2025 SPEAKERS

	Tom Rosser Assistant Deputy Minister, Market and Industry Services, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Tom has been part of the senior management team at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada since 2017 and became Assistant Deputy Minister of the Market and Industry Services Branch in 2021. His responsibilities include trade negotiations, agriculture and agri-food sectoral competitiveness, emergency management and departmental regional offices. Previously, Tom had served as the department’s Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy. Before joining AAFC, Tom held senior positions at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Natural Resources Canada. Earlier in his career, Tom held a number of positions in both the public and private sectors related to economic and public policy analysis in natural resource sectors. This included assignments at NRCan, Industry Canada and the Forest Products Association of Canada. A British Chevening Scholar, Tom holds a Master of Science in Environmental and Resource Economics from the University of London as well as Masters and Bachelor’s degrees in Public Administration from Carleton University in Ottawa.
	Dr. Humberto Boncristiani, Inside The Hive Media & Consulting Inc. Humberto Boncristiani is a second-generation beekeeper and honey bee researcher, Dr. Boncristiani has accumulated extensive experience working in several prestigious research institutions, including the USDA, University of North Carolina in Greensboro, University of Maryland, and the University of Florida. He specializes in honey bee health research with an emphasis on honey bee virology. Through Inside The Hive Media & Consulting Inc., Dr. Boncristiani assists companies entering the beekeeping industry with new products and helps beekeepers optimize their operations across the United States. In his spare time, he hosts the YouTube Channel [Inside The Hive TV](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy_oMgMW7ImhNNp4T7N3atQ), where he educates people about the importance of honey bees, research, and also has fun with his students at [Inside The Hive TV - Academy](https://www.insidethehive.tv/academy), where he teaches honey bee sciences and creates exclusive content for those supporting his YouTube channel. When he is not working on bee-related subjects, Dr. Boncristiani enjoys exercising, traveling, going for long hikes, biking, and cooking. He is also busy chasing his two daughters and helping them reach their life goals.
	Dr. Stephen Pernal, Officer-in-Charge, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Dr. Pernal received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Manitoba and was a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Fraser University. Since 2001, he has been employed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as a Research Scientist in Beaverlodge, Alberta where he leads Canada’s federal apiculture research program and also serves as Officer-in-Charge. His work has been diverse, and has included the detection, control and management strategies for AFB, chalkbrood, Nosema ceranae, as well as emerging parasites of honey bees. Steve has also been an integral member of three successive Genome Canada projects evaluating markers for resistance to bee diseases and Varroa destructor. He formerly served as President of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists and is a contributing member to international bodies related to honey bee health. In 2017, he was awarded AAFC’s Gold Harvest award for Innovation, Collaboration and Service Excellence. In 2019, he served as the Scientific Program Chair for Apimondia 2019 in Montreal, Canada.
	Dr. Courtney MacInnis, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Lethbridge Dr. Courtney MacInnis is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lethbridge where she studies the effects of Lotmaria passim on various aspects of honey bee health. Courtney received her MSc and PhD degrees in Ecology at the University of Alberta in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the supervision of Dr. Steve Pernal. As a PhD student she investigated the effects of Nosema ceranae and L. passim on honey bee behaviour and physiology. In her spare time Courtney enjoys cross-country skiing, curling, ice fishing (lots of winter activities!), gardening, and winning games of cribbage.
	Fairo Dzekashu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Lethbridge I am Fairo Dzekashu from Cameroon. I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada working on the effects of heat and drought on canola – pollinator interactions and crop yield. I hold a PhD in Entomology from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. My PhD research was in collaboration with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya where a huge part of my work was conducted under the African Regional Postgraduate Programme in Insect Science (ARPPIS). I also hold an MSc and a BSc in Zoology and Animal Physiology (Specialty Entomology) from the University of Buea, Cameroon.
