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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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Curriculum Vitae - Jaswinder Singh Associate Professor
Department of Plant Science, McGill University,
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC Canada H9X 3V9
Phone (514) 398 7906
Fax (514) 398 7897
[email protected]
http://www.mcgill.ca/plant/faculty/singh
EDUCATION
University of Sydney/CSIRO Plant Industry - Canberra, Australia
Ph.D., Plant Biology - 2000
Thesis: Chromosomal control, antibody development and characterization of non-gluten
proteins of wheat. (Supervisors: Dr. John Skerritt and Dr. Peter Sharp)
Punjab Agricultural University - Ludhiana, India
M.Sc., Genetics/Plant Breeding - 1990
Thesis: Wide hybridization in pigeon pea, Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp. (Supervisor: Dr. P.S.
Sidhu)
Punjab Agricultural University - Ludhiana, India
B.Sc., Agriculture (Honors in Plant Breeding) - 1986
EXPERIENCE McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, Canada
Associate Professor– June 2014 - Current
Assistant Professor – July 2008 - June 2014
Research Focus: Enhancement of crop plants through plant breeding, molecular biology,
genetic engineering, and genomics
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Associate Research Specialist - June 2006-July 2008
Assistant Research Specialist - June 2002- June 2006
Postgraduate Researcher - Nov. 2001-June 2002
Research Focus: Genetic and functional genomic studies in cereals (Supervisor: Dr. Peggy
Lemaux)
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Postdoctoral Fellow – 2000-2001
Research Project: Gene expression during drought stress and mechanical impedance
(Supervisor: Dr. Josette Masle)
Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India
Wheat Breeder - 1991-1995
Research Fellow - 1990-1991
Research Focus: Cereals improvement (Wheat and Triticale Breeding)
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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DISTINCTIONS & AWARDS
1. Nominated for prestigious DuPont Young Professor Award (2012, 2013)
2. Nominated for Macdonald Campus Teaching Excellence award (2013)
3. Member of International Affairs Committee, American Society of Plant Biologists (2012-
2015)
4. Appointed as a member of Scientific Committee and Session Chair for 12th
Congress of the
European Society for Agronomy, Helsinki, Finland, 20-24 August 2012
5. Appointed to the AAFC Plant Science peer review panel (2010, 2011, 2013)
6. Elected as the Eastern Director of Canadian Society of Agronomy (2010-2012)
7. Session co-chair for 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, Guelph, Ontario, May
17 2012
8. Associate Editor, Canadian Journal of Plant Science (2010-2013)
9. Elected Associate Member of Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley
10. Editorial Board Member for three peer-review journals (Journal of Plant Physiology and
Pathology, Journal of Plant Genetics and Transgenics, Model Assisted Statistics and
Applications- An International Journal)
11. Peer reviewer for granting agencies such as NSERC, AAFC, PLANT-KBBE and BARD
and various journals including Nucleic Acid Research, PLOS ONE, Functional and
Integrative Genomics, Molecular Breeding, Genome, Heredity, Crop Science, and
Biotechnology Journal
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Funding Support
2014 NSERC-Engage: Canola
2014 Prairie Oat Grain Association-AAFC-Growing forward (4 years)
2012 National Center of Excellence-Bioenergy-BioFuelNet (2.5 years)
2010 NSERC-Discovery (5 years)
2009 CFI-LOF: Infrastructure for Genomics- assisted Plant Molecular Breeding Laboratory (5
years)
2009 NSERC-CRD: Saturation of barley chromosomes with transposons to target malting quality
traits (3 years)
2009 Industry Grant-BMBRI: Transposon mutagenesis to target malting quality (3 years)
2010 MAPAQ: Evaluation and risk assessment of transgenic canola lines in Quebec soils (3 years)
2012 NSERC-Engage: Hulless oat cultivars
2008 Genome Quebec: Exploring Jerusalem artichoke genome for recovery of high-value bio-
products and biofuels
2008 McGill University Start-up funds: Cereal genomics and molecular breeding
PUBLICATIONS
Peer Reviewed Publications (Students and other HQPs trained under my supervision are
underlined.)
1. Syan, H. S., Prasher, S., Pageau, D., Singh, J. (2014) Dissipation of major herbicides applied in
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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transgenic and non-transgenic canola production in Quebec. European Journal of Soil Biology
63: 21-27.
2. Nandha, P and Singh, J. (2014) Comparative assessment of genetic diversity between wild and
cultivated barley using gSSR and EST-SSR markers. Plant Breeding 133: 28–35.
3. Singh, M., Singh, S., Randhawa, H., Singh, J. (2013) Polymorphic homoeolog of key gene of
RdDM pathway, ARGONAUTE4_9 class is associated with Pre-harvest Sprouting in wheat
(Triticum aestivum L.). PLoS ONE 8(10): e77009. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077009.
4. Lamb-Palmer, N.D., Singh, M., Dalton, J. P., Singh, J. (2013) Prokaryotic Expression and
Purification of Soluble Maize Ac Transposase. Molecular Biotechnology 54: 685–691.
5. Kaur, R., Singh, K., Singh, J. (2013) A root specific wall-associated kinase gene, HvWAK1,
regulates root growth, and is highly divergent in barley and other cereals. Functional &
Integrative Genomics 13: 167-177.
6. Coulman, B., Dalai, A., Heaton, E., Lee, P. C., Lefsrud, M., Levin, D., Lemaux, P. G., Neale,
D., Shoemaker, S. P., Singh, J., Smith, D. L., Whalen, J. K. (2013) Developments in crops and
management systems to improve lignocellulosic feedstock production. Biofuels, Bioproducts
& Biorefining 7 (5) : 582-601.
7. Solis, M., V., Patel, A., Orsat, V., Singh, J., Lefsrud, M. (2013) Identification of fatty acids in
different varieties of peas by RP-LC/ESI-MS/MS: Towards the development of an oilseed pea.
