September 2, 2025

Welcoming Philip Lorence and Ryan Male to Our Team!
We are very happy to announce that two talented students are joining our group: Philip Lorence and Ryan Male. Philip Lorence is beginning his Master’s degree and will be working on phenomics-based anthracnose screening. As Philip shared: “I completed my Bachelor’s in Crop Science at the University of Guelph and have gained experience in both research and practical farm management. Outside of work, I enjoy fitness and playing guitar. I took the opportunity to join this team because it not only fulfills my passion to increase food accessibility and environmental sustainability, but it also allows me to contribute to the bean breeding community with more innovative approaches to agriculture. I look forward to contributing to ongoing projects while learning from others.” Ryan Male is joining us as a research assistant, and he will be supporting our technicians with harvesting, data collection, and seed processing activities. In his own words: “I am a 4th-year Environmental Science Co-op student at the University of Guelph. In my free time, I enjoy going to the gym, playing hockey and chess, and spending time with friends and family. Through my previous co-op work with the weeds department at the University of Guelph, I gained an interest in the research processes associated with herbicide testing and became curious about other research performed by the University. Learning more about the bean breeding process will enhance my knowledge and interest in the various branches of environmental science research.” On behalf of the Dry Bean Breeding and Computational Biology team, I would like to congratulate both Philip and Ryan on joining our program. We look forward to working with you and seeing your contributions to our projects! P.S. Philip has promised us that from now on, he’ll be taking his photos with beans, not corn anymore! 😊

August 21, 2025

Bringing Together the Bean Community: Highlights from Our Open House Event
Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting our 11th Bean Breeding Open House—and for the first time, we included computational biology as part of the event. This was a new experience for us at the University of Guelph, and it was wonderful to see such a fantastic turnout. We welcomed guests from all corners of Ontario’s bean world: growers, industry professionals, government representatives, and members of academia. It was truly great to see so much interest in helping shape the future of our program. We kicked off the day with an overview of our breeding plots and enjoyed sharing how our breeding program is developing. One of the highlights for us was the All-Star Trial, where we showcased every dry bean cultivar that’s been developed so far at the University of Guelph. We even put out samples of all the different seeds, giving everyone a chance to see the results up close. We were fortunate to have engaging presentations from Meghan Moran and Emily Boylan from OMAFA and ARIO, who brought some excellent insights to the group. After that, we made our way into the experimental trials. It was great to see our students talking about their projects and sharing what they’ve learned—Aashvi and Philip are making impressive progress, and Kiarash, Niki, and Koosha also shared valuable updates. Kiarash introduced BeanGPT, which we’re excited to highlight more in a future post. We then moved on to the nitrogen fixation trials, where Dr. K. Peter Pauls and his team spoke about the important work that’s been accomplished. We appreciated how Mohammad and Yarmilla explained the latest developments in nitrogen fixation and molecular markers, and we also enjoyed excellent recaps from Maryam, Sajida, and Ujomonigho. There are so many more people we could mention, but we want to give a special thanks to Lyndsay, Sajal, Alec, Trinity, and everyone else who helped make the day a success. We’re also thankful to the Ontario Bean Growers and all the industry partners who continue to support our work. It was truly a fun and inspiring day for all of us. We’re already looking forward to next year’s open house, so go ahead and mark your calendars! Our lab will have plenty of exciting news to share by then.

August 18, 2025

New Team Member Announcement: Dr. Masoud Maleki
We are happy to welcome Dr. Masoud Maleki, a new postdoc joining the Dry Bean Breeding and Computational Biology Lab. Dr. Maleki will be involved in several aspects of our program, from designing new genomics tools to analyzing multi-omics data to help make our breeding decisions more accurate.

In his own words:
Dr. Maleki is interested in dry bean breeding and computational biology because "beans are the unsung heroes of global food security, packed with protein, adaptable to diverse diets, and critical for smallholder farmers. By merging cutting-edge high-throughput omics with computational tools, we can unlock their full potential to thrive in a changing climate, bridging the gap between lab science and real-world impact."

Fun fact: I once spent days troubleshooting a PCR protocol, only to realize my lab’s distilled water was the culprit… proving that in science (and life), sometimes the smallest variables have the biggest impact! 💧😅 Please join me in welcoming Dr. Maleki to our team.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Maleki to our team.

July 21, 2025

Curious about how tradition and innovation come together in plant breeding and computational biology?
Join us for the 2025 Dry Bean Breeding and Computational Biology Program Open House at the University of Guelph’s Elora Research Station! 🗓 Date: August 21, 2025 🕐 Time: 1:00 PM 📍 Location: Elora Crops Research Station Lunchroom Come meet our research team, tour the plots, and learn how we’re bridging cutting-edge computational approaches with hands-on plant breeding. Enjoy lunch, see our work in action, and discover how you can get involved in the future of dry bean research.