	Dr. Rassol Bahreini, Research Associate, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta I have been a honey bee researcher for over 30 years . I have received my MSc and PhD in Entomology from the University of Ahvaz (Iran, 1993) and the University of Manitoba (Canada, 2015), respectively. In my previous positions, as Apiculture Research Scientist in the Animal Science Research Institute-Iran, and Alberta Agricultural and Forestry-Canada, I carried out many studies of honey bee biology, control of parasites and pathogens, integrated pest management, and studies of Varroacides. In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate students, my extension activities encouraged beekeepers to adopt new and improved methods of honey bee IPM to manage pests and diseases, using a variety of methods. My recent projects were focused on new miticides and antibiotics to assist producers in solving challenges related to honey bee parasites and diseases. At the University of Alberta, I will continue my research on the development of new miticides and antibiotics for control Varroa mites and Nosema disease.
	Patricia Wolf Veiga, Manager, National Bee Diagnostic Centre
	Nico Coallier, CTO of Nectar Technologies Nico Coallier is the CTO of Nectar Technologies, Co-Founder of Cubee and the co-owner of a small commercial beekeeping operation focused on mead production and data collection for scientific innovation, Miellerie Flavo. He's a biologist with a deep expertise in Ecology and statistics. After working for a couple years as an entomologist in the context of conservation and starting a mushroom farm, he started beekeeping 9 years ago while working as a Data Scientist solving over 200 different business problems and working for big tech when he really learned the state of the art of AI. He's been leveraging his biology, mycology, entomology, programming, mathematics and AI knowledge to improve different topics in biology over the last 11 years. WIth a strong expertise in bioacoustics and many scientific publications on honeybee bioacoustics, he now switched his focuses on building robust science with a large dataset on the impact of beekeeping practices on honeybee health and performance as well as better understanding the impact of the landscape and climate change on honeybees. He's pushing the limit of the biology of beekeeping by leveraging state of the art deep learning models and Nectar big data on commercial colonies. When he's not coding or beekeeping, he's playing with his dogs, doing outdoor activities or gardening!
	Wilmer Perera Laboratory Manager at CAMAG Scientific Inc. Wilmer Perera received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Havana, Cuba. He also completed his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Liege, Belgium and he has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals. He is currently the laboratory director at CAMAG Scientific, Inc (CSI), and oversees HPTLC analyses, projects at CSI, and trains customers in the United States of America and Canada. Dr. Perera is the Secretary General of the North America Chapter of the HPTLC Association and was an expert advisor in the Botanical and Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicine and Non-Botanical Dietary Supplements committees at USP in the last cycle. He is also an expert advisor at Pan American Panel.
	Dr. Ray Bergstra Organic Chemist with a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta. Ray has been an independent consultant since 2003, working in market research and business development, specializing in supporting new initiatives in the agriculture-based bioeconomy. Prior to this, Ray gained 13 years of industry experience, in product research and development, marketing and sales for large global lubricants companies. Over the last 6 years, Ray has worked on several projects in support of ABC, most recently relating to honey authenticity and analysis, honey quality, and the colony health monitoring program.
	Kouadio Gerard Bedie, PhD Research Associate, Northwestern Polytechnic Originally from Cote d’Ivoire with a background in Biochemistry, Dr. Bedie completed his PhD and BSc degrees in Food Science and Technology at Laval University, Quebec, Canada. He received his MSc degree in Animal Sciences (meat safety) at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA. He holds Postdoctoral Fellowships at the University of Victoria in groundwater analysis and at the University of Alberta in the detection of heat resistance in E. coli strain collected from the meat industry in Alberta. Dr. Bedie has developed expertise in Food Science, food microbiology, molecular biology, and food safety. Working at the National Bee Diagnostic Centre, NWP, since 2020, he applied his expertise in several projects to control the many diseases affecting the beekeeping industry in Alberta in partnership with the private industry. Through his own consulting business, Qualisaf, Dr. Bedie developed food safety training modules and certificates approved by the Government of Alberta. Recently, he has been working on projects involving the detection of adulteration, acaricides and herbicides residues in honey by HPTLC and LC-MS. Additionally, he is the Biosafety officer at the NBDC and has experience in regulatory requirements and Research and Development in the food industry.