Food Chemistry. 139: 986–993.
8. Khadapanahi, E., Lefsrud, M., Orsat, V., Singh, J., Warkentin, T. (2012) Study of pea
accessions for development of an oilseed pea. Energies 5: 3788-3802.
9. Ahmad, S., Singh, M., Lamb-Palmer, N. D., Lefsrud, M., Singh, J. (2012) Assessment of
genetic diversity in Pisum spp through microsatellite markers. Canadian Journal of Plant
Science. 92:1075-1081.
10. Singh, M., Singh, J. (2012) Seed development related expression of ARGONAUTE 4_9 class
of genes in barley: possible role in seed dormancy. Euphytica.188:123–129.
11. Singh, S., Tan, H-Q., Singh J. (2012) Mutagenesis of barley malting quality QTLs with Ds
transposons. Functional & Integrative Genomics 12:131-141.
12. Tan, H-Q., Singh J. (2011) High-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced (HE-TAIL) PCR for
amplification of Ds transposon insertion sites in barley Journal of Plant Molecular Biology
and Biotechnology 2: 9-14.
13. Singh J., Ngadi, M., Varier, A., Jabaji, S. (2011) Jerusalem artichoke: An emerging crop for
bioenergy and bioproducts in north america. The Americas Journal of Plant Science and
Biotechnology, 5: 78-89.
14. Sattler, S.E., Singh, J., Haas, E. J., Guo, L., Sarath, G., Pedersen, J. F. (2009) Two distinct
waxy alleles impact the granule-bound starch synthase in sorghum. Molecular Breeding 24:
349-359.
15. Randhawa, H.1, Singh, J.
1, Lemaux, P.G., Gill, K.S. (2009) Mapping barley Ds insertions
using wheat deletion lines reveals high insertion frequencies in gene-rich regions with high to
moderate recombination rates Genome, 52: 566–575 (1 Joint First Author).
16. Singh J., Freeling, M., Lisch D. (2008) A position effect on the heritability of epigenetic
silencing. PLoS Genetics 4: e1000216:1-17.
17. Wong, J., Lau, C., Cai, N., Singh, J., Pedersen, J., Vensel, W. H., Hurkman, W., Lemaux, P.,
Buchanan, B. (2009) The Interaction between starch and protein affect digestibility in sorghum
grain. Journal of Cereal Science 49: 73–82.
18. Zhang, S., Gu, Y., Singh, J., Coleman-Derr, D., Brar, D. S., Jiang N., Lemaux, P. G (2007)
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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New insights into Oryza genome evolution: High gene colinearity and differential
reterotransposon amplification. Plant Molecular Biology 64: 589-600.
19. Bregitzer, P., Cooper, L. D., Hayes, P. M. Lemaux, P. G., Singh, J., Sturbaum, A. (2007)
Viability and bar expression are negatively correlated in oregon wolfe barley dominant hybrids.
Plant Biotechnology Journal 5: 381-388.
20. Singh J., Zhang S., Chen, C., Cooper, L., Bregitzer, P., Sturbaum, A. K., Hayes, P. M., and
Lemaux, P. G. (2006) High-frequency Ds remobilization over multiple generations in barley
facilitates gene tagging in large genome cereals. Plant Molecular Biology 62: 937-950.
21. Zhang, S., Chen, C., Li, L., Meng, M., Singh, J., Jiang, N., Deng, X-H., He, Z-H., Lemaux, P.
G. (2005) Evolutionary expansion, gene structure, and expression of the rice (Oryza sativa L.)
wall-associated kinase (OsWAKs) gene family. Plant Physiology 139: 1107-1124.
22. Singh, J., Zhang, S., Lemaux, P. G., Bregitzer, P., Sturbaum, A. K., Edwards, V., Hayes, P. M.,
Cooper, L. D., Marquez-Cedillo, L., Carollo. V. (2005) Maize transposable elements and barley:
a new population for genetic research. Barley Genetics Newsletter 35:1-2.
23. Cooper, L. D1., Marquez-Cedillo
1, L., Singh J
1., Sturbaum, A. K., Zhang, S., Edwards, V.,
Johnson, K., Kleinhofs, A., Rangel, S., Carollo. V., Bregitzer, P., Lemaux, P. G., and Hayes, P.
M. (2004) Mapping Ds insertions in barley using a sequence-based approach. Molecular
Genetics & Genomics 272: 181-193 (1 Joint First Author).
24. Singh, J., Blundell, M., Tanner, G and Skerritt, J. (2001) Albumin and globulin proteins of wheat:
immunological and N-terminal sequence characterization. Journal of Cereal Science 34: 85-103.
25. Singh, J. and Skerritt, J. (2001) Chromosomal control of albumins and globulins in wheat grain
using different fractionation procedures. Journal of Cereal Science 33: 63-181.
26. Singh, J., Sharp, P., Skerritt, J. (2001) A new candidate protein for high lysine content in wheat.
Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture 8: 216-226.
27. Singh, J., Appels, R., Sharp, P., Skerritt, J. (2001) Albumin polymorphism and mapping of a
dimeric -amylase inhibitor on wheat chromosome 3B. Australian Journal of Agricultural
Research 52: 1173-1179.
28. Bains, N.S., Singh, J., Ravi and Gosal, S. S. (1995) Production of wheat haploids through embryo
rescue from wheat x maize crosses. Current Science 69 (7):621-623.
29. Singh J, Sidhu, P. S., Verma, M. M. and Gosal, S. S. (1993) Wide hybridization in pigeon pea
Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp. Crop Improvement 20 (1):27-31.
