Zyg te Plus
A newsletter for alumni of the College of Biological Science • Fall 2004
CFI awards endorse CBS research
T
Prof. Chris Whitfield
Prof. Brian Husband
actions of bacterial cell surfaces with metals. Several technology development ventures are also planned.
The multi-user facilities will be located
in the Advanced Analysis Centre and are a
collaborative venture between researchers
in CBS and the College of Physical and
Engineering Science.
Husband was awarded more than $4
million from the CFI to lead an applied evolution centre that will fuse two traditionally separate fields: genomics and ecology. This
is also one of U of G’s largest CFI grants.
“Most people think of evolutionary biology as a rather esoteric form of biology with
little relevance to their day-to-day life,” says
Husband. “This project will raise the profile
of evolution, from gene to ecosystem, and
its centrality to many aspects of society.”
He will study interactions between genes
and the environment and will explore the
evolutionary consequences. It’s an emerging field in biology and biotechnology, but
progress has been limited, largely because
of a lack of information about how genes
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WHAT’S INSIDE
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PHOTOS BY MARTIN SCHWALBE
    College of Biological Science recently received prestigious research grants from the Canada
Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Prof.
Chris Whitfield, Microbiology, and Prof.
Brian Husband, Botany, were awarded a
total of more than $11 million under the
CFI’s Innovation Fund, which supports
research infrastructure.
Whitfield received more than $7.3 million to head state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to research on the membranes and
surfaces of living cells. It’s U of G’s secondlargest CFI-funded project and involves
some 20 scientists from five departments.
“This is a wonderful endorsement of the
quality and international competitiveness
of research in the biological and physical
sciences at the University of Guelph,” says
Whitfield. “It will be a pivotal factor in our
ability to attract and recruit the very best
trainees and new faculty.”
He and other scientists will be conducting research at the interface of the biological and physical sciences. Some of the
planned projects describe new approaches
to understanding how molecules are transported into or out of living cells, which is
important in developing new strategies for
therapeutic intervention against human diseases. Other projects will deal with the inter-
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Dean’s Message
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of summer and that you found time for
a vacation to recharge your batteries,
reflect over the previous months and plan
for the future. It was an opportune time
for the College of Biological Science to do
the same.
Over the last 18 months, the college
has undertaken a major review and discussion about its future organization and
direction. The outcome of this was a document titled “The College of Biological
Science: A Vibrant Organization for the
21st Century,” which was widely circulated and discussed.
I would like to thank all who contributed their ideas and views. I’d also like
to thank alumni for their helpful comments and positive endorsement of the
proposed changes. (A summary of the
proposals can be found at www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/cbsaa.)
On May 11, the University Senate gave
unanimous support to our proposals.
They include the formation of three
departments to replace the current five.
FROM THE CBSAA
PHOTO BY MARTIN SCHWALBE
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reason to exist and work to do, and
having active members is crucial to implementing plans successfully. Organizations
generally have members for three reasons:
the organization represents its members;
the organization needs members to do its
work; or a combination of both.
The CBS Alumni Association is no different. The association’s board of directors
represents its members, CBS graduates volunteer at various University functions, and
the board works on members’ behalf to
organize events such as Careers Night,
speakers series and Alumni Weekend.
Recruiting volunteers to be members of
the board of directors is not an easy task.
One of the keys to be successful is being able
to answer “What’s in it for me?” I hope some
of the following reasons will do just that.
Reason 1: A feeling of being valued and
The three new departments are: Human
Biology and Nutritional Sciences; Molecular and Cellular Biology; and Organismal Biology, Ecology and Evolution. Our
cadre of undergraduate programs remains
the same. In addition, Senate approved a
plan to appoint an associate dean (academic) for CBS, a post that will provide
pedagogic leadership in the college and
complement the role of the associate dean
(research). Zoology professor Glen Van
making a contribution. The CBSAA board
has been involved with redeveloping the
focus of the University of Guelph Alumni
Association and consulted on restructuring issues that will improve the College of
Biological Science The board is also responsible for creating the strategic plan and planning all association events. You may be
interested in leaving your mark by contributing ideas and participating in the
development of new programs.
Reason 2: Opportunities to learn and develop new skills. CBSAA grads are established
in a multitude of disciplines. Joining the
board provides opportunities to meet people and learn new skills. The experience of
volunteering on boards and committees is
often of interest to potential employers and
to current employers when promotions are
being considered.
