The PhD students at UM are among the 166 scholars in the 2025 cohort. They conduct world-leading research in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, receiving $150,000 each, over three years, to continue their research.

“We are incredibly proud of our four Vanier scholars, who represent the best of research leadership in Canada,” says Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “UM is pleased to provide the research infrastructure and mentorship to help these promising graduate students to achieve their goals and work to solve the world’s most pressing problems.”

UM’s 2025 Vanier Scholars   

Md. Abdul Aziz, photo credit Mahin Hasan

Md. Abdul Aziz is a PhD student in the College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Trends in antidepressant use for mental health disorders in Manitoba

Aziz’s research aims to understand real-world patterns of antidepressant use over a long time period. Millions of people take antidepressants to help them with mood and anxiety disorders, but many discontinue their medications early. Aziz is using Manitoba population health data to determine what factors force someone to discontinue their medications. He is also examining how often specific antidepressants are used, especially when a person’s genes might influence how they respond to these medications. 

“This is a dream come true and fills me with immense gratitude,” says Aziz. “It is an honour to be recognized for my research and provides me with invaluable freedom to devote my time to bridging the gap between health-care professionals and patients to optimize drug therapies.”

His work is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 

Barret Monchka

Barret Monchka is a PhD student in the College of Community and Global Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Improving data linkage techniques to enhance research reliability, efficiency and privacy protection

Monchka’s research will enhance the accuracy of patient-oriented research by improving how researchers link data from diverse sources, such as health, education and income. Weaving together these siloed data sets allows researchers to improve their understanding of the non-medical factors that impact health outcomes. His work will strengthen the foundations of public health research and will lay the groundwork for developing future AI models to be more equitable.

“Receiving this highly competitive award is an incredible honour,” says Monchka. “It allows me to continue advancing research at the intersection of population health, computer science and statistics and showcases the importance of using quality data to improve health outcomes.”

His work is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Chamali Kodikara

Chamali Kodikara is a PhD student in the Faulty of Agriculture and Food Science in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences.

Enhancing wheat safety through new strategies for better detection and management of Ergot contamination

Kodikara’s research focuses on protecting the quality and sustainability of Canada’s world-renowned wheat by detecting and reducing naturally occurring toxins called ergot alkaloids. These compounds are produced by fungi and can pose human health risks if they enter the food supply. Her work uses high-resolution mass spectrometry and cold-plasma processing as innovative tools to improve grain safety.

“The Vanier Scholarship affirms the value of my work and the role I can play in advancing food safety, sustainability, and public well-being. This support allows me to expand knowledge, build partnerships, and be a force for positive change that benefits people in Canada and around the world.”

Her work is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

Deanne Nixie Miao

Deanne Nixie Miao is a PhD student in the department of biochemistry and medical genetics in the Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Understanding the genetics of hearing loss caused by cisplatin

Miao’s research focuses on cisplatin, a widely used cancer drug that can cause hearing loss in up to 80 per cent of patients. It especially affects children, who are at a three-fold higher risk of developing cisplatin-induced hearing loss compared to adults. Despite its prevalence, there is a knowledge gap regarding how genes, pathways and specific ear cells are affected by cisplatin. Miao will use cutting-edge single-cell technologies to identify specific genes, pathways and ear cells to help predict and prevent hearing loss.

“Receiving the Vanier Scholarship reinforces that my work and my voice belong in research,” says Miao. “As a Filipino-Canadian PhD student, I don’t often see people in my field who look like me. This honour gives me the confidence to grow as an independent researcher and inspires me to contribute to solutions that can improve the lives of people affected by drug toxicities.”

Her work is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Vanier Scholars are chosen for their academic excellence, research potential and leadership. Students are nominated by their university, evaluated by multi-disciplinary peer-review committees and selected by a board composed of world-renowned Canadian and international experts.   

“While this is the last year of the Vanier competition, UM’s Vanier scholars continue to be recognized for their groundbreaking research and academic excellence. This funding allows them to continue their journey to transform our world through their research, leadership and desire to make a difference,” says Dr. Kelley Main, Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. “Congratulations to all of them on this outstanding achievement.” 

A total of 59 UM graduate students have been named Vanier Scholars over the past 17 years. 

Drawing from his experience in Zero Till farming, a deep commitment to climate responsibility, and a passion for leaving a better world for his grandchildren, Rourke offers a grounded yet innovative perspective on how farmers can lead in the fight against global warming. 

What exactly is “net positive carbon grain farming” and why is it important? 

