag, was recognized posthumously for pioneering new farming techniques for seed potato production, founding the potato growers’ co-operative and advancing agricultural education. He was celebrated with this video.

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