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31Jul
2021

Corporate strategy drives restructuring and leads to exciting opportunities at the Global Institute for Food Security

GIFS Office: 421 Downey Road, Suite 101, Innovation Place, Saskatoon

The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has made a number of key restructuring decisions to position the institute for future growth and success in alignment with the institute’s strategic direction and growth goals. 

The changes, which include a number of promotions of staff to leadership roles, support GIFS’ mission of working with partners to discover, develop and deliver innovative solutions for the production of globally sustainable food.

“These new appointments support our growth in the direction of our strategic plan,” said GIFS Chief Executive Officer Dr. Steve Webb (PhD).

“They also illustrate the opportunity to advance within GIFS, enabling our colleagues to step into roles where their skillsets align with our direction.”

Among the changes was the expansion of GIFS’ Research and Development Operations Team, and the promotion of GIFS staff, Pierre-Luc Pradier, into the role of director of operations – to strengthen connection with the day-to-day operations of GIFS’ laboratory operations. To further support this expansion, the institute has elevated its Plant Growth Facilities (PGF) to Platform status, reflecting its central role to GIFS and external clients’ research and development. GIFS staff, Paulina Cholango Martinez, steps into the role of PGF platform lead effective immediately.

Other changes made as part of the research and development operations:

  • Appointment of GIFS team member, Jessica Goddard, to the role of laboratory manager.
  • Appointment of GIFS engineer, Grant Tingstad, to the role of technical lead, hardware engineering. This change reflects GIFS’ multidisciplinary nature and the importance of diverse disciplines to deliver innovative and sustainable food solutions.

In support of a growing institute, Chelsea Platzke, currently sharing her time with GIFS and USask’s Office of the Vice-President Research (OVPR), will be stepping into a full-time Director of Human Resources role at GIFS effective August 16, 2021.

To further support its strategic direction and continued growth, GIFS has recently completed its move to a new location in the Innovation Place research Park in Saskatoon.

“Our move reflects our growth as an institute and is an important part of enabling our strategic plan,” said Webb.

“With double the lab space and three-times the plant growth facilities, our new location gives us the room we need to combine our offices and facilities (labs, greenhouses and growth chambers) into one location and restructure how we work around our state-of-the-art technology platforms.”

Keep up with the latest updates at GIFS through its News and Careers pages at gifs.ca.

For more information on GIFS career opportunities, visit our career page.