July 07, 2025

Dry Beans Progress After One Month
It’s amazing to see how quickly the dry beans are growing! The first photo was taken on June 7th, just two days after planting. Now, about a month later, you can really see the progress. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures from our dry bean breeding fields!

June 25, 2025

The Pulse of Progress: Canada’s Leadership in Global Crop Innovation.
Ongoing support for breeding programs is of paramount importance if we want to keep pace with innovation and maintain productivity, while sustaining our competitive position in global crop export markets. At the CSHS & CSA 2025 Joint Society Conference (held June 23–25, 2025, in Kelowna, BC), Dr. Mohsen Yoosefzadeh Najafabadi addressed these challenges in his presentation, "The Pulse of Progress: Canada’s Leadership in Global Crop Innovation." Dr. Yoosefzadeh Najafabadi spoke about the critical role of pulses, especially dry beans, in Canada’s agricultural landscape. He discussed recent developments in funding for breeding programs and highlighted what needs to be done going forward—such as establishing a dedicated breeding committee—to enable better engagement with government bodies and address emerging issues more effectively.

June 10, 2025

French Embassy Delegates Visit U of G Bean Breeding and Computational Biology Program
It was a pleasure to welcome guests from the French Embassy in Canada/US, Marie Beaux and Charles Martins Ferreira, Deputy Agricultural Counsellor, to visit our research stations as part of the University of Guelph/Agriculture Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO) partnership. It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to our work in dry bean breeding and computational biology, and we had an excellent discussion on how we are integrating genomics and multi-omics approaches with big data analytics in our breeding program. Many thanks to Stuart McCook for capturing and sharing such wonderful photos.

June 6, 2025

Bean There, Planted That!
Despite the unpredictable weather patterns this season, our team successfully completed planting on schedule. Their commitment and coordinated efforts ensured that all work was done efficiently and perfectly, even under challenging conditions. We are now looking forward to stable weather for the remainder of the growing season and are excited to soon see our dry beans emerging across the field!

April 21, 2025

Welcome to Our Team, Trinity!
We are happy to announce that Trinity Solinger has joined our dry bean breeding team. With her expertise and passion in dry bean breeding, she will play an important role in supporting our technicians and advancing our research goals.

In her own words:
"Hello, my name is Trinity Solinger! I am an undergraduate student here at the University of Guelph, entering my second year of Environmental Sciences. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, camping, baking, and wildlife photography, all hobbies that have inspired my love for conservation and the environment. I am excited to join this team as I believe their work is incredibly valuable and connects well with my field of study. Working towards increasing both stress resistance and yields of dry beans is vital to ensure continued food security through the climate crisis. This unique opportunity will not only allow me to expand my knowledge of genetics and plant breeding but also gain hands-on experience in agricultural research."

Please join us in welcoming Trinity to the team!

April 8, 2025

First Step Toward Developing Phenomic Markers for Anthracnose Resistance in Dry Beans
At the time a proposal was developed for fast screening and detection of anthracnose-resistant dry bean genotypes in the field, consideration was given to developing phenomic markers in addition to genomic markers for early-stage detection of anthracnose. To pursue this, it was hypothesized that conducting a controlled indoor experiment could help isolate the pure spectral variance caused by anthracnose infection. This approach would allow for the identification of key hyperspectral wavelengths associated with anthracnose resistance. These wavelengths could then be compared with those collected in the field to evaluate how well single-plant measurements correlate with canopy-level data. Today marked the first day of our indoor experiment aimed at identifying phenomic markers linked to anthracnose resistance in dry beans. Jhana and Sajal, who are both involved in the project, began by filling the pots and sowing the seeds. In this experiment, we selected six genotypes: two resistant, two moderately resistant, and two susceptible to anthracnose. Each genotype will be grown in four replicates under two treatments, inoculated and non-inoculated with anthracnose. We will capture hyperspectral reflectance data from each pot at two different viewing angles, allowing us to track changes over time and analyze resistance-related signatures. Stay tuned for updates!

March 14, 2025

Showcasing Innovation at College Royal 2025
Our team debuted cutting-edge dry bean varieties at the University of Guelph’s 2025 College Royal. Developed using advanced computational breeding, these varieties enhance yield, resilience, and adaptability for Ontario growers. Attendees explored our vision for sustainable agriculture firsthand.

February 27, 2025

Engaging Growers at the Ontario Bean Growers AGM
Dr. Mohsen Yoosefzadeh Najafabadi presented What’s Next at UoG? Advancing Computational Methods in Dry Bean Breeding at the Ontario Bean Growers AGM. His talk on computational techniques for resilient, high-yield beans sparked dynamic discussions with growers and experts.

January 16, 2025

Advancing AI at the 22nd CCA Conference
Dr. Mohsen Yoosefzadeh Najafabadi delivered From Data to Harvest: AI and Multi-Omics in Crop Production at the 22nd CCA Conference, highlighting how AI and multi-omics are transforming dry bean breeding for sustainable farming.