	Taydin Macon is a third year PhD Candidate co-advised by Dr. Brandon Hopkins and Dr. David Crowder at Washington State University . His research investigates many of the problems faced by commercial, sideliner, and hobbyist beekeepers alike. Specifically, Taydin has conducted research on novel methods for pest and pathogen detection in colonies, novel varroa mite treatments, and supplemental fungal extracts for promoting honey bee longevity. Taydin is also interested in statistical analysis for data driven colony management.
	Dr. Olav Rueppell Dr.Rueppell received his Doctorate in 2000 from the University of Würzburg in Germany studying ants. After a postdoc with Dr. Robert Page to start working on honey bees, he established his own research group at University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2003. He joined the University of Alberta as a Professor in 2020 to continue his research on honey bee biology and health, with special emphasis on behavior, life history, genomics, Varroa, viruses, and other stressors. His work has been continuously funded by numerous grants from private foundations and governmental agencies, he has mentored over 125 students, and he has authored over 125 peer-reviewed publications on honey bees and other social insects.
	Mark Chambers, Tech Support & Sales Manager, Kaslo Bay Artificial Breeders, PIC Mark immigrated to Canada from England in 1995, bringing with him six years of experience in swine production. He joined Sunterra Farms shortly after arriving and dedicated 29 years to the company. Over the course of his tenure, Mark managed a wide range of production initiatives for an 18,000-sow operation. His responsibilities spanned production management, financial oversight, staffing, and extensive involvement in the foreign worker program. In 2024, Mark transitioned to a new role at Kaslo Bay Artificial Breeders in Ontario, a genetic transfer company supplying PIC swine genetics to customers across the province. He now resides in Lucan, Ontario, with his wife Marsha and their children. Mark has been actively involved in industry leadership throughout his career. He is a past member of the Red Deer Swine Tech Workshop Committee, the Alberta Agriculture Labour Industry Council, and served as Co-Chair of the National Labour Task Force. He also previously chaired the Banff Pork Seminar. Currently, Mark serves on the board of the Southwest Ontario Swine Conference.
	Johan Vandenheever Johan has been actively involved in chemical residue testing in honey for the past 20 years, while working for the Alberta Government in the Agri-Food laboratories in Edmonton. During this time the laboratory has evolved into a worldwide recognized center of excellence with regards to honey testing, with numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals to their credit. Several new methods to analyze for compounds such as glyphosate, quinclorac, fumagillin and DCH were developed proactively in their laboratory in response to the industry’s future needs, and development is still ongoing for new and emerging issues regarding chemical residues in honey. Johan will give a presentation on the current laboratory capabilities and give a description of the testing process, so that beekeepers can better comprehend the testing complexity, turnaround times and other factors.
	Dr.Renata Labuschagne, Provincial Apiculturist Renata joined the Government of Alberta’s Bee Health Assurance Team (BHAT) in July 2025 as the Provincial Apiculturist. Before taking on this role, she served as the Manager of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission’s Tech Transfer Program (ABC-TTP) from 2019 to 2025, where she worked closely with Alberta’s beekeeping industry to support research, extension, and technology transfer initiatives. Prior to her work with the Commission, Renata was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Steve Pernal’s apiculture research lab at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Beaverlodge Research Farm, studying how pathogens and colony traits interact to affect honey bee health and productivity. Renata earned her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Minnesota in 2015 under the supervision of Dr. Marla Spivak, following a B.Sc. in Animal Science from the Universidade Federal do Ceará in Brazil. Her doctoral research focused on the role of propolis in honey bee health, including its effects on brood diseases such as chalkbrood and American foulbrood, and its function as a natural antimicrobial barrier within the hive.
	Martin Howes is part of the team at AbacusBio, a global agriscience consultancy specializing in the design and development of agricultural breeding programs. In his role in agribusiness consulting, Martin focuses on crafting industry strategies that bridge the gap between scientific advancements and practical application. His work supports the meaningful integration of technology and innovation into agricultural systems, helping producers and farmers enhance productivity and profitability. With a strong commitment to impact-driven solutions, Martin contributes to shaping the future of agriculture through strategic insight and collaborative engagement.