Peer Reviewed Publications –submitted
1. Brown R. H., Singh, J., Singh, S., Dahleen, L. S., Lemaux, P. G., Stein N., Mascher, M.,
Bregitzer, P. (2014) Behavior of a modified Dissociation element in barley: A novel tool for
genetic studies and for breeding transgenic barley. Molecular Breeding (Submitted)
2. Ahmad, S., Lamb-Palmer, N. D., Kaur S., Lefsrud, M., Singh, J. (2014) Genetic association
analysis of microsatellite markers with biological traits in diverse Pisum sativum accessions. J
Plant Research (Submitted).
3. Kaur, R., Syan, H. S., Jabaji, S., Pageau, D., Singh, J. (2014) Dynamics of soil fungal
population in herbicide resistant canola fields. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, (to be
Submitted)
Peer Reviewed Conference Papers
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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1. Singh, J., Singh, S., Tan H-Q., Singh, M., Kaur, R. (2012) Barley genomics with maize Ac/Ds
transposons. In Proceedings of the 12th
European Congress of Agronomy, Helsinki, Finland,
Aug. 24, 2012, p 248-249.
2. Tan H-Q, and Singh J. (2009). Transposon-mediated saturation mutagenesis to dissect malting
quality traits in barley. International Conference on Food Security and Environmental
Sustainability-FSES 2009, IIT Kharagpur, Dec. 17-19, pp 1-5.
3. Singh, J., Lam A, Blosse, P, Bregitzer P, Lemaux P. (2008) Transposon-mediated gene search:
finding a needle in a haystack. In Proceedings of the 11 International Wheat Genetics
Symposium (Edited by Rudi Appels, Russell Eastwood, Evans Lagudah, Peter Langridge,
Michael Mackay Lynne), Brisbane, Queensland, 24-29 August, 2008, p1-3.
4. Singh J. and John Skerritt (1999) Antibody development to non-gluten protein markers for
wheat chromosomes. In Proceedings of the 11th Australian Plant Breeding Conference (Eds.
Langridge, P. et al), Adelaide, South Australia19-23 April, 1999, vol 2 :167-169.
5. Singh J., Sharp P.J., Blundell M and Skerritt J.H (1998) Antibody probes to non-storage
proteins and mapping of wheat chromosomes. In Proceedings of the 48 Australian Cereal
Chemistry Conference (Eds. O’Brien, L et al), Cairns, 13-22 August 1998. :46-52.
6. Singh J., Dhindsa, G.S., Nanda, G. S. and Batta, R. K. (1996). Prospects of triticale as dual
purpose crop. In Triticale: Today and tomorrow (Eds. H. Guedes-Pinto et al):867-871.
7. Dhindsa, G. S. and Singh J (1996). Triticale cultivation for diversifying and stabilizing a
wheat dominated agro-eco system. In Triticale: Today and tomorrow (Eds. H. Guedes-Pinto et
al):731-735.
8. Singh J., Hill A.S., Sharp P.J and Skerritt J.H. (1996) Antibodies for salt and water soluble
wheat seed proteins as markers in genetic and quality studies. In Proceedings of the Eight
Assembly Wheat Breeding Society (Eds. Richards, R et al), Canberra, 29 September- 4
October 1996 :73-76.
9. Skerritt J.H., Hill A., Hac L., Partridge M., Sissons M., Beasley H., Sharp P. and Singh J.
(1996) Development and application of antibodies specific for endosperm proteins encoded by
defined loci-application in quality selection. In Proceedings of the Eighth Assembly Wheat
Breeding Society (Eds. Richards, R et al), Canberra, 29 September- 4 October 1996 :98-101.
Media interviews: 1. Radio interview on Farm Talk with Mick Kjar (KQLX-AM Ag News 890), Oct 14, 2013.
2. An interview with Barry Wilson, National Correspondent, The Western Producer,
Parliamentary Press Gallery, OTTAWA, ON. K1P 5A4, Oct 18, 2013.
3. An interview with Margaret Evans, Earthways Media Ltd., Lindell Beach, B.C, Oct 22, 2013.
4. An interview with Will Chabun, REPORTER the Leader-Post, 1964 Park Street, Regina, SK
S4P 3G4, Oct 11, 2013.
5. An interview with UK postgraduate student of Science Journalism, Richard Kemeny, City University, UK (questions through email), Oct 22, 2013.
6. Radio interview with Rishi Nagar (Red FM, Calgary), Oct 28, 2013.
7. An interview with Nicolas Heffernan, Associate Editor (Bio business Magazine), Jesmar
Communications Inc., 30 East Beaver Creek Road, Suite 202, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1J2,
Oct 29, 2013.
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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Media Releases:
1. McGill discovery should save wheat farmers millions
McGill News (http://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/mcgill-discovery-should-save-wheat-
farmers-millions-231037)
2050 magazine (http://www.2050publications.com/mcgill-university-discovery-should-save-
wheat-farmers-millions/)
ScienceNewsLine (http://www.sciencenewsline.com/summary/2013101002310007.html)
2. Wheat: Possible Solution Discovered For Costly Pre-Harvest Sprouting
AGFAX.com (http://agfax.com/2013/10/10/wheat-possible-solution-discovered-costly-pre-
harvest-sprouting/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wheat-possible-
solution-discovered-costly-pre-harvest-sprouting)
3. Researchers identify key to wheat sprouting
The Western Producer (http://www.producer.com/2013/11/researchers-identify-key-to-wheat-
sprouting/)
http://www.producer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/20131107.pdf
4. Epigenetic-related Genes Modulate Early Germination of Wheat, Study Finds
GenomeWeb (http://www.genomeweb.com/epigenetic-related-genes-modulate-early-
germination-wheat-study-finds)
5. Discovery should save wheat famers millions of dollars
Science daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131009201057.htm)
Manitoba cooperator (http://www.manitobacooperator.ca/2013/10/18/discovery-should-save-
wheat-farmers-millions-of-dollars/)
6. Epigenetic factors identify as key to preventing sprouting of wheat caused by rain and
high humidity.