Reason 3: Feeling you are part of a team;
enjoying a sense of community. Being
Zygote Plus 2 Fall 2004
Der Kraak was appointed to the new
research position last fall.
As we move through these changes,
there are exciting times ahead for CBS,
and I hope you will feel a part of these
developments.
By the time you read this, the first
steps will have been taken to occupy the
science complex. Phase 1 of this major
capital development project was completed in July, and faculty from the Chemistry and Microbiology Building moved
into the new facility over the summer.
Alumni support was crucial to Phase
1 construction of the science complex
project and will continue to be vital during the second phase, which is scheduled
for completion in 2006/07. The state-ofthe-art laboratories and facilities in the
Science Complex will ensure that future
generations of students benefit from a
world-class learning environment.
I hope you will continue to feel proud
of your college and will take the opportunity to share in our growth and success.
Michael Emes, Dean
involved with the board provides a way to
keep in touch with your alma mater. We’re
also a fun bunch of people to be around!
Working with me on the executive are:
Rob Guthrie, B.Sc. ’91, secretary; Mark
Wright, B.Sc. ’74, treasurer; Denis Lynn,
B.Sc. ’69, faculty representative; and Karen
Davidson-Taylor, B.Sc. ’84, and Joe
Trakalo, M.Sc. ’01, members-at-large.
Reason 4: Participating in social activities.
Free food, free drinks. What more is there
to say?
Reason 5: Personal development, networking and friendships.
I hope one or more of these reasons will
answer the question “What’s in it for me?”
I also hope some of you will surprise yourselves by thinking “this is a good opportunity for me.” Please come out and join us at
our next board meeting.
Nicole (Cron) Kenny, B.Sc ’94
CBSAA President
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Microbiologist takes a closer look
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studying one of the most serious chronic afflictions in dairy cattle may have an easier job thanks to research being done by
microbiology professor Lucy Mutharia.
She expects her studies will help in recognizing the bug that causes a debilitating
gut infection in ruminants, particularly dairy
cattle. Besides helping to battle the wasting
effects of Johne’s disease, which costs Canada’s dairy farmers millions of dollars a year,
Mutharia’s attempts to improve diagnostic
procedures might benefit medical researchers
studying human gastrointestinal disorders,
specifically Crohn’s disease.
She has been studying ways to reduce
milk contamination and improve detection
of the disease in cud-chewing animals
caused by Mycobacterium paratuberculosis.
“Paratuberculosis is of huge interest not
only here but to farming all over the world,”
she says. “It’s a chronic disease of severe
magnitude.”
(This particular bug belongs to the same
genus as the bacteria that cause tuberculosis in humans, although the tuberculosis
bacteria infect the lungs rather than the gastrointestinal tract.)
Johne’s disease is among the most serious diseases affecting ruminants, including
cows, sheep, goats, deer and bison. In a 2001
study, up to 37 per cent of dairy herds in
Ontario tested positive at least once. American studies estimate that up to 40 per cent
of herds are positive for the disease.
One Canadian study in 2002 found that
the disease caused the highest average production loss among five production-limiting
diseases, costing farmers almost $2,500 for
every 50-cow herd each year. Canada’s dairy
It will also fund a genomics lab that will
handle much of the campus needs for gene
sequencing and gene expression work.
The new facilities will be central components of U of G’s science complex, the
first phase of which is scheduled to open in
September.
Two other major initiatives involving
Guelph researchers also received significant
CFI support. The Biotron project, a collaboration between U of G and the University
of Western Ontario to assess the effects of climate change, was allocated $11.3 million.
SHARCnet, a supercomputing installation
that involves Guelph and 10 other academic
institutions, received more than $19 million.
Microbiology professor Lucy Mutharia expects
her studies will aid in detecting a debilitating
cattle disease that costs Canada’s dairy farmers millions of dollars a year.
Zygote Plus 3 Fall 2004
PHOTO BY MARTIN SCHWALBE
continued from page 1
behave in complex and changing environments, he says.
The CFI grant will build and equip controlled-environment facilities, including a
greenhouse, several growth rooms and cabinets for smaller-scale experiments that
require precisely controlled environments.
farm industry is worth about $4 billion a year.
The disease spreads through infected
feces and during suckling by newborns. The
bacteria can live in the host animal for years
before any problem appears. With the gut
inflammation preventing food uptake, the
disease causes weight loss and diarrhea, leading ultimately to death.
