Dr. Stephen Strelkov is a Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Alberta. He completed his B.Sc. at the University of Alberta and then earned M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology from the University of Manitoba. After a brief period as an NSERC Visiting Fellow with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Stephen accepted a faculty position at the University of Alberta, where his research focuses on diseases of field crops with an emphasis on clubroot of canola.  He has authored or co-authored over 240 peer-reviewed papers, in addition to many research reports and extension articles.  Stephen is active in undergraduate and graduate student teaching, and has supervised or co-supervised the successful completion of 44 Master’s and Doctoral theses. Stephen has received the ‘Outstanding Young Scientist,’ ‘Outstanding Achievements in Plant Disease Management,’ and ‘Outstanding Research’ awards from the Canadian Phytopathological Society, and was a Killam Annual Professor at the University of Alberta.  He serves on several journal editorial boards and is the former Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology.

Dr. Raju Soolanayakanahally is a Research Scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Based in Saskatoon, his lab investigates the growth, developmental, physiological, and metabolic responses of crops and their interactions with their environment. His research emphasizes understanding mechanisms of tolerance to environmental stresses, as well as plant acclimation and adaptation strategies. A key focus of the lab is improving photosynthesis and resource-use efficiency, particularly in water and nutrient management.