| SPEAKER | BIO |
|---|---|
 | Dr. Brendan Daisley PhD, Banting Fellow, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph Dr. Daisley is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Guelph and an SFA Executive Committee member of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics. He earned his PhD in Microbiology & Immunology at Western University in 2021. His research focuses on understanding the microbiome of honey bees and the application of probiotics to improve colony health. He introduced the “missing microbes” framework to bee microbiome research and has led several large scale field trials across North America demonstrating the benefits of probiotic lactobacilli on colony-level outcomes. In addition, he is the developer of BEExact, a bioinformatic database for improved detection of uncultivated microbial taxa, and is co-founder of the Canadian Bee Gut Project, a nationwide initiative to sequence thousands of bee microbiomes and identify drivers of colony loss. Ultimately, his work aims to advance sustainable beekeeping through microbiome-informed disease management and health interventions. |
 | Maggie Gill PHIRA-Science Maggie Gill is an entomologist and long-term beekeeper whose work focuses on honey bee health, pollinator nutrition, pests and diseases, and the resilience of pollination systems. She is the founder of PHIRA-Science, an independent research organisation delivering applied, field-based science shaped by the needs of beekeepers and other practitioners. With more than twenty years of beekeeping experience, Maggie works at the interface between practice and research, addressing challenges that are often poorly served by conventional academic approaches. She is recognised internationally as a leading expert on Tropilaelaps mites, with her research advancing understanding of their biology, detection, and management, and informing preparedness for emerging threats. Maggie collaborates widely with universities, research institutes, government bodies, and practitioner communities across Europe, North America, and Asia. |
 | Emily Pedzinski BeeFit Beekeeping Driven by a passion for agriculture, education, and the future of honey bees, commercial beekeeper and educator Emily Pedzinski has built a reputation for documenting the realities of modern beekeeping with honesty and transparency. After starting with just two hives in 2019, Emily has grown her operation into a multi-state commercial beekeeping business managing hundreds of colonies for pollination, honey production, and queen and nucleus colony production alongside her partner, Kasey Johns, whose experience in queen improvement strategies and colony management has been an important part of their operation’s growth. Through her educational platform, BeeFit Beekeeping, Emily gives audiences a behind the scenes look at the successes, failures, and lessons that come with operating a commercial beekeeping business while exploring the economic, environmental, and management challenges shaping the industry today. Known for asking difficult questions and encouraging open conversation, Emily combines real world experience with a forward looking perspective that challenges conventional thinking and leaves audiences with practical insights they can apply to their own operations and a deeper understanding of where the beekeeping industry is headed. |
 | Dr Shelley Hoover Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge Dr. Shelley Hoover is an Apiculture and Pollination Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Lethbridge. Her research focuses on honey bee health and management, queen production and breeding, and nutrition, as well as canola pollination. Previously, Shelley was the head of the Apiculture Program for the Province of Alberta and has held Research Associate positions at the Universities of Canterbury (Christchurch, NZ) and British Columbia (Vancouver and Beaverlodge, Canada). She completed her PhD on honey bee worker ovary development, nutrition, and behaviour at Simon Fraser University. Shelley is also the current President of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists. |
 | 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. |
 | Ali Panasiuk Provincial Apiculturist, Acting, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Ali Panasiuk has been a part of the Bee Health Assurance Team with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation since 2007 and has grown with the program over the years. She began as an Apiculture Technician, assisting with research projects and managing several hundred on-site colonies. In 2016, she became Lead Inspector, taking on a larger role in supporting Alberta's beekeeping industry. In her current role, Ali oversees inspection activities across Alberta, helping ensure beekeepers are informed about and following best management practices for honey bee health, biosecurity, and the prevention and control of pests and diseases. She works closely with beekeepers, providing guidance, education, and support to promote healthy colonies and a strong beekeeping industry. She has also served as the Acting Provincial Apiculturist on numerous occasions over the past several years. Ali's passion for animal husbandry began while growing up on a mixed-livestock farm, where she gained firsthand experience caring for a variety of animals. Beekeeping was a natural fit, and she went on to manage her own colonies for many years. She continues to be passionate about supporting beekeepers and promoting healthy honey bee populations across Alberta. |