David Rourke: “Net Positive”, or “NP” carbon grain farming is the ability to drastically lower emissions and increase carbon sequestration to the point where sequestration is larger than emissions. While many countries and companies have a target of Net Zero in place for 2050, grain farmers [are sought] due to the ability to sequester atmospheric [carbon] into the soil. This helps increase the productivity of the fields at the same time as it sequesters the extra carbon. This makes farming quite unique. 

Why does your research focus on the Northern Great Plains?   

David Rourke: While most of my work is in Western Canada, the term Great Plains also included the western plains of the USA. Three of my participants were from North and South Dakota. The Great Plains are a semi arid to sub-humid growing region, making them distinctly different from the humid soil zones of Eastern North America where 40 inches of rain is normal, whereas the Great Plains would have 10 to 20 inches of annual participation. Some “Best Management Practices”, or “BMPs” that work well in a place like Guelph fail when tried in the Great Plains area — unless there is irrigation. 

A series of different sized equipment used by David Rourke on the farm.

What is your background like, and how has it influenced your approach to this work? 

David Rourke: First, I am an active grain farmer in the Great Plains and have experienced the effects of limited rainfall and occasionally excessive precipitation. My MSc looked at crop residue management in Zero Till. I have been using Zero Till to limit erosion, increase water use efficiency and fertiliser efficiency since 1980. Although from time to time I have ventured off the path looking for something better, repeatedly a Zero Till based production system gives the best results. However, my general rule is that when something becomes the preferred system of production and is used continually, nature finds a way to leverage those vulnerabilities. Zero till’s vulnerability is herbicide resistance; we must be vigilant in this regard. 

What methods of analysis have you found most instrumental in your studies, and why? 

David Rourke: My study used narrative research based on in-depth qualitative interviews. Using a number of sources and connections I was able to identify 16 participants who I considered to be interested in and, in some cases, successfully active in developing Net Positive practices on their own farms. Dr. Debra Davidson, in a 2019 study conducted in Alberta, found up to 90% of the farmers surveyed did not believe the climate was changing or did not believe the 100 million barrels of oil equivalents that the world uses every day could possibly have any effect on the climate. Thus, to find these 16 participants that believe in anthropogenic global warming, or “AGW”, and want to be part of the solutions makes them innovative and unique. 

Can you expand on your journey as a student, and what led you to studying at the Natural Resources Institute? 

David Rourke: When I first looked for a project, a university, and an advisor to do the PhD, I looked at several quantitative projects at North Dakota State University, University of Saskatchewan, University of Guelph as well as UM. After a discussion with Dr. Martin Entz about a project where I would interview farmers on their innovative practices, he suggested I talk to Dr. Iain Davidson-Hunt at the Natural Resources Institute at the UM. This was the right choice for the project and for me. Covid was a blessing for me and my project. I took all my courses online and did all my interviews on Zoom. It was efficient and low carbon. I perhaps did not have as much collegial interactions as would 25-year-old on-site students, but being an active farmer and living 250 km from the UM, [along with] Covid and on-line technology made the project feasible. 

While my scientific experience in the 45 years leading up to my PhD study was in quantitative science (small plot replicated research), I was looking for a new system; a system developed by farmers who were already trying to address AGW. And at the same time looking to record their successes, enablers, as well as failures, or at least the gaps and barriers that limited their ability to move the needle. I developed the BERT/E adoption rating score allowing me to characterize the strength of BMPs that were being promoted in Western Canada to tackle AGW.  The interdisciplinary approach used at NRI was an excellent fit to this type of qualitative discovery.

David Rourke posing for a photo on “Rourke Farms” property.

You’ve mentioned your grandchildren as a key factor in your motivation behind your work. Could you expand on how they inform your research? 

David Rourke: There is a saying, if you were born in Canada, you have won the lottery of life. I have had a blessed life, I have been privileged, not that I come from a rich family or was given a large sum of money to start life. I was privileged to be encouraged and enabled to go to university, to find a life partner when I was only 17, being given a chance to rent 300 acres to farm as a start and over time able to buy 6000 acres, completing a M.Sc. degree and then using all of that to leverage many opportunities, including the development of the largest independent field research service company in Western Canada. The point is for the last 100 years the world has grown in an unbelievable way based on the ignorance of negative externalities caused by our fossil fuel-based societies.  It is “payback time” if we have any hope of our descendants to have anywhere close to the blessed life our generation has had. Pope Francis in his “Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality”, states that man has created this climate change problem and it is not right to pass it on to the next generation, we must take responsibility now. I have 9 grandkids who depend on us to make the right decision and actions now. 

Have you noticed any challenges or pushback from other farmers? What opinions have you encountered?  