Farm future (http://www.farmingfutures.org.uk/blog/epigenetic-factors-identified-key-
preventing-sprouting-wheat-caused-rain-and-high-humidity)
Isaaa (http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=11612)
Alberta wheat commission (http://www.albertawheat.com/cns_post/world-wheat-news-u-s-
wheat-settles-lower/)
7. Genetic ‘switch’ in wheat may halt pre-harvest sprouting
AGCanada.com (http://www.agcanada.com/daily/genetic-switch-in-wheat-may-halt-pre-
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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harvest-sprouting/)
Alberta wheat commission (http://www.albertawheat.com/cns_post/genetic-switch-in-wheat-
may-halt-pre-harvest-sprouting/)
8. Gene keeps wheat from sprouting on the stalk
Futurity (http://www.futurity.org/gene-keeps-wheat-sprouting-stalk/)
9. Good news for beer lovers and wheat farmers
Lab manager (http://www.labmanager.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37853/title/Good-News-
for-Beer-Lovers-and-Wheat-Farmers/)
MedWrencg (http://www.medwrench.com/?community.posts/threadNo/89722/subject/Good-
News-for-Beer-Lovers-and-Wheat-Farmers/)
10. McGill team finds sprout gene
Ontario Farmer
(http://www.ontariofarmer.com/sitepages/?aid=8308&cn=QUICKLINKS&an=McGill%20team
%20finds%20sprout%20gene)
Other Press Releases and News Stories
1. Lab highlight- Research in Dr. Jaswinder Singh’s laboratory. IAPB Canada Newsletter, issue
2, p 2-4 (2012).
http://www.performanceplants.com/sites/default/files/IAPB%20Canada%20December%202012
%20Newsletter-COMPRESSED.pdf
2. Meeting report on 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, Session-Commercialization
of Plant Biotechnology. IAPB Canada Newsletter, issue 1 p 7 (2012).
3. Enhancement of barley using genomics tools. In Barley Country (2010).
http://www.albertabarley.com/members/news/documents/BarleyCountry-Sept2011.pdf
4. McGill press release on the first time discovery of reversal of epigenetic silencing in plants
(2009). http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/plants-display-molecular-amnesia-
103077
5. Research discovery in the McGill Principal’s report (page 7)
http://www.mcgill.ca/files/principals-report-09/principals-report-09-en.pdf and Faculty News
(Online Bulletin- 2009-
http://www.mcgill.ca/macdonald/alumni/infocus/infocusarchives/200907/facultynews
6. Perspective on our epigenetic discovery which was also published in PLoS Genetics Finnegan
and Whitelaw, 2008. “Leaving the Past Behind”. Volume 4, Issue 10, e1000248, p 1-3.
7. Discovery news in Science Daily
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081202153529.htm) and TS-Si Headlines-
California (http://ts-si.org/genetics-&-genome/3638-the-reversal-of-epigenetic-silencing.html)
8. Special News in FAO Plant Breeding newsletter (http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/
services/pbn/pbn-197.htm#a136) and Chinese media (Biotech World, Bioon News, Taipei
media, http://canada.nsc.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=0980122005&ctNode=1707&lang=C )
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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9. Research discovery was highlighted at the MaizeGDB Editorial Board recommended readings
in 2008. (http://www.maizegdb.org/editorial_board08.php).
10. Research discovery was evaluated and highlighted by Faculty of 1000 Biology by world
famous experts as major advance in the field in April, 2009.Citation: Xing Wang Deng: Faculty
of 1000 Biology, 2 Apr 2009 (http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1157858/evaluation).
11. Interview with The McGill Tribune in FEATURES: Of plants and patents, January 7, 2009.
http://checkbiotech.org/node/23917
12. Interaction meeting with Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (Dec, 2009) to
promote McGill partnership was covered by Indian (The Tribune-
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091225/ldh1.htm#9; Indian Express-
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-brief/559081/; Ajit) and Indo-Canadian Media (Bharat
Sandesh, Punjabi Dunya -
http://bharatsandesh.com/bharat/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13154&Itemi
d=9).
13. Interview with McGill Reporter about my research program at McGill, October 23, 2008.
http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2008/10/new-faces-new-ideas/
Conference/Workshop abstracts and presentations (2008-2013) - Life time total (60): 1. Cardinal, M-J., Singh, J., (2014). Towards Introducing Ac/Ds Transposons into Hordeum
spontaneum to Capture Genetic Diversity. 9th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May
12 – 15, 2014; Montreal, QC, Canada (Oral).
2. Singh, S., Singh, J., (2014). Functional characterization of barley malting quality QTL. 9th
Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 12 – 15, 2014; Montreal, QC, Canada (Oral).
3. Tsai, C-K., Singh, J., (2014). Role of RNA-dependent DNA methylation on the regulation of
grain genes in barley. 9th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 12 – 15, 2014;
Montreal, QC, Canada (poster).
4. Nandha, C-K., Singh, J., (2014). Exploration of genetic diversity in wild and cultivated barley
using gSSR and EST-SSR markers. 9th
Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 12 –
15, 2014; Montreal, QC, Canada (poster).
5. Kaur, S., Majithia, H., Singh, J., (2014). Exploration of Cellulose Synthase (CESA) genes in
wheat for bio-energy traits. 9th
Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 12 – 15, 2014;
Montreal, QC, Canada (poster).
6. Cardinal, M-J., Singh, J., (2013). Establishment of a tissue culture system in primitive barley
accessions. American Society of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 2013. Providence, RI, July 20 –
24, 2013 (Poster).
7. Singh, S., Syan, H, Kaur, S., Singh, J., (2013). Functional characterization of barley malting
quality QTL. American Society of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 2013. Providence, RI, July 20 –
24, 2013 (Poster).
