Scholarships in global food security could lead to important discoveries in agriculture and health
A $1-million gift from Dr. Patrick Man Pan Yuen awards scholarships to support graduate students from China and their research projects at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS).
Two University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate students from China have been awarded scholarships to work on research projects that could improve crop production and develop innovative quality products from crops.
The Dr. Donald Baxter Scholarship in Global Food Security, valued at $40,000 each year to study at the U of S under the supervision of a Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) researcher, were made possible by a $1-million gift from Dr. Patrick Man Pan Yuen, a distinguished pediatrician and USask alumnus living in Hong Kong.
The scholarships reward achievement and recognize graduate students from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong interested in research and study in areas including biology, plant sciences, soil science, computer science, genomic sciences, biotechnology, food health and nutrition, and agriculture and agri-food policy.
Yujie Pei came to Canada from Luoyang, China in September 2018 and is enrolled in the Department of Environment and Sustainability. Her research could lead to new mathematical methods that researchers can use to evaluate, track and select developed root traits to improve crop production.
Originally from Guangdong, China, Ziliang Song came to Canada in 2013 and is currently pursuing a PhD in plant sciences. He is studying the composition and structure of flaxseed to make the seed easier to digest, thereby improving its health benefits.