Congratulations to McGill Plant Science students Henry Cordoba Novoa and Mason Jackson, who were awarded top honours at the National Association of Plant Breeding Conference, which took place in Hawaii from May 19 to 23, 2025.
Cordoba Novoa won first place in the Ph.D. poster competition for his poster on improving the understanding and breeding of common bean using multiple genome-wide approaches and the study of the accumulation partners of deleterious mutations in breeding populations.
The Society of Canadian Ornithologists has selected Professor Emeritus David Bird and retired Associate Professor Rodger Titman, who both taught for many years in McGill University's Department of Natural Resource Sciences, to receive the Jamie Smith Memorial Mentoring Award. This award recognizes exceptional contributions to the training and fostering of Canadian ornithologists.
For the first time, scientists have successfully edited oat DNA, a breakthrough that could accelerate the development of oats with more fibre, higher yields, and greater resilience to climate change.
Oats, a key crop both for human consumption and animal feed, are a major agricultural product in Canada, contributing to a global market work $8 billion. The Canadian oat crop is estimated to be worth approximately $900 million. But a short growing season and unpredictable late-season frost mean Canadian oat farmers face significant challenges.
Recently, the Canadian Nutrition Society held its annual conference, where awards were distributed to winners of the society's poster presentations. Among them, two McGill University grad students studying nutrition were recognized.
Ferial Hamdi, M.Sc. Thesis student with Prof. Brittany Jock (formerly of the School of Human Nutrition), won the George Beaton Award for Student Work in Public Health Nutrition and took second place in the Graduate Oral Competition
The Canadian Society of Plant Biologists has selected Jaswinder Singh, Professor at McGill University's Department of Plant Science, to receive the 2025 Mary E. Spencer award, which recognizes outstanding plant biology research contributions and active public service engagement in the plant biology community.
In the IGA and Metro grocery stores visited this week by Le Journal de Montréal, the price per pound of discounted products appeared on signage, but the regular price per pound was still not indicated, contrary to a new regulation that came into effect on May 7 which requires that grocers to "indicate a single unit of measurement for all goods of the same type." This rule aims to allow consumers to easily compare prices.
As McGill’s Class of 2025 prepares to cross the stage, the 10 valedictorians from Faculties across the University—including Andre Hadji-Thomas and Jennifer McDonald in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—have been drafting their speeches and, in the process, reflecting on much more than their academic success.
Canada's grocery sector code of conduct will finally come into effect on June 1, after years of discussion.
The voluntary grocery code, which all major retailers have agreed to sign on to, aims to support smaller retailers by providing guidelines for fair negotiations with suppliers.
As mobile phones proliferate across the developing world, digital delivery of agricultural advice is positioned to play a transformative role in increasing agricultural productivity and improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers. Meanwhile, evidence shows that peer-to-peer learning, at least in person, can successfully promote technology adoption.
Two new McGill University graduates have won Pathy Fellowships, including one graduate from McGill's Macdonald Campus. The $50,000 award recognizes young leaders who have innovative approaches to creating change, enabling them to dedicate a year of their early career to a cause and community they are passionate about while engaging in hands-on and practical learning.
The Quebec cooperative Exceldor, known for its chicken breasts, wings, and nuggets, has taken steps to sell its assets to the Ontario company Aliments Sofina.
For the sale to be completed, it must be approved by two-thirds of the cooperative's members and two-thirds of the investment shareholders, as well as the Canadian Competition Bureau.
Congratulations to Xin Zhao, Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Animal Science at McGill University, on being named Fellow of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). The ADSA will present Professor Zhao with this prestigious award on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at their annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.
On May 2, 2025, over 60 people gathered in the John Abbott College Library for the Lister Science Chats, where four Macdonald Campus graduate students presented their research and shared how past events as well as the discoveries, sometimes unintentional, and techniques of previous scientists made their work possible.
On April 11, 2025, over 60 people gathered at the annual John Abbott Sustainability Through Science Symposium to hear how the research of three Macdonald Campus graduate students contributes to a more sustainable future. Honours and science students from John Abbott College, as well as members of McGill University's Macdonald Campus community, were inspired by short talks followed by a panel discussion on the students' university experience and their chosen career paths.