8. Kaur, R., Singh., S., Singh., J. (2012) Transposon Mutagenesis for Identification of Stress
Responsive Genes in Cereals. In 2012 National Fusarium Head Blight, December 4-6, Orlando,
Florida (Poster).
9. Singh, K., Kaur, R., Singh, J. (2012) Structural and Functional Analysis of a Stress Responsive
Gene from Barley. In 2012 National Fusarium Head Blight, December 4-6, Orlando, Florida
(Poster).
10. Singh, S., Singh, M., Singh, J. (2012) Utilizing the Maize Ac/Ds Transposons to Dissect
Malting Quality QTLs in Barley. In 54th
annual Maize Genetics meeting, Portland, Oregon,
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
9
USA, March 15-18 (Poster).
11. Singh, S., Tan, H-Q., Singh, M., Singh, J. (2012) Towards transposon-based dissection of
malting quality QTLs in barley. 7th
Barley Genetic Symposium, Calgary, Alberta, USA, July 9-
10 (Oral).
12. Lamb-Palmer, N. D., Singh, M., Dalton, J., Singh, J. (2012) Towards an AcTPase Expression
System. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012; University of
Guelph, ON, Canada (Oral presentation).
13. Singh, S., Singh, M., Kaur, R., Lamb-Palmer, N. D., Singh, J. (2012) Functional genomics of
Malting quality QTLs using Ac/Ds transposons in Barley. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology
Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012; University of Guelph, ON, Canada (Oral).
14. Kaur, R., Pageau, D., Jabaji, S., Singh, J. (2012) Assessing effects of GM canola on soil
microflora. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012; University of
Guelph, ON, Canada (Oral).
15. Singh, M., Singh, J. (2012) Role of ARGONAUTE4_9 genes during seed development in
small grain cereals. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012;
University of Guelph, ON, Canada.
16. Cardinal, M-J., Singh, M., Kaur, R., Singh, S., Singh, J. (2012) Characterization of Male
Sterility Mutant in Barley. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012;
University of Guelph, ON, Canada (Poster).
17. Nandha, P. S., Ahmad, S., Singh, S., Singh, M., Singh, J. (2012) Molecular Characterization of
wild barley germplasm. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012;
University of Guelph, ON, Canada (Poster).
18. Ahmad, S., Singh, M., Lamb-Palmer, N. D., Lefsrud, M. Singh, J. (2012) Analysis of genetic
variation in Pisum spp using diverse molecular markers. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology
Conference, May 14 – 17, 2012; University of Guelph, ON, Canada (Poster).
19. Syan, H. S., Prasher, S., Singh, J. (2012) Fate and Transport of Herbicides used in Growing
Transgenic Canola in Quebec. 8th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, May 14 – 17,
2012; University of Guelph, ON, Canada (Poster).
20. Nandha, P., Singh, S., Lamb-Palmer, N. D., Kaur, R., Singh, M., Singh, J. (2011) Developing a
transposon based genomic approach to explore stress responsive genes in wild barley. 2011
National FHB Forum Dec 4-6, St Louis USA (Poster).
21. Singh, S., Tan, H-Q., Singh, M., Singh, J. (2011) Invitro expression of Transposase promotes
reactivation of Ds transposons. Plant Canada. Nova Scotia, Halifax, July 17-21, 2011. (Oral).
22. Ahmad, S., Singh, M., Lefsrud, M., Singh, J. (2011) Assessment of genetic diversity in Pisum
sativum through transposon and microsatellite markers. Plant Canada. Nova Scotia, Halifax,
July 17-21, 2011 (Poster).
23. Singh, M., Singh. J (2011) Exploring genetic and epigenetic basis of seed dormancy in cereals.
12th
International symposium on Pre-Harvest Sprouting in Cereals in Red Deer, Alberta, July
24-27, 2011 (Oral).
24. Singh, M., Grimanelli, D., Singh, J. (2011) Reproduction Specific Argonaute Genes In Maize
and Barley And Their Role In Transposon Silencing. 53rd
Annual Maize Genetics Conference,
St Charles, Illinois, USA, March 17-20, 2011 (Poster).
25. Tan, H-Q., Singh, S., and Singh, J. (2010). Saturating Barley Malting Quality QTLs with Ac/Ds
Transposons. American Society of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 2010. Montreal, Canada July
31st – August 4
th 2010 (Poster).
26. Singh, S., Singh, M., Tan, H-Q., Singh J. (2010) Transposons Based Saturation Mutagenesis to
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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Explore FHB Resistance in Barley. 2010 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum, Dec 7-10,
Milwaukee, USA (Poster).
27. Qasim, K., Tan, H-Qi., Singh, S., Ashfaq, M., Singh, M., Singh, J. (2010). In-Vitro Activation
of Ds Transposons in Barley. American Society of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 2010.
Montreal, Canada July 31st – August 4
th 2010 (Poster).
28. Tan, H-Q., Singh, S., and Singh, J., (2010). Dissecting Malting Quality QTLs Using
Transposons. 6th
Canadian Barley Symposium. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, July 25th
-28th
2010.
29. Tan, H-Q., Singh, S., and Singh, J., (2010). Saturating Barley Malting Quality QTLs with
Ac/Ds Transposons. American Society of Plant Biology. Plant Biology 2010. Montreal, Canada
July 31st – August 4
th 2010 (Poster).
30. Singh S, Tan H-Q, and Singh J. (2009). Efforts toward Dissecting 2H- FHB QTL with
Transposons in Barley. In Proceedings of the 2009 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum,
Orlando, Florida, December 5-10, Poster #90, p199 (Poster).
31. Tan H-Q., Singh J. (2009) Dissecting Malting Quality QTL in Barley by Transposon
Mutagenesis. American Society of Plant Biologist conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. July 18th
-
23rd
, 2009, P54002, page 357 (Poster).