David Rourke: I developed the language and an approach for my research so that my conversations with farmers and others working in western agriculture were a step in the evolution of best management farm practices (BMPs). Fortunately, the ways to become Net Positive are also ways to increase profitability and resilience on many Western Canadian farms.  I use [terms] such as No Regret BMPs, Neutral BMPs , Sacrifice or even Dead End BMPs to sharpen the point of the readiness of specific BMPs to be taken up by western grain farmers in their farming operations. Being a commercial grain farmer helps me to consider language that will speak to farmers in their assessment of BMPs to move towards net positive for their farms. Unless the BMPs can make farm practice either more profitable, faster, or easier to do they are not likely to be adopted by farmers. This is not theory – it is reality on my farm as it is on all farms. I have found some people that get quite excited believing that AGW is not a real thing. We need to find the common ground focusing on BMPs that are good for the farmer, society, and the environment – I believe my research is a step towards that goal. 

A diagram created by David Rourke that illustrates his “General Farm Practice Change Theory”.

What’s next for you and your work?  

David Rourke: I am looking for opportunities to use my finding to help move the needle. I have made presentations to Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s agriculture policy advisors, to conservation NGOs, and to farm groups who believe in Net Positive. I have an extensive quantitative field research program on Soil Health, Biological Nitrogen replacement products and a Zero Till project on dry beans, which can be tricky to get just right. My field tour was July 29th, 2025 at Minto, Manitoba. The plot work is supported by Living Labs, (Manitoba Association of Watershed and AAFC), Scotiabank, MB Forage and Grassland Association, MB Pulse and Soybean Growers, MB Crop Alliance, and MB Canola Growers. 

I am also pursuing the development of a Net Positive Farm Network and NP Community of Practice. The NP Network would be a think tank and information sharing network but could also be valuable as a unique interface to connect with what I call the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) companies who have set Net Zero by 2050 pledges and are looking for Net Zero or NP supply chains. This would help identify gaps and solutions, and in the end, help demonstrate new No Regret BMPs. 

According to Ranjan Sri Ranjan, a University of Manitoba professor in the department of biosystems engineering, this summer’s ever-changing weather is making it a tough year for producers.

“Most of the time, what we are experiencing is extremes in climate. That is, either we have too much water coming all at once, or we are having many days without any rain and drought conditions. This is becoming more (of an issue) than 10 years ago,” Ranjan said.

To read the entire article, please follow the link to 980 CJME.

“On Monday, you could sell your canola for $660 per tonne, and on Tuesday afternoon, it went to $630 per tonne,” he said. “That’s a pretty big drop for a single day on any market move.”

China is the largest export market for Canadian canola seed. According to the Government of Canada, it represents 67 per cent of total canola seed exports, totalling 5.9 million tonnes in 2024, worth approximately $4 billion.

To read the entire story, please follow the link to CTV Winnipeg.

However, while these insects may sting, they can also be helpful.

CBC spoke with University of Manitoba entomologist Nuria Morfin about some of the benefits of having them around, and what to do if you want them to buzz off.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

They talk about mosquitoes, wasps, beetles, and how wildfire smoke and climate change are affecting insect activity.

Plus, what pollinators are up to this time of year, and why some bugs are actually good news for the environment.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

Initially intended to help manage diabetes, the drugs have become increasingly popular as a weight lost medication.

Natalie Riediger with the university’s department of Food and Nutritional Sciences says the expansion of the drug’s eligibility criteria is part of pharmaceuticalization — a concept where health and sickness are increasingly managed by medication.

To watch and listen to the entire story, please follow the link to Global Winnipeg.

When she began her career, she wondered why some people in care settings were not eating. She recalls a particularly memorable scene: a lone gentleman seated at a dining-room table with others — he required eating assistance and could not socialize. Instead, he would pick up sugar packages, take them to his room and consume them there.

To read the entire story, please follow the link to The Free Press.

This is what Fuji Jian, associate professor at the University of Manitoba, presented in the opening session of Top Crop Manager’s virtual In the Bin: Grain Storage Seminar in early July. With a strong research background in post-harvest grain quality, grain physical properties, grain drying and aeration, grain handling, sensor development and more, Jian shared the results from four studies to provide clarity on canola storage and aeration strategies.

To read the full story, please visit the Top Crop Manager article.

Graham says: “We also had speakers on the different types of irrigation equipment—Cam Cote from Intellirain in Calgary and Matthew Waldner from Cascade Manufacturing near McGregor—so the whole idea is to learn off each other.” 

To read the entire article, please follow the link to Portage Online.