People

Simone D. Castellarin

Professor, Applied Biology
Wine Research Centre, Faculty of Land and Food Systems

Simone obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Udine in 2007. As a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, he studied and worked as a scholar at the Hochschule Geisenheim University (Germany) and at the University of California Davis (USA). He is currently a Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Viticulture.
Dr. Castellarin research focuses on grape and berry crop production, and on how the climate affects berry ripening and quality. In 2009, he received the Rudolf Hermanns Prize (Geisenhem, Germany) for outstanding scientific achievements in horticulture and viticulture.

Dr. Castellarin investigates the ripening processes in grapes, blueberries, and raspberries and the biological mechanisms that determine grape and blueberry quality. Moreover, he studies how berry quality is affected by environmental factors (temperature and water). Dr. Castellarin is developing agronomical strategies (irrigation, crop and canopy management, hormone applications) to cope with climate change and improve ripening and the production of quality related metabolites in berry crops.

Claudia Baldassi

PhD student

Claudia’s project focuses on uncovering the genetic basis of red fruit color in raspberry, a key trait for consumer preference. In raspberries, fruit color is conferred by pigments known as anthocyanins. The raspberry industry requires berries with varying red intensities based on market demands: dark red fruit is typically favored for processing, while bright, medium red berries are preferred for the fresh market. However, the specific genetic determinants driving these color differences remain unknown, making it challenging for breeders to select for desired red shades. To address this, Claudia is conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify regions of the raspberry genome associated with fruit color and total anthocyanin accumulation. Her research aims to enable the development of molecular markers to support breeding for targeted red intensities in raspberry fruit. Within the scope of her project, Claudia has developed a high-throughput protocol for measuring raspberry puree color. Read more about the protocol here.

Miriam Fenniri

PhD student

Miriam’s work centers postharvest characterization and bioactivity profiling of phenolic compounds from wild berries. Berry phenolics have shown to exhibit numerous health benefits, including an elevated antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, and cardioprotective effects. While much is known about common commercial berries, such as blueberries and cranberries, wild berries have often fallen to the scientific wayside. Vancouver and the surrounding areas have an extremely rich diversity of wild berries, making UBC an ideal location for their study.

Miriam has selected 10 uncharacterized wild berry species that are native to the Pacific Northwest for analysis, where she has quantified their shelf-stability by measuring their changes in sugars, acids, colour, texture, antioxidant activity, and phenolic content and profile (by HPLC/QTOF) over the course of four weeks under commercial storage conditions. She is currently quantifying the antidiabetic activity of phenolic extracts from each wild berry species by measuring their ability to inhibit human carbohydrate-digestive enzymes, α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Postharvest characterization of these wild berries will enable us to identify those that may be most appealing to consumers, while the bioactivity analyses will pinpoint those with the greatest health-promoting properties. Miriam is co-supervised by Dr. Simone D. Castellarin and Dr. Abel Rosado (Botany).

Jeena George

PhD student

Jeena’s project intends to study the bloom time, time to fruit maturity, and fruit quality for selected sweet cherry genotypes. Jeena’s project explores the major chemical components involved in sweet cherry fruit sensory perception through a targeted metabolomic study of phenolics and volatile compounds. The resulting metabolomic and genomic data will be used to perform a metabolome genome-wide associate study (mGWAS) using bioinformatic tools. Jeena’s research aims to provide the tools needed to introduce traits, such as delayed flowering to avoid early spring frosts or fine-tuning of fruit maturation for late season heat avoidance, into future BC varieties while contributing to ongoing market-based improvement of sweet cherry fruit. Jeena is co-supervised by Dr. Simone D. Castellarin and Dr. Letitia Da Ros (AAFC, Summerland).

Nikolas Wilson

PhD student

Nikolas’ project involves studying the responses of grapevines to heat stress, which is a growing concern for the grape and wine industry in British Columbia. While there is a wide assortment of grape varieties important for viticulture in British Columbia, it remains unclear how sensitive each variety is to heat stress in terms of vine physiology and fruit quality. Part of Nikolas’ project involves determining which varieties are more or less sensitive to increasing temperatures, which will help guide growers in selecting which grapes to grow in the future. