COMBIO 2016 winner of the ASPS Student Poster Awards

Georgianna Oguis

Institute for Molecular Bioscience – University of Queensland, Australia

Plants have evolved quite a number of ways to evade predators. An obvious strategy for an organism incapable of rapid movement out of danger is to produce toxins. Whilst the most notable plant defence molecules are small molecule secondary metabolites, there exists great many peptides that are also expressed in plants. One such class of these peptides are known as cyclotides, and these have special properties worth talking about. The discovery of cyclotides goes back to 1973 when Norwegian doctor Lorents Gran discovered that the active ingredient of the herbal tea African women drink in order to induce birth is apparently an ultrastable peptide that can survive boiling and oral ingestion¹. Gran named the molecule kalata B1—after the local name of the plant kalata-kalata (Oldenlandia affinis). Since then many other cyclotide-related studies spawned. However, it was only in 1999 that the term “cyclotide” was coined; and these specifically pertain to head-to-tail cyclised plant peptides which have three disulfide bridges that are arranged to form a knotted topology². Cyclotides are found to exhibit a range of biological activities including anthelminthic, cytotoxic, molluscicidal and antimicrobial activities³. Other than these, cyclotides have very promising applications both in agriculture and in peptide-based therapeutics—the former being the hypothesised evolutionary role as an insecticide and the latter which can be attributed to their ultrastable properties (brought about by its cyclic structure and knotted topology), thus be used as frameworks for peptide drug engineering.

Before the year concluded in 2016, the first cyclotide-based bioinsecticide called Sero-X was made commercially available. The product was developed and is being manufactured by the Australian-owned company InnovateAg. The insecticide is currently being applied to control pests on cotton and macadamia crops. Although there are yet no cyclotide-based peptide therapeutics on the market, the possibility of this scaffold appearing in a commercial product may not be that far off as several proofs of the concept have already been published³. The main idea behind this is to “graft” or replace a number of native cyclotide amino acids with specific sequences which can target cancer cells, adipocytes, cell receptors, and possibly many other targets. By having these sequences grafted into the cyclotide scaffold, we are able to create ultrastable peptide therapeutics that are highly specific and would not interfere with healthy cells. There is repeated emphasis on “ultrastability”, as this property is essential to improved peptide drug delivery and half-life. A particular peptide-based drug may be stable in vitro but when administered in vivo, an entire array of enzymes, compounds, acids and proteases plus the non-optimal environment can encumber peptide function, or lead to degradation. Another good point, or perhaps one of the best points of cyclotides, is that they are naturally produced in plants. This implies that we can utilise plants as biofactories for the production of these cyclotide-based therapeutics. The advantage of this plant-based system is that we are able to cheaply produce medicines in large quantities, making them affordable to all walks of life, especially to people in developing countries who will finally be given VIP access to life’s basic necessities.

My winning poster entry at ComBio 2016 entitled “The key drivers of cyclotide production in butterfly pea” is but a glimpse of a very big picture. I am part of a big group headed by Prof. David Craik, the driver of research in the areas of cyclotide therapeutic and plant biosynthesis of cyclotides. I would love to think of our group as a factory where we are categorised into several subgroups that are unified with a goal. For instance, the chemists and structural biologists synthesise and characterise the peptides. The cell biologists and biochemists subsequently test these peptides in vitro and in vivo. The molecular biologists and plant scientists then express the peptides of interest into the plants for possible mass production. I happened to be sitting at the end of the chain where my colleagues and I try to establish an optimised system for the production of pharmaceuticals in plants. The poster features one of the many aspects of production in plants we are looking at. In a nutshell, I want to know what drives cyclotide production in butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea), as this specific plant expresses chemically diverse cyclotides in all life stages and in such great abundance. Once I have characterised the key drivers, I can potentially use these to drive the production of cyclotide-based pharmaceuticals in other plant systems that are economically important. In other words, we need to identify the best driver to race the fastest car in a professional team, and hopefully cross that finish line first to bag the golden trophy.

References:

1   Gran L. On the effect of a polypeptide isolated from “Kalata-Kalata” (Oldenlandia affinis DC) on the oestrogen dominated uterus. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol. 1973;33:400–8.

2   Craik DJ, Daly NL, Bond T,Waine C. Plant cyclotides: a unique family of cyclic and knotted proteins that defines the cyclic cystine knot structural motif. J Mol Biol. 1999;294:1327–36.

3   Oguis GK, Kan MW, Craik DJ. Natural functions and structure-activity relationships of cyclotides. Adv Bot Res. 2015;76: 187-226.

Contact: Georgianna Oguis @ g.oguis@imb.uq.edu.au

by Suong Nguyen, The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Although it has been two months since ComBio2016, my memory of all the events occurring at the

Suong’s poster awarded at ComBio2016 … and on her birthday!

conference is still fresh as if they happened just yesterday. These were the feelings of admiration, fascination and enjoyment attending plenary lectures, symposia, colloquia and poster teasers, and the pleasurable meetings and conversations I had with colleagues and friends during lunchtime and break-times. Particularly, during the poster sections, I had great opportunities to talk to and discuss my research with many eminent plant biologists, from whom I received constructive comments on the work presented in my poster. One of the most memorable moments at ComBio2016 is when I was awarded the Poster Award on the last day of the conference (which was also my birthday J).

My PhD research at The University of Newcastle has focused on elucidating the genetic controls of the development of transfer cells – a specialised cell type functioning in enhancing nutrient transport in plants. My ComBio2016 poster summarised my recent findings that transfer cell development in Arabidopsis phloem parenchyma is a novel trait specific to vegetative phase change, and that this novel trait is regulated by microRNA miR156 and its SPL target genes. The poster attracted a lot of attention and comments from the conference attendees, which later contributed to improving the manuscript I was drafting to report these findings. A month after the conference I submitted this manuscript to Plant Physiology and then just in the last few days I received notification that the manuscript has been accepted (conditional with minor revisions). A welcome Christmas present!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank ASPS for providing me the Travel Grant to attend ComBio2016 and communicate my research there, and I am very honoured and grateful at receiving the ASPS Poster Award. Besides precious “academic moments” the conference brought me, and as an international student, in exploring the extraordinary beauty of Brisbane. I am very much looking forward to ComBio2017 and a great trip to Adelaide.

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We have several new employment opportunities based around Australia and in New Zealand.

Global Plant Council E-Bulletin November 2016 Forward to a Friend | View web version (also click here to translate to other languages!)

Email Us GPC Website GPC Blog @GlobalPlantGPC @GPC_EnEspanol Facebook Donate E-Bulletin /  November 2016 Welcome to another issue of the Global Plant Council’s monthly e-Bulletin! We can hardly believe that it’s almost the end of another year! In just a few short weeks we’ll be welcoming in the new year, and looking forward to continuing our work to promote, strengthen, inform and equip the global plant science community. To do this, however, we need some help. As a subscriber to our e-Bulletin, would you consider making a donation to the GPC? You can make a one-off payment or recurring monthly contribution – no matter how big or small – via the secure PayPal link here: http://globalplantcouncil.org/donate. We’re always keen to hear from potential new Member Organizations too! If you belong to a plant/crop science society that is not already a GPC member, or if you work for a plant science-focused research institution, please contact us (email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org) to find out how your organization can become a Member or Affiliate Member of the GPC! Finally, in other news, we’d like to welcome Dr Owen Rowland from Canada’s Carleton University to the Global Plant Council! Owen replaces our former Canadian Society of Plant Biologists’ representative Professor Carl Douglas, who passed away earlier this year. Welcome aboard, Owen!

