Our Team

Supratim Ghosh (PhD) is a professor in the Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. His research area and expertise include pulse protein-based emulsifiers, colloid and interface science, emulsions, foams, food nanotechnology, fat crystallization, lipid oxidation and Pickering stabilization. His research focuses on the value-added utilization of Saskatchewan agricultural products, especially pulse and oilseed proteins in food and beverage applications. Dr. Ghosh has published more than 85 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index of 38 and over 3800 citations (scopus.com). His research program is well funded by an NSERC Discovery Grant, an NSERC CREATE grant, multiple ADF contracts and industry collaborations.

Venkatesh Meda (PhD, PEng, MBA (CED), FCSBE, FEIC, FEC) is currently a professor and Graduate Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Chair of the Division of Biomedical Engineering within the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. He has established his research and development efforts on ‘post-harvest and value-added processing’ of pulses and other agricultural commodities.  His expertise in utilization of microwave, infra-red and UV energy in processing of agri-foods has been recognized worldwide. Currently, he is leading research on the development of a dry-fractionation system for pulses/cereals. His program has led to more than 110 peer-reviewed publications with an h-index of 35 (scopus.com).

Michael Nickerson (PhD, PAg, FCIFST) is the Director of the Canadian Pulse Protein Centre of Excellence, a Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Research Chair (Protein Quality and Utilization) and professor within the Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on improving the use of plant-protein (pulse) ingredients within the food industry, with emphasis on seed quality, fractionation, ingredient modification, protein functionality, flavour reduction and innovations in plant-based foods. His program has led to over 250 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 63, scopus.com), and receives funding from provincial (ADF, SPG), federal (NSERC-Discovery, CREATE) and industrial sources.

Bunyamin Tar’an (PhD) is the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair in Chickpea and Flax Breeding and Genetics, and professor at the Crop Development Centre (CDC) and Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Tar’an’s current research focuses on the development of superior chickpea and flax varieties for Canadian environments. He leads the application of genomic tools in chickpea and flax breeding and research at the CDC. He has released 18 chickpea and two flax cultivars, which are widely grown in Canada. He has published 135 articles, including 4 articles in Nature (h-index of 42; scopos.com). Dr. Tar’an teaches an undergraduate class in tropical crops and tropical agriculture and supervises a team of undergraduate student researchers, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and technical staff.