32. Tan, H-Q., Muller-Greven, G., Singh, J. (2009). Dissecting QTLs with Ac/Ds Transposons.
Canadian Society of Plant Physiologist in British Columbia, Canada June 15th
– 18th
, 2009. T36,
page 28 (Poster).
33. Chapleau, M., Joseph Pilai, D., Tan, H-Q., and Singh, J. (2009) Using Ac/Ds Transposons to
determine gene function in barley. 3rd
annual undergraduate student research award poster
presentations, FAES, McGill University, September 9, 2009 (Poster).
34. Lemaux, PG., Singh, J., Zhang, S., Bregitzer, P/. Hayes, PM., Carollo, V. (2008) Transposon-
Mediated Functional Genomics in Barley. The 2008 SSSA-ASA-CSSA Joint Annual Meeting
(5-9 Oct. 2008), Houston, Texas: Invited NSF Abstract, 699-41 (Poster).
35. Singh, J. (2008) Designing of bio-energy plants needs an integrated approach. China-Canada-
California (CCC) FORUM on Energy and the Environment: Climate Change, Agriculture,
Biorefineries/Biofuels, November 1-3, 2008 Huishan Exhibition Center, Wuxi, CHINA,
Abstract, p18.
36. Tan, H-Q., Kaur, R., Lemaux, P.G., and Singh, J. (2008) Development of Functional Genomic
Resource in Sorghum. 2nd
annual Montreal Plant Meeting, St Anne-de Bellevue, Canada,
November 15, 2008. Abstract (Poster).
INVITED TALKS 1. Toward dissection of malting quality QTLs, Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute
triennial barley meeting, Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 6, 2013.
2. Transposon tools for gene discovery in barley, Focused group discussion, Gene Discovery &
Engineering Resistance, National Fusarium Head Blight Forum, Orlando, Florida, Dec. 5, 2012.
3. Barley genomics with maize Ac/Ds transposons, 12th
European Congress of Agronomy,
Helsinki, Finland, Aug. 24, 2012.
4. Barley genomics with Ac/Ds transposons University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Aug. 13, 2012.
5. Gene tagging in large genome cereals through Ac/Ds transposons, Plant and Animal Genomics
XX Conference, San Diego CA, USA, Jan. 14-18, 2012.
6. Development of high oil canola varieties/genotypes packaged with superior traits and suitable
for cultivation in eastern Canada, ECODA Canola Group Research and Planning Workshop,
Dorval, Canada, Dec. 14, 2011.
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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7. Transposon mutagenesis: a powerful tool for gene identification, Journées du Centre SÈVE,
Saint-Paulin, Canada, Sep. 29, 2011.
8. Transposons are still moving, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, Jun. 15, 2011.
9. Transposon mutagenesis and gene discovery in cereals, University Laval, Quebec City, Canada,
Nov. 25, 2010.
10. Genomics and biotechnology in agriculture: scientist’s perspective Robert Vogel Lecture
Series, McGill Society of Montreal, Nov. 9, 2010.
11. Transposon-based functional genomics in large-genome cereals Nova Scotia Agricultural
College, Truro, Canada, Oct. 23, 2010.
12. Transposons-mediated gene search in barley, 6th
Canadian Barley Symposium. Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan Canada, Jul. 28, 2010.
13. Genome tour with transposons, 4 o’ Clock Forum, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental
Sciences, Macdonald Campus, McGill University Canada, Apr. 22, 2010.
14. Enhancement of barley using genomic tools, 2010 Non-traditional Barley Breeding Research &
Commercialization Conference, Banff, Canada, Apr. 15, 2010.
15. Barley genome tour with transposons, Plant Science Department, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, Canada, Feb. 23, 2010.
16. Transposon-mediated functional genomics in cereals, International Conference on Recent
Developments, Future Prospects and Entrepreneurial Trends in Biotechnology, Alwar,
Rajasthan, India, 19-21 Dec. 2009.
17. Genes in your meal and beyond, Mac Sneak Peek, FAES, McGill University, Canada, Nov. 9,
2009.
18. Genes in your breakfast and beyond, Soup and Science, Faculty of Science, McGill University,
Montreal, Canada, Sept. 17, 2009.
19. Dissecting QTLs with Ac/Ds Transposons, Canadian Society of Plant Physiologist in British
Columbia, Canada Jun. 18, 2009.
20. Ac/Ds transposon-mediated genomic tour in cereals AAFC, Ottawa, Canada, Nov. 7, 2008.
21. Designing of bio-energy plants needs an integrated approach, CCC Forum on Energy and
Environment, Wuxi, China, Nov. 1, 2008.
22. Enhancing value of cereals through conventional and modern approaches, DNA LandMarks, St-
Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, Aug. 14, 2008.
23. Appropriate plants for bio-fuel: a new agenda for geneticists and plant breeders, Second
generation biofuels, feedstocks and US-Canada collaborations, McNIBB, McGill University,
Jul. 9, 2008.
24. Transposon-mediated genomic tour in cereals Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, Dec.
13, 2007.
25. Enhancing value of crop plants through proteomics and genomics, Mendel Biotechnology
Hayward, California, Sept. 17, 2007.
26. Research advances in crop improvement, State University of New York. Cobleskill, NY, Apr. 9,
2007.
27. Enhancing value of cereals through genomics and genetic engineering. Washington State University,
Pullman, WA, USA, Feb. 7 2007.
28. Targeting genes and their function in the "Genome Haystack": transposon-based saturation
mutagenesis, Plant and Animal Genomics XIV Conference, San Diego CA, USA, Jan. 14-18,
2006.
29. Ac/Ds Transposon Tools for barley functional genomics, Plant and Animal Genomics XIII
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
12
Conference, San Diego CA, USA, Jan. 15-19, 2005.
30. Ac/Ds transposon-mediated gene discovery in barley, World Congress on In Vitro Biology, San
Francisco, CA, USA, May 22-26, 2004.
