Veena Sivaramakrishnan first heard about Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) back at her hometown in India. “Some friends of my sister are graduate students at NSAC (Prasanth and Usha Rayorath). Their experiences peaked my interest so I started seriously considering NSAC’s graduate studies program, particularly a Molecular Biology focus.”

Veena’s M.Sc. research program involves investigating the role of ascorbate in postharvest quality in spinach and potato.

“Ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient for humans; we commonly know it as Vitamin C. In addition to its nutritional benefits, research has shown that ascorbate may have properties beneficial to the post-harvest shelf life of vegetables. I’m trying to determine whether increasing the ascorbate levels in vegetables will increase their shelf life.”

Although Veena is still in the early stages of research, progress to date is going well. “Right now, I am working on cloning the gene responsible for improving the postharvest quality of spinach and potato. The gene has been confirmed in the vector, so my next step will be to transform it to the spinach and potato plants.”

Veena’s research could potentially have major implications for agriculture producers and food-related industries. “Post harvest shelf life is an important problem which can lead to crop loss; for example, spinach only has about a 1-week shelf life after harvest.”

Quantity and quality after production are important aspects for both researchers and producers to consider, says Veena. “One of the benefits of investigating ascorbate is that is not only has the potential to increase the shelf life, but may also increase the nutritional quality of the vegetable.”

Veena’s supervisor is Dr. Gefu Wang-Pruski and co-supervisor is Dr. Mark Hodges from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. This research is part of Dr. Wang-Pruski’s NSERC Discovery Grant, and Veena received an International Fee Waiver, which an award given to non-Canadian students admitted to the M.Sc. program, based on academic merit and financial need.

Prior to coming to NSAC, Veena was an Senior Research Associate with Avesthagenegraine Pvt Ltd., a Biotechnology Company in Bangalore, India where she won “Best performance Award” in 2005.

Studying abroad was always something that interested Veena, especially to learn the latest technologies in the field of Biotechnology. Originally from a small town in the southernmost state of India, Kerala, popularly known as “God’s own country,” Veena completed her undergraduate degree in Microbiology from S.J.R.C. College, followed by a graduate course in Biotechnology from Jain College, Bangalore, India.

After she finishes her M.Sc., Veena hopes to further her studies in the field of Molecular Biology, which may involve a Ph.D. She has some sound advice for others considering graduate research: “There are only three keys to success – Hardwork, Hardwork and Hardwork.”