Infected animals must be removed from
the herd and destroyed. Without an effective vaccine available, farmers’ best recourse
is preventing infection through hygiene
practices such as management of manure
and bedding material, as well as separating
newborns from adults.
Coaxing along the slow-growing organism in her lab, Mutharia has experimented
with various media supplements to encourage growth. She’s working to improve its identification, using antibodies that recognize
components on the surface of the bacterium.
Still writing a paper intended for a journal in veterinary microbiology, she has
already been receiving queries about optimum growth media.
Among the researchers in her lab — who
include a technician, a post-doc and three
graduate students — her master’s student
Susan McCusker has been experimenting with
bacteriophages (viruses that attack bacteria)
and techniques using light-up genes to detect
the bacteria. Mutharia says developing a simpler assay would help speed up diagnosis.
The microbiologist is also studying the
fundamental workings of the organism,
including its genetics.
Although she has no direct ties to health
researchers, she says her diagnostic work
might help medical investigators studying
Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory
bowel disease that afflicts about 35,000
Canadians.
Noting that the clinical effects of Crohn’s
disease resemble those in ruminants infected with Johne’s disease, she says some scientists believe the same bacteria cause both
ailments. At least one researcher has used an
antibiotic made from M. paratuberculosisbe
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treat people with Crohn’s disease. But
Mutharia cautions that no one has shown
any definitive link and that Crohn’s probably arises through a variety of environmental, bacterial and genetic factors.
Her work has been funded by the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, Dairy
Farmers of Ontario and Canada, Health
Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council.
by Andrew Vowles
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Alumni meet on campus
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CBS DEVELOPMENT
OFFICER NAMED
Katherine Smart
Enjoying breakfast before the CBSAA annual meeting are, from left: University of Guelph Alumni
Association representative Fred Quinton, CBS dean Michael Emes, Nicole Kenny, Karin DavidsonTaylor, Rob Guthrie, development officer Katherine Smart, Joe Trakalo, Prof. Denis Lynn,
associate dean Fred Ramprashad and Mark Wright.
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long-standing Alumni Weekend tradition
of meeting in the Arboretum for breakfast and
a morning walk before the annual general
meeting of the CBS Alumni Association. Association members reaffirmed their goal of
strengthening the bonds among alumni,
students, the college and the University.
The empty halls of the Chemistry and
Microbiology Building were filled with
laughter and memories as graduates of CBS
and the College of Physical and Engineering Science shared memories and toured
the building one last time. Said one 1986
graduate: “The building still smells like it
did when we were students.” Demolition of
the building began in July to make way for
Phase 2 of the new science complex.
An alumni dinner celebrated the 40th
anniversary of the establishment of the University of Guelph, and the Hagen Aqualab
offered tours for alumni and their families.
PHOTOS BY SAM KOSAKOWSKI
CBS Alumni Association—Membership form
The following membership plans are available to you:
o Annual Membership: $10 per year
o Life Membership: $75
o Life Membership Instalment: $20 per year for four years ($80 total)
Name: (Include maiden name if applicable) _______________________________________
Year of Graduation:____________Address: ________________________________________
City: ___________________Province/State: ________________________________________
Country: ______________Postal/Zip Code: ________________________________________
Telephone:(H) ___________________________(B) __________________________________
E-mail:_____________________
Enclosed is my cheque for $ _________ made payable to the CBS Alumni Association.
Please return to:
CBS Alumni Association
Alumni House
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1
Zygote Plus 4 Fall 2004
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the Alumni Affairs and Development team as senior development
manager for the College of Biological
Science in April. She came to Guelph
with 13 years of experience in the
development field, including work in
annual giving, major gifts, special
events, capital campaigns and legacy
gifts. She was the founding chair of
the Waterloo-Wellington Philanthropy Awards and the WaterlooWellington Fund Raising Executives.
The latter recognized her as “Outstanding Fund Raising Professional”
in 2001.
Smart’s most recent position was
executive director of the KidsAbility
Foundation in Waterloo. She takes
over the CBS post from William
Rowe, who left the University to pursue a career in the private sector.
Zygote Plus
Fall 2004
Published by the College of
Biological Science
Contact:
Sam Kosakowski
Tel: 519-824-4120, Ext. 54703
Fax: 519-767-2044
E-mail: [email protected]
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