Pulse Breeding, Processing, Functionality, and Products

Dr. Seedhabadee (Pooba) Ganeshan is currently the Principal Scientist, Fermentation & Bioengineering, at the Food Centre. He has a background in agricultural biotechnology, molecular biology, genomics and fermentation. Prior to joining the Food Centre, Pooba has worked at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). Pooba has over 20 years of experience. He is best known for his work in the development of new innovative technologies for cereal crops improvement and sustainable bioproducts development solutions. Pooba has authored/co-authored over 40 research publications, review articles, proceedings papers and book chapters. He has spent 15 years working at the U of S Plant Sciences where his focus was on plant genetics, tissue culture, genetic transformation, mutation creation (TILLING) in cereals, novel immature spike culture system, transcriptome profiling, abiotic stress tolerance, in vitro studies on heavy metal accumulation and bioremediation and grain quality. At the SRC, he was involved in the development and validation of SNP assays using QPCR and ddPCR. He also oversaw the fermentation program conducting research in biodegradable plastics production, uranium bioleaching/ bioremediation, plant inoculants and probiotics scale-up production and optimization.

Dr. Yingxin (Lindsay) Wang currently serves as the Program Manager for Food Crop Quality at the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre. Her expertise lies in the field of plant-based protein research and ingredient development. She has worked on various projects related to protein functionality, utilization, protein quality, flavor, rheology, and applications such as microencapsulation and complex coacervation. She received her B.Sc. (Food and Bioproduct Sciences) in 2017, followed by her Ph.D. (Food Science) in 2022, both from the University of Saskatchewan (U of S). Prior to joining the Food Centre, Lindsay was a postdoctoral fellow at the Protein Quality and Utilization lab at the U of S. She oversaw group research projects and was responsible for protocol establishment, experimental design, and manuscript

editing and proofreading. At the Food Centre, Lindsay holds the responsibility for a new lab establishment for pulse quality research, grant proposals, and new employee training. The research program focuses on pulse quality evaluation (nutritional profile, physical and functional properties) and related methodology development with the mission to add in best management practices for food-grade pulse crops and to help the development of plant-based ingredients/products in the food industry.