U of S-led research groups awarded $24.2 million

A major investment for three University of Saskatchewan-led research groups.

The teams were awarded $24.2 million over four years at an announcement during the International Wheat Congress on Tuesday.

Wheat, lentils and livestock was the focus of the investment, with over half the funding coming from co-funders.

Those co-funders included the Saskatchewan government, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC), the Western Grains Research Foundation, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, USask, Alberta partners and the beef industry.

Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan spoke at the announcement, which was tailored around improving genomic science.

“When we invest in genomics, this will help agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and human health.”

Cheryl Waldner is the lead of one of the three research groups that received funding.

Her project, “Genomic Antimicrobial Stewardship Systems from Evidence-based Treatment Strategies for Livestock,” received $5.6 million in the investment.

She hopes to better target antibiotic use in food animals.

“Having better diagnostic tests, we will be able to better target our antibiotics that we’re using, and use the right drug for the right problem, at the right time,” she said.

In addition to Waldner’s research group, two other groups were given the green light.

$7.4 million went to “Enhancing the Value of Lentil Variation for Ecosystem Survival,” led by plant scientists Kirstin Bett and Bert Vandenberg.

The largest investment to a USask project, $11.2 million to “4DWheat: Diversity, Discovery, Design and Delievery,” was awarded to a collaboration project between USask and AAFC, led by Curtis Pozniak and Sylvie Cloutier.

The three projects are administered by Genome Prairie are a part of a larger $76.7 million investment in eight new projects across Canada.