U of S names wheat-breeding chair
EAGLE STAFF
An expert in genomics and wheat now focuses on speeding up the development of new cereal varieties.
“As the research chair, Dr. Valentyna Klymiuk will design and deploy leading-edge strategies and technologies to assess genetic diversity for delivery into new crop varieties that will benefit Saskatchewan producers and the agricultural industry,” said Angela Bedard-Haughn, dean of the University of Saskatchewan’s agriculture college.
Dr. Valentyna Klymiuk
The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, also known as Sask Wheat, is covering the expense of her appointment as research chair, a college statement said. The position was established to improve cereal research breeding and training at the college’s Crop Development Centre “by accelerating variety development through applied genomics and pre-breeding strategies,” the statement said.
“With a primary focus on wheat, Klymiuk’s research will connect discovery research, gene-bank exploration, genomics and breeding to translate gene discovery into improved varieties for Saskatchewan’s growing conditions,” the statement said.
“Better adapted wheat varieties give Saskatchewan producers more effective tools in their rotational toolbox,” said Jake Leguee, who chairs Sask Wheat’s board of directors. “I have seen first-hand the superior wheat varieties that come from program investments like this research chair,’ said Leguee, of Fillmore.
Klymiuk has worked for more 10 years on genetics and genomics, specializing in wheat and its wild relatives, the statement said. She’ll serve as an assistant professor for the college’s Plant Sciences Department and the Crop Development Centre.
"Klymiuk is a talented early-career researcher, and her passion for innovation will address new challenges as we strive to advance agriculture in western Canada,” said Curtis Pozniak (PhD), who directs the centre
The woman grew up in Ukraine, where she earned bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees from Donetsk National University. She holds a second PhD from Israel’s University of Haifa, where she studied plant genetics, genomics, pathology and using wild wheat to improve wheat-disease resistance, the statement said.
“My vision is to bridge advances in science and technology with applied crop breeding, contributing to the (centre’s) mission of delivering superior wheat varieties that strengthen the resilience of the agricultural sector,” Klymiuk said.
She had been a research officer with Pozniak’s research team at the centre, “managing basic and applied research in fusarium head blight resistance breeding,” the statement said.