Latest News /  View more… If you have news you would like us to share on our website, please contact lisa@globalplantcouncil.org  This month 60 new breaking news stories were posted on the GPC website including… From Journal of Experimental Botany: sound the alarm! Roots and systemic plant defense A new paper and associated Insight article in J Ex Bothighlights plant defenses in citrus plants.  In Nature Plants: controlling plant regeneration systems may drive the future of agriculture  Belgian scientists from VIB – Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology and Ghent University have discovered a key protein complex that controls plant tissue repair. In New Phytologist: with a little help from my fungus An international team of researchers reveals that a fungus of the genus Trichoderma lives inside the tissue of tomato plants and helps its host to defend itself against infestations by parasitic nematodes. Phenotype at the push of a button Scientists at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Halle, Germany, have developed a method that makes it possible to accumulate or break down chosen proteins in living organisms as needed. Living fossil genome unveiled The genome sequence of Ginkgo biloba, the oldest extant tree species, has been published by scientists from the Beijing Genomics Institute, Zheijiang University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  Events / View more… If you have a conference, meeting, workshop, training course or other event coming up, we can include it in our Events calendar! Please email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org GARNet NatVar 2016: Natural Variation as a Tool for Gene Discovery and Crop Improvement 12–13 December 2016. Cambridge, UK. 4th International Plant Phenotyping Symposium 13–15 December 2016. El Batán, Texcoco, México.  Gordon Research Conference on Chloroplast Biotechnology 08–13 January 2017. Venture, CA, USA.  Policy / Lots of new reports, and an archive of useful documents from the last few years, are available on our website. Head to the Resources page and click ‘Reports’. The State of Food and Agriculture 2016 The pledge to eradicate hunger and poverty must go hand in hand with rapid transformations of farming and food systems to cope with a warmer world, FAO said in a new report. Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Growth and Competitiveness The first-of-its kind report, ‘Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Growth and Competitiveness’ was released on 15 November by the Beijing-based  Chinese Academy of Sciences-The World Academy of Sciences (CAS-TWAS) Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology. The report provides an assessment of research and patents in the field across the global South. Delivering on EU Food Safety and Nutrition in 2050 – Future challenges and policy preparedness This foresight study assesses the future resilience of the current EU food safety and nutrition policy and regulatory framework by examining potential scenarios up to 2050 and the challenges they may present, and suggests possible policy options. Funding Opportunities / Spotted a funding opportunity we’ve missed? Please tell us about it by emailing lisa@globalplantcouncil.org Australian researchers, or researchers working in Australia: the deadline for applications/nominations for the 2017 Peter Goldacre Award is 9th December 2016.   Members of the Australian Society of Plant Scientists are also eligible to apply for the 2017 ASPS Teaching Award until 9th December 2016, and for the RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship until 20th January 2017. On the blog /  View more… Would you like to contribute an article to the GPC’s blog? Please get in touch! Email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org Using plants to convert explosives to fertilizers: an interview with Neil Bruce Sarah Jose spoke to University of York (UK) researcher Neil Bruce about his work into the detoxification of pollutants by plants and microorganisms. Down under: the Global Plant Council’s 2016 AGM Lisa Martin gives the lowdown on what happened ‘down under’ at the Global Plant Council’s 2016 Annual General Meeting.  Flipping the symposium What do you do when a speaker doesn’t turn up for the conference session you’ve organized? Try ‘flipping the symposium’, like Dr Rainer Hofmann did at the recent ComBio 2016 meeting! How growing plants improves human well-being: People Plant Council We might be preaching to the converted, but plants are good for you! Sarah Jose discovered how the People Plant Council is working to communicate the benefits of plants to the public. Temperate matters in agriculture In this guest blog from the Global Food Security program, Evangelia Kougioumoutzi reports on the TempAg network. Members /  Click here for details of the GPC Member Societies and Affiliates and their representatives.  Please contact Ruth Bastow (ruth@globalplantcouncil.org) to find out how your organization can join the Global Plant Council.  The GPC is a coalition of plant and crop science societies and affiliates from across the globe. The GPC seeks to bring plant scientists together to work synergistically toward solving the pressing problems we face. Please click here to make a donation via PayPal to help support the GPC.

Copyright © 2016 Global Plant Council, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive updates from the Global Plant Council. If you no longer wish to receive the monthly GPC E-Bulletin, or think you have received this email in error, please unsubscribe using the link provided. The Global Plant Council is a not-for-profit entity registered in Switzerland. Our registered mailing address is:  Global Plant Council 3rd Floor, Bow House 1a Bow Lane London, EC4M 9EE United Kingdom Add us to your address book

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Dear members,

Just to remind you that the deadline for Goldacre and Teaching Awards applications is 9 December 2016 and is fast approaching.  The RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship application deadline is 20 January 2017.

We also have several new employment opportunities and FEBS 2017 congress has been added to our events page.

FEBS 2017

The 42^nd FEBS Congress
Jerusalem, Israel, 10-14 September, 2017

https://2017.febscongress.org/

The FEBS Congress aims to provide an outstanding international forum in the European area for the face to face exchange of knowledge and ideas across the molecular life sciences. The core scientific programme comprises inspiring plenary lectures from distinguished researchers working in areas of high topical interest, and a range of themed symposia providing focused updates from leading experts in each field. The contribution of participants towards the scientific discussion at the event is encouraged by the opportunity to present work through extensive poster sessions, and submitted abstracts may also be considered for oral presentations.

The broad subject coverage of the Congress and its size provide an excellent setting for participants to gain valuable insight into progress in research areas beyond their own. In addition, a range of special sessions aim to engage participants on wider issues, such as teaching in the molecular life sciences, and science and society questions. A commercial exhibition provides additional interest.

The FEBS Congress has a strong emphasis on support, education and inspiration for the next generation of scientists, with a bursary scheme for early-career researchers, a satellite Young Scientists’ Forum, and activities to encourage interaction with peers and experts.

Altogether the FEBS Congress aims to be an exemplary cross-discipline gathering in the molecular life sciences for research presentation, discussion, learning, inspiration and encouragement — with participants leaving with new research knowledge and ideas, and perhaps the beginnings of international collaborations and friendships.

For more information visit: https://2017.febscongress.org/

Your ASPS membership is paid to [wpmlfield name=”paidtodate”] (year, month, day).

Dear members,

Just to remind you that the deadline for Goldacre and Teaching Awards applications is 9 December 2016 and is fast approaching.  The RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship application deadline is 20 January 2017.

We also have several new employment opportunities and FEBS 2017 congress has been added to our events page.

FEBS 2017

The 42^nd FEBS Congress
Jerusalem, Israel, 10-14 September, 2017

https://2017.febscongress.org/

The FEBS Congress aims to provide an outstanding international forum in the European area for the face to face exchange of knowledge and ideas across the molecular life sciences. The core scientific programme comprises inspiring plenary lectures from distinguished researchers working in areas of high topical interest, and a range of themed symposia providing focused updates from leading experts in each field. The contribution of participants towards the scientific discussion at the event is encouraged by the opportunity to present work through extensive poster sessions, and submitted abstracts may also be considered for oral presentations.

The broad subject coverage of the Congress and its size provide an excellent setting for participants to gain valuable insight into progress in research areas beyond their own. In addition, a range of special sessions aim to engage participants on wider issues, such as teaching in the molecular life sciences, and science and society questions. A commercial exhibition provides additional interest.

The FEBS Congress has a strong emphasis on support, education and inspiration for the next generation of scientists, with a bursary scheme for early-career researchers, a satellite Young Scientists’ Forum, and activities to encourage interaction with peers and experts.

Altogether the FEBS Congress aims to be an exemplary cross-discipline gathering in the molecular life sciences for research presentation, discussion, learning, inspiration and encouragement — with participants leaving with new research knowledge and ideas, and perhaps the beginnings of international collaborations and friendships.

For more information visit: https://2017.febscongress.org/

Your membership is paid to [wpmlfield name=”paidtodate”] (year, month, day).

There are several employment opportunities posted on our site available to view here.

The 2nd International Conference on Pharmaceutical Chemistry has been added to our events calendar.

Applications Open for Women’s Young Investigator Travel Awards for Plant Biology 2017

Global Plant Council E-Bulletin October 2016 Forward to a Friend  | View this Email on the Web | Translate This Email Email Us GPC Website GPC Blog @GlobalPlantGPC @GPC_EnEspanol Facebook Donate E-Bulletin /  October 2016 Welcome to another issue of the Global Plant Council’s e-Bulletin. We were really excited to see our President Professor Bill Davies on the TV this month! Bill was interviewed for the CNN news program ‘EcoSolutions’ and spoke about reducing water use in agriculture. Read more and watch the video here. Are you looking for a new job or PhD position in plant science, or do you have a vacancy to fill? We post relevant jobs or studentships to our Twitter and Facebook pages using the clickable, searchable hashtags #PlantSciJobs and #PlantSciPhD –and these posts are proving very popular indeed! Please use these hashtags if you’re posting new opportunities; we’re also happy to tweet/post these on your behalf – just let us know! We are delighted to announce that Dr Deena Errampalli, President of Plant Canada, has joined our Executive Board. Deena replaces Professor Carl Douglas who very sadly passed away earlier this year. Welcome to the team, Deena! Latest News /  View more… If you have news you would like us to share on our website, please contact lisa@globalplantcouncil.org  This month 63 new breaking news stories were posted on the GPC website including… Sharon Gray Memorial Fund Friends and colleagues of Dr Sharon Gray – a plant science postdoc from the University of California, Davis, who was tragically killed in Ethiopia earlier this month – have established a memorial fund. The fund will be used to establish a fellowship in Dr Gray’s honor. In New Phytologist: Scientists Root for More Cassava Research to Help Meet Greater Demand for Food A new review brings together research on the potential for improving cassava yields, such as by boosting the efficiency with which the plant captures sunlight and converts it into sugars. In Journal of Experimental Botany: How To Build Beautiful Biochemical Factories New research and an accompanying Insight article shed new light on the regulation of glandular trichome development in plants. In Current Plant Biology: Special Issue on Protein Networks Our newest journal sponsors have a new special issue, which focuses on protein networks – in particular, the centrality of proteins in the study of fundamental aspects of plant biology and plant interface with abiotic and biotic factors in the environment.  In Nature Plants: New Strategy to Accelerate Plant Breeding by Turbocharging Gene Banks A new study led by an Iowa State University agronomist may help scientists sift through vast amounts of plant seeds stored in gene bank facilities across the globe to identify those useful to plant breeders attempting to produce better varieties. Events / View more… If you have a conference, meeting, workshop, training course or other event coming up, we can include it in our Events calendar! Please email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org Cold Spring Harbor Asia Conference: Latest Advances in Plant Development & Environmental Responses 29 November–02 December 2016. Awaji, Japan.  4th International Plant Phenotyping Symposium 13–15 December 2016. El Batán, Mexico.  International Conference on Plant Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering 16–18 December 2016. Miami, Florida, USA.  Policy / Lots of new reports, and an archive of useful documents from the last few years, are available on our website. Head to the Resources page and click ‘Reports’. US Senate Decides on the Ratification of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture “The joining of the United States will represent a major milestone towards universal membership of the Treaty,” said Shakeel Bhatti, Plant Treaty Secretary. Online Sales of Threatened Cacti Highlight Open Door for Illegal Trade Threatened cacti are available on websites and shipped across countries without any legal documents to certify their trade. A study published in Nature Conservation reports on this activity and discusses assessment methods and solutions. Report Provides Options for Organic Soybean Growers Despite soybean being one of the most widely grown crops in the US, few soybean farmers use organic practices. A new  report details organic products and practices to combat pathogens and insect pests. Funding Opportunities / Spotted a funding opportunity we’ve missed? Please tell us about it by emailing lisa@globalplantcouncil.org New Phytologist Tansley Medal The New Phytologist Tansley Medal is awarded annually in recognition of an outstanding contribution to research in plant science by an individual in the early stages of their career (including students and any researcher with up to five years’ experience since gaining/defending their PhD). The winner recives a prize of £2000 (GBP) and authors a short review, published in New Phytologist, accompanied by an Editorial. The deadline for first-round submissions is 30th November 2016. Trellis Fund projects Horticulture Innovation Lab has selected nine new Trellis Fund projects led by organizations in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Cambodia and Nepal. These six-month projects are each funded with a $2,000 grant, with work scheduled to begin in 2017. A US graduate student with related expertise will be matched to each project, to provide agricultural knowledge and support for local goals. Graduate students at UC Davis, North Carolina State University, the University of Florida and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are now invited to apply to participate in these new Trellis Fund projects. The deadline for applications is November 4th. On the blog /  View more… Would you like to contribute an article to the GPC’s blog? Please get in touch! Email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org How trees communicate via a Wood Wide Web In this repost from The Conversation, Stuart Thompson discusses how plants communicate.  Farming Futures: integrating plant research and industry in the agri-food supply chain Tim Williams, Business Manager of Farming Futures and Research Fund Development Manager at Aberystwyth University, UK, tells us all about how Farming Futures links researchers with industry.  Members /  Click here for details of the GPC Member Societies and Affiliates and their representatives.  Please contact Ruth Bastow (ruth@globalplantcouncil.org) to find out how your organization can join the Global Plant Council.  The GPC is a coalition of plant and crop science societies and affiliates from across the globe. The GPC seeks to bring plant scientists together to work synergistically toward solving the pressing problems we face. Please click here to make a donation via PayPal to help support the GPC. Copyright © 2016 Global Plant Council, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive updates from the Global Plant Council. If you no longer wish to receive the monthly GPC E-Bulletin, or think you have received this email in error, please unsubscribe using the link provided. The Global Plant Council is a not-for-profit entity registered in Switzerland. Our registered mailing address is:  Global Plant Council 3rd Floor, Bow House 1a Bow Lane London, EC4M 9EE United Kingdom Add us to your address book