31. Building a transposon tagging resource in barley, USDA/NSF/IGROW, Workshop on Wheat
Genome Sequencing Washington DC, USA, 9-11 Nov., 2003.
32. Proteomics and bioinformatics tools for gene identification in cereals, Bioinformatics Tools for
Plant Genomics Course, USDA Albany, CA, USA, 13-17 Oct. 2003.
33. Proteomics tools for gene identification in cereals, Bioinformatics Tools for Plant Genomics
Course, USDA Albany, CA, USA, 21-25 Apr. 2003.
34. Transposon-mediated functional genomics in barley, Wheat Functional Genomics Workshop,
ICAR- Rothamsted, UK, 9-10 Sept. 2002.
TEACHING
McGill University
Major courses
2010 - Current Organism 1 (AEBI 210-3 credits)
2010 - Current Plant Breeding (PLNT 435-3 credits)
Other courses
2011 Advance Plant Breeding (PLNT 670 -Special topics-3 credits)
2009 Plant Breeding (PLNT 535-3 credits)
2009 Experiments in Biotechnology (AEBI 306-3 credits)
2009 World Crop Survey (AGRI 480-1 credits)
Research project based courses
2011 Plant Science project courses (PLNT 489/490- 3 credits)
2011 Research Project (AGRI 490- 3 credits)
2011 Research Project (BTEC-622-625-16 credits for completion of
MSc Biotechnology-applied)
2010 Independent Research (BIOC 491-6 credits- Co-supervision with Dr Jason
Yong)
UC Berkeley
2006-2007 Modern Applications of Plant Biotechnology (PMB 170-3 credits)
Guest lectures
2010- Global Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture (AGRI-411-3 credits)-
McGill
2009, 2012: Evolution and Society (Biology 436-3 credits) -McGill
2008: Advanced Micro-propagation (PLNT 525-3 credits) -McGill
2003 – 2007: Introduction to Food Science (NS106-3 credits) -UC Berkeley
2003 – 2004: Modern Applications of Plant Biotechnology (PMB 170-3 credits) -UC Berkeley
2004: Introduction to the Methods of Environmental Science (ESPM 100-3 credits) -
UC Berkeley
2003: The Evolution of Crops: You Are What You Eat (PMB 24-3 credits) -UC
Berkeley
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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Graduate Students
Current Graduate Students (6)
Surinder Singh (Ph.D.- Jan 2011)
Chi-Kang (Bruce) Tsai (Ph.D.- May 2013)
Simerjeet Kaur (Ph.D.-May 2013)
Prabhjot Nandha (M.Sc.- Sept. 2011)
Marie-Josee Cardinal (M.Sc.- May 2012)
Daishu Yi (M.Sc.-Sept. 2013)
Student Graduated (3)
Han Qi-Tan (M.Sc.- 2008-2010)
Sajjad Ahmed (M.Sc.-2010-2012)
Harvinder Syan (M.Sc.-2010-2012, co-supervision with Dr. Prasher)
Student trainees and Interns Graduated (4)
N. D. Lamb-Palmer (M.Sc.-2010-2011- Biotechnology intern, Institute of Parasitology)
Muhammad Ashfaq (Six month Ph.D. trainee-2011)
Muhammad Ali (Six month Ph.D. trainee – Apr. 2013)
Sahabat Noor (Six month Ph.D. trainee – June 2013)
Undergraduate Research Students (11)
Deshanthe Joseph-pillai
Mélanie Chapleau
Gaelle Muller-Greven
Karim Qasim
Xin Hao (2010- Chinese Exchange program)
Xin Bao (2010- Chinese Exchange program)
Chen Li
Naveen Dangi
Marie-Josee Cardinal
Shujun Xiao (2012- Chinese Exchange program)
Taranvir Bhati
Research Associates/PDFs (5) Dr. Manjit Singh (May 2010-Dec 2012)
Dr. Ravneet Kaur (June 2011-February 2013)
Dr Kashmir Singh (Visiting Scientist- May 2012-Jan 2013)
Dr Anuradha Varier and Dr Anoop Sindhu (short terms- less than 6 months)
Academic Advising (36)
2010-current: Plant Production -Specialization
2010 (8 students), 2011(14 students), 2012 (12 students)
2010-current: Plant Production- minor (2 students)
Professional Development
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
14
Attended STLHE 2012 (Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education)
Conference, June 19, 2012 to promote the quality of learning.
Workshop on Teaching for Understanding in Science: Designing learner-centered
instruction, May 11, 2011, McGill University.
Introduction to Course Design and Teaching Workshop, May 6 and May 10, 2011, McGill
University.
Attended a course, GPS 323 - An open discussion on Supervising Graduate Students, March
17, 2010.
