As the president of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists/ Société Canadienne de Biologie Vegetale I am pleased to welcome you to our website. Plant science research in Canada and internationally is playing a central and fundamental role in addressing a host of daunting challenges that currently face humanity and our planet. In particular, we need to apply knowledge gained from basic research in plant physiology, plant molecular biology and genomics, plant biochemistry, and plant development to address the pressing problems of world hunger, climate change, renewable energy, and sustainability and environmental protection. Our ultimate goal as plant scientists is to continue to make fundamental discoveries that will eventually lead to the creation of higher yielding, more nutritious crop varieties resistant to pests and diseases, and that can effectively to acclimate to abiotic stresses imposed by low soil fertility, drought, salinity, temperature extremes, and other consequences of erratic weather due to climate change.
The CSPB/SCBV has strong ties with related national and international organizations. Through Plant Canada we network with several other Canadian societies that share a common interest in the plant sciences, and that recently gathered for the successful Plant Canada 2012 conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2009 the CSPB/SCBV joined The Global Plant Council (GPC), an international consortium of 13 plant biology societies from 6 different continents. The GPC brings plant scientists together to work synergistically toward solving common problems facing humankind and that speaks with a strong voice to inform the global debate on key issues such as hunger and malnutrition, bioenergy, climate change, sustainability, and environmental protection. CSPB/SCBV also meets regularly with the American Society of Plant Biologists and will be joining them in 2014 for the next joint annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.
It is imperative that the Canadian plant biology community continues to grow and
prosper in academic, government, and private sectors, and that young scientists are attracted to and have the
opportunity to engage in state-of-the-art plant science research and education within Canada. The recent CSPP/SCPV
to CSPB/SCBV name change will hopefully help to encourage all Canadian graduate students and younger scientists
conducting basic plant science research to join and participate in our society - irrespective of the tools or
approaches that are being used. Annual and regional CSPB/SCBV meetings are excellent venues for students,
postdoctoral fellows and professional scientists to communicate and obtain feedback about their research results,
make important career connections, and to establish collaborations. The quality of the research reported in poster and oral presentations has been consistently outstanding.
The work of CSPB/SCBV is carried out by a large group of volunteers. I am very grateful for the willingness of the members of our executive and the various committees that help to make this a vital and vibrant society.
Best wishes to all for continued plant science research and education success!