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by Aruni Buddhika, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW

Aruni and her prize winning poster at Combio 2016.

I am Aruni Buddhika, 2^nd year PhD student from Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW.  My PhD research has focused on understanding the role of laccases of Botrytis cinerea during grape infection. I am investigating the differential expression profiles of laccase isoforms during the infection process to elucidate the specific role of each laccase isoform during the infection. I presented some of my research findings at the COMBIO – 2016. I am delighted that I was awarded a student poster prize in the poster competition. This is a really great recognition for my research, and a great encouragement to continue my research carrier.  I am really grateful for organizers from ASPS for awarding me the student poster prize. COMBIO-2016 was a great platform for me to learn new things and to share knowledge. The posters were displayed for three days and it was a great opportunity to expose my work for renowned scientist and researchers in the field. I really appreciate the questions, comments and suggestions given since, they will be useful in further development of my research. Plannery lectures were really informative and contained lots of new facts allowing young scientist to learn. Besides meetings, social gatherings were awesome, particularly the conference dinner which made us a great place to meet people and share ideas and knowledge. I am really proud to be a member of ASPS and looking forward to join with the next conference.

by

Joanne Ernest

I began my PhD in 2010 with Dr Tony Gendall at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Tony’s group is using reverse genetics to investigate the physiological and cellular roles of two sodium/proton antiporters. These proteins affect cell differentiation and expansion, ro
ot length and lateral root development as well as subcellular trafficking. In my thesis I described the expression patterns of these antiporters in Arabidopsis, and described their role in trafficking seed proteins to a specialised storage vacuole in developing embryos. I presented some this work at two ComBio meetings (2012 and 2014), as well as the International Conference for Arabidopsis Research (ICAR) in 2013, the Australian Research Assembly on Brassicas (ARAB) in 2014, and the Agriculture Bioscience International Conference in 2015. A chapter of my thesis was published in 2015 in the journal of Plant and Cell Physiology (Ashnest et al. 2015).

Like many other PhD candidates, I began looking for a post doc fellowship about 6 months before submitting my thesis. I had applied for several advertised positions, but hadn’t been granted even an interview. Then in May of 2015, I met Dr Tim Sharbel at a free seminar at the AgriBio Systems Biology conference. Tim was in the process of moving his entire lab from Germany to Canada, and was recruiting post docs. Tim’s content and manner really impressed me, and when he mentioned that he was hiring, I decided on the spur of the moment that I would approach him about a job. I went to the ladies’ room and did the “power pose” for 2 minutes, then bravely walked up to Tim and introduced myself (he’s since told me that he had no idea how nervous I was…). We had a brief chat, and arranged to meet more comprehensively the next day. I remember going home and asking my husband, “how do you feel about Canada? Because I met this guy today…”

Tim and I chatted for about an hour the following morning. No pressure, I thought, but this is an interview! In the end it went really well; I had the skill set that Tim was looking for and we got along great. About a fortnight later, after Tim had read my CV and some positive emails from my referees, he offered me a job! There was a little more back and forth over contracts, and it took some time for us to arrange permits to work and live in Canada, and to pack up our home and all our things, but about 6 months later my husband, my cat and I were boarding a plane to Saskatoon. Now I’m living on the other side of the world, working with a wonderful team of people, and doing some really exciting science. I owe it all to the power pose and a moment of great bravery!

Author email: Dr Joanne Ernest  < joanne.ernest@gifs.ca>

Greenhouse Research Education Training Facility