MITI (Macdonald Innovations for Teaching Improvement) teaching workshop on
Multiculturalism & Teaching/Learning Practices on May 5, 2009.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Administrative activities (McGill)
Founder and Chair of 4 O’ Clock Forum, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental
Sciences (Since 2009)
Coordinator/Advisor-Plant Production Specialization (Since 2010)
Advisor Plant Production minor (Since 2010)
Member of Development of Teaching Excellence Committee (Since 2013)
Member of Macdonald Campus Environmental Committee (2009-2012)
Member of Macdonald Campus Library Committee (Since 2010)
Member of FAES International Development Committee (Since 2012)
Member of Plant Science Graduate Program Committee (Since 2009)
Member of Plant Science Greenhouse Committee (2011)
Member Plant Geneticist Search Committee (2009)
Participated in the Dean’s panel to upgrade International Agriculture major and food
security discussions (2011)
Member of Plant Science sub-committee for Assistant Professor - Horticulture (2011)
Represented Department of Plant Science at McGill Open house (2009)
Coordinated McGill Open house for the Plant Science department (2010, 2011)
Represented Department of Plant Science for its involvement in GCAP AgriScience cluster
at CEROM research center, September 28, 2009
Organized Greenhouse Tour for MAC Mentoring, January 22, 2010
Assisted to organize Dr. Khush’s lecture (Dr Khush is a world renowned Rice Breeder and
recipient of World Food Prize)
Graduate Student Evaluation
Ph.D. supervisory Committees (6)
M.Sc. supervisory Committees (3)
Pro-Dean Ph.D. Thesis defense (3)
Ph.D. Thesis defense (9)
Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination Committee (13)
Ph.D. / M.Sc. thesis evaluation external examiner (McGill-7)
Ph.D. / M.Sc. thesis evaluation external examiner (Non-McGill-6)
National Committees (5)
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
15
Executive committee member, International Association of Plant Biotechnology-Canada
Section (Since 2013)
Elected as the Eastern Director of Canadian Society of Agronomy (2010-12)
Elected associate member of Prairie Grain Development Committee (Since 2010)
Poster judge for Canadian Society of Plant Physiology annual meeting (2009)
Organizing committee, 2nd
Plant Montreal Meeting (2008)
International Committees (3):
Member International Committee, American Society of Plant Biologists (2012-2015)
Member scientific committee of 12th
Congress of the European Society for Agronomy to be
held at Helsinki, Finland, 20-24 August 2012
Member for organizing International Conference on Recent Developments, Future Prospects
and Entrepreneurial Trends in Biotechnology, Alwar, India (2009)
Conference/Session Chair (6)
Co-Chair, 9th
Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference (2014)
Session Chair 12th
Congress of the European Society for Agronomy to be held at Helsinki,
Finland, 23 August 2012
Session co-chair, “Commercialization of Plant Biotechnology” 8th Canadian Plant
Biotechnology Conference, May 17 2012, Guelph, Ontario
Chaired two sessions at the International Conference on Recent Developments, Future
Prospects and Entrepreneurial Trends in Biotechnology, 20 and 21 December, 2009
Session Chair- 2nd
Annual Montreal Plant Meeting, November 15, 2008, St Anne-de
Bellevue, Canada
Invited Panel Grant Reviews (3) 2011: Participated in AAFC peer review panel deliberation (Total 49 grant proposal-
reviewed 8 proposals as one of the main readers)
2012: Participated in AAFC peer review panel deliberation (Total 20 grant proposal-
reviewed 6 proposals as one of the main readers)
2013: Participated in AAFC peer review panel deliberation (Total 35 grant proposal -
reviewed 6 proposals as one of the main readers)
Grant Reviews (10)
2008 United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research & Development Fund (1)
2008 Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman, Muscat (1)
2008 AAFC research proposal (1)
2009 NSERC strategic grant (1)
2009 MITACS internship proposals (2)
2009 Pulse Research under the Agri-Science Cluster Program (1)
2011 NSERC- Discovery grant (1)
2012 NSERC-CRD (1)
2012 Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund Ltd. (I )
Journal Article Reviews: (44)
2009: Molecular Breeding (1), Biotechnology Journal (1)
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
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2011: Nucleic Acid Research (2), Functional & Integrative genomics (1), Crop Science (2),
Canadian Journal of Plant Science (1), Genome (1), HortSci (1)
2012: Functional & Integrative Genomics (1), Annals of Applied Biology (1), Recent Patents
on DNA & Gene Sequences (1), Journal of Plant Physiology & Pathology (1)
2012: Conference papers for European Society of Agronomy (30 conference manuscripts)
Editorial Boards
As associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 35 manuscripts edited.
2010-11 (2); 2011-12 (15); 2012-13 (18)
As associate editor of the Journal of Plant Physiology and Pathology, manuscript edited,
2013 (1)
Member of editorial board for 3 journals:
-Journal of Plant Physiology and Pathology
-Journal of Plant Genetics and Transgenics
-Model Assisted Statistics and Applications- An International Journal.
Network Membership
BioFuelNet Canada, 2012-current
Center Seve 2010- current
Membership in Professional Societies:
The American Society of Plant Biologists (Since 2002)
The Crop Science Society of America (Since 2006)
The Canadian Society of Agronomy (Since 2009)
The Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists (Since 2008)
The European Society of Agronomy (Since 2012)
The International Association for Plant Biotechnology – Canada Section (Since 2011)
National Association of Plant Breeders (Since 2010)
Switchgrass Genetics Community (Since 2011)
Other Contributions
Interview with McGill Reporter about my research program at McGill, Oct23, 2008
Provided viewpoint for The McGill Tribune in FEATURES: Of plants and patents, Jan 7,
2009
Participated in the discussions by the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles for
promotion of Canada-California partnership on biofuel, Mar 2, 2009
Interaction meeting with Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University to promote
McGill partnership for enhancement of crops in climate change scenario, Dec 24, 2009
Recruitment presentation at IET Biotechnology Institute, Alwar, Rajasthan, India, Dec 20,
2009
Attended NSERC Strategic Workshops Canadian Biofuels Challenge 2020, Oct 15th-16th
2010, Montreal, Canada
Consultation meeting with Dr. Christina Holmes, Laboratoire d’anthropologie des
institutions et organisations sociales (LAIOS), EHESS (graduate school)-CNRS (Centre
nationale de recherche scientifique), Paris. Topic: How conventional plant breeding and
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Dr. Jaswinder Singh CV
17
biotechnology methods are integrating (2011)
Participated in the field day at La Coop fédérée, Saint-Hyacinthe (Québec)
Consultation meeting with Eastern Canada Scientists working on spring cereals, CEROM
research center, Sept 29, 2009
Participated in Environmental Biology program revision meetings (Organized by Prof.
Buddle), Dec10, 2012 and July 31, 2013
Served as an official host for McGill honorary degree recipient, Dr Gurdev S. Khush, June
2, 2014.