In the new role, Sarah Wood, DVM, PhD, plans to focus her work on managed and wild bee species from a veterinary perspective.
A new chair position from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) will focus on the health of pollinators that play an integral role in global food production and agricultural sustainability.
Sarah Wood, DVM, PhD is the new USask Pollinator Health Research Chair at the WCVM, according to a university press release. Wood is a USask alumni who earned advanced degrees from WCVM and who has worked on pollinator health research since 2015.
“My long-term vision for this chair position is to improve agricultural sustainability and ecosystem health by studying managed and wild bee species from a veterinary perspective. By applying veterinary research tools to address ongoing challenges to pollinator health and biodiversity, I believe we can make impactful change,” Wood said in the university’s publication.
Animal pollinators — most of which are insects — are involved in two-thirds of global food production. Through their day-to-day work, pollinators enable plants to grow and produce crops successfully. Of all pollinators, honeybees have the greatest influence on global crop production.
“As the first North American veterinary university to establish a honeybee research and education program, we are the ideal home for this new research chair. We are so grateful for the support of industry partners who recognize the need for these discoveries at such a critical time when honeybees and other pollinators face major health challenges,” said WCVM Dean Gillian Muir, DVM, PhD, in the university’s publication .
“This new research position is an exciting step for our college as our researchers strive to protect the health of both managed and wild pollinators, thereby improving agricultural sustainability in Canada and around the world,” added Gillian.
The new chair position came about through a five-year $750,000 funding commitment from the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission ($250,000), BASF ($250,000), SaskCanola ($150,000), British Columbia Blueberry Council ($50,000), and Manitoba Canola Growers ($50,000).
The research chair builds on the strengths of the existing honeybee health research group, which is based in the WCVM’s Department of Veterinary Pathology. Led by Elemir Simko, DVM, DVSc, DACVP; WCVM was the first veterinary college in North America to establish a honeybee research and education program in 2015.
“As members of the veterinary profession, we are primed like no other to tackle big questions surrounding pollinator health, while doing so in a way that balances the need for high-quality food production with pollinator protection and ecosystem health. and biodiversity,” Simko said, in the university’s publication.
The group has expanded its research program over the past 7 years with more than $2 million in industry and government support. The group’s research work focuses on ecotoxicology, pesticide risk assessment and infectious diseases. The research chair position will now enable work in these key areas to educate a new generation of veterinary professionals, beekeepers, researchers and policy makers, the university said.
Reference
WCVM to hire pollinator health research chair from USask. news item. University of Saskatchenwan. June 23, 2022. Accessed June 23, 2022. https://news.usask.ca/articles/colleges/2022/wcvm-set-to-hire-pollinator-health-research-chair-at-usask.php
†