August 8, 2025
Big career award from IPGSA for small molecule studies by Prof Shelley Lumba
Professor Shelley Lumba has earned the OlChemIm Award from the International Plant Growth Substances Association (IPGSA) for “outstanding contributions to plant signaling research on strigolactone and seed germination”.This award is infrequently granted and was only revealed at the IPGSA banquet…
July 10, 2025
Sold Out Crowd Learns Secrets of Plants and Fungi from Prof Lumba
As a headlining event for our Department at Alumni Reunion 2025, Professor Shelley Lumba gave a Stress-Free Degree lecture on the "Secret Language between Plants and Fungi" that drew a diverse sell-out crowd of all ages. Lumba started with the engaging idea of the wood wide web, a connected network…
December 18, 2024
Graduate student excellence earns impressive awards
Graduate students in the Department of Cell & Systems Biology cover a broad range of fields, including plant science, neuroscience, cell biology, infectious disease research, endocrinology and systems biology. The discoveries these students are making and their contributions to the Department…
October 18, 2024
Lumba lab eavesdrops on the secret language of soil molecules
There is a silent conversation going on under your feet; plant roots are communicating with soil fungi through a language of small molecules. Until now, the complex genetics of these fungi made it difficult to study how they perceive small molecules directly. The Lumba lab and the McCourt lab at…
May 7, 2024
Excellence and excitement at CSB Research Day 2024
The wide variety of cutting-edge science in the Department of Cell & Systems Biology was on full display in the distinguished halls of Hart House at CSB Research Day on May 3, 2024. Grad students from all three campuses shared their findings with faculty, staff and fellow students at talks and…
April 30, 2024
Life sciences students honour CSB Teaching Assistants with Teaching Excellence Award
Congratulations to this year’s TA Teaching Excellence Award winners, Ruby He, Mary-Elizabeth Raymond, Andrea-Aditi Taylor and Kathryn McTavish! Students taking classes in Molecular and Cell Biology (BIO130), Techniques in Molecular & Cell Biology (CSB330) and Methods in Genomics and Proteomics…
March 7, 2024
Blocking the signal: Dr Sylvia Mutinda earns Provost Post-doctoral Award to understand how parasitic plants eavesdrop on crops
Dr Sylvia Mutinda is a scientist from Kenya who works on a parasitic plant, Striga hermonthica, that infests crops in Africa. She will be coming to work on Striga in the Lumba lab in Toronto with the aid of a Provost Post-doctoral Fellowship from the University of Toronto. Prof Shelley Lumba in…
July 20, 2023
Setbacks are an opportunity to be seized for Nyman scholarship awardee Dylan Bradizza
Dylan Bradizza’s ability to reflect, learn and share has earned him selection for the Leslie Paul Nyman Scholarship. He felt exhilaration and pride when he was informed of this honour, recognizing the importance of this award and gaining affirmation for his dedication to studying plant science. In…
June 2, 2023
End of the tunnel for crop loss due to parasitic plants
Parasitic plants devastate entire fields of crops every year, resulting in billions of dollars of food lost. As food prices rise, protecting crops from parasitic plants is crucial to keeping meals affordable. Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered a path to rescuing crops by…
May 18, 2023
CSB Researchers earn multiple NSERC awards
Congratulations to Professors in CSB who earned NSERC Discovery and NSERC-RTI grants! NSERC Discovery Grants The Discovery Grant program supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals. These grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances.…
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