 | Dr. Ray Bergstra MTN Consulting Associates Dr. Ray Bergstra is an 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. |
 | 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. |
 | Aneta Ozierańska Co-Founder & CEO Aneta is an engineer and CEO of Oligofeed, a company specializing in honey bee micronutrition and developing practical solutions to support beekeepers and improve colony health. She founded Oligofeed with the ambition of translating scientific innovation into field-ready solutions. Oligofeed’s technology originates from French university research and has been evaluated through field trials across Europe and North America. In Canada, Oligofeed has collaborated with the University of Manitoba to evaluate its micronutrition solutions under Canadian beekeeping conditions. Field results with Pep’up show promising results regarding winter survival. During her presentation, Aneta will share these Canadian field results and discuss the potential of micronutrition to support colony health and resilience. |
 | Dr Pierre Giovenazzo Professor, Department of Biology, Université Laval Québec Pierre Giovenazzo, Ph.D., is a Full Professor in the Department of Biology at Université Laval Québec city, where he leads research on honey bee breeding, queen banking, pollination services, bee nutrition, and Varroa mite management. He earned his Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences from the University of Montréal, focusing on integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for Varroa mites. From 2016 to 2021, he held the Chair in Educational Leadership in Apicultural Science. He is president of the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists of Canada and was president of the 46th Apimondia 2019 Congress in Montreal. |
 | Dr Steve Pernal Officer-in-Charge, Beaverlodge Research Farm, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada / Government of 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. Fraser Franco Data Scientist, Nectar Technologies Dr. Fraser Franco is a biologist trained in computational ecology at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where he completed his PhD (2020-2026). During his doctorate, Maxime worked on predator-prey interactions, investigating how habitat structure and behavioural interactions shape the hunting success of predators. His curiosity and love of collaborative science also led him to co-author several publications in evolutionary ecology, apicultural science, and open science. Since 2024, Maxime has been working as a data scientist at Nectar Technologies, where he applies his expertise in ecological modelling to help beekeepers make sense of their data. Most of his work involves analyzing large datasets with state-of-the-art models to assess how landscape features and beekeeping practices influence honey bee health. |
 | Daniele Pahija MAg, University of AlbertaU Daniele Pahija recently completed a Master of Agriculture in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology at the University of Alberta. In collaboration with the Alberta Beekeepers Commission, his graduate research examined the export potential and competitiveness of Alberta honey in Southeast Asian markets, looking at trade patterns, market growth, pricing, competition, and the conditions producers would face entering these markets. He also works in marketing in Edmonton, and previously spent several years in marketing and sales management for an Italian ceramics business, including export sales. In his presentation he will share the main findings and what they could mean for producers looking beyond Alberta's current export destinations. |
 | Dr. Kajsa Duke Associate Professor, University of Alberta Dr. Kajsa Duke is an associate professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta, with expertise in biomechanics, engineering design, and experimental design. She is also extensively involved in engineering education, teaching mechanical design, CAD, statistics, design of experiments and capstone design projects from the undergraduate through graduate level. |
 | Mahima Dua Doctoral Researcher, University of Alberta Mahima Dua is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta, specializing in experimental mechanics, polymer materials, and interfacial fracture analysis. She serves as a lead teaching assistant for the mechanical engineering capstone course, delivering lectures, mentoring student teams, and organizing the department’s engineering design conference to foster academic and industry collaborations. |
 | Kathryn Knowles MSc Student, University of Lethbridge I am a second-year MSc student at the University of Lethbridge, under the advisory of Dr. Shelley Hoover. I have been working with honey bees since my second year of my undergraduate degree, at the University of Guelph, where I fell in love with the world of queen breeding. My research focuses on colony social environment and queen nutrition, its influence on queen-worker interactions, and the implications it may have regarding queen acceptance and retention across Canadian colonies. |