CLS Key Partner in Food Security Grant

The Canada First Research Excellence Fund has awarded the University of Saskatchewan $37.2 million over 7 years for global food security research. The Canadian Light Source is a major partner in this project, providing unique imaging capabilities to advance agricultural leadership. The funding, the largest single grant ever awarded to the university, will help establish the Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre as a global resource for crop breeding and food security.

“There is no question that this is the ideal place for this type of project,” says Dean Chapman, Canadian Light Source Science Director and Canada Research Chair in X-ray imaging.

“There is no other place where a synchrotron and a university are co-located on one campus, and there is no other synchrotron that has better infrastructure and expertise to support research in the area of agricultural sciences.”

Using synchrotron techniques, researchers will image living plants to determine structural and biomolecular signatures. This data is integral to plant breeders and geneticists working to develop hardier, healthier breeds of agricultural crops both at home and abroad.

The funding will advance plant research through the U of S Global institute for Food Security, enhancing partnerships with four Canadian and three international universities, along with the National Research Council, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and more than 15 private and public organizations.

To learn more about the Canada First Research Excellence Fund please visit http://www.cfref-apogee.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx.

This post first appeared as a Canadian Light Source press release."