E-Delivery

NEW RESEARCH OFFICER BECOMES SECOND PHD ON APG STAFF major pea diseases, fusarium root rot complex and mycosphaerella blight. "My PhD research project was a very proac ve approach of tes ng gene cally modified pea for disease resistance to some of most devasta ng pea fungal diseases in prairies," Gill Kahlon said. "It helped me to broaden my agronomic background into biotechnology, ecology and environmental risk assessment." Gill Kahlon's family has been farming in India for six genera ons, and she has witnessed the benefits reaped from scien fic advancements. "My passion for agricultural crop improvement traces back to my roots," she explained. "I know the advantages that science has brought to agriculture, and it has made me a strong believer ALSO FIRST UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA STUDENT TO WIN WGRF ENDOWMENT FUND SCHOLARSHIP There's a second doctor in APG's "house" since new Research Officer Jagroop Gill Kahlon earned her PhD in January. Gill Kahlon joins Research Manager Jenn Walker in earning the right to be called Dr. Gill Kahlon joined the Alberta Pulse Growers' staff in November, filling a newly-created posi on that will see her iden fying current research gaps, communica ng APG priori es to various audiences and se ng research objec ves for the organiza on. "Joining APG while s ll being in University was a hard decision yet proved to be very frui ul as I was able to defend my thesis (a project which was funded by APG) with such wide knowledge of our pulse industry," Gill Kahlon said. In 2015, Gill Kahlon was the first University of Alberta student to receive the Endowment Fund Scholarship from the Western Grains Research Founda on (WGRF), of which APG is a member. She was a PhD student in Plant Biosystems in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. Gill Kahlon's project, tled Gene c engineering for disease resistance in pea, transforma on, efficacy and environmental biosafety, focused on iden fying gene cally modified traits that may confer resistance to in the impact of mely scien fic interven on and innova ve research. I feel that evalua on of a new trait and the environmental risk assessment of gene cally modified crops is indeed very important if we are to feed nine billion people by 2050." Gill Kahlon and her husband Sam are raising a two-year-old son, Shawn. In her spare me, APG's new Research Officer enjoys travelling and pain ng. "I know the advantages that science has brought to agriculture, and it has made me a strong believer in the impact of timely scientific intervention and innovative research." Jagroop Gill Kahlon hiking in the Grand Canyon. P U L S E C R O P N E W S S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 | 1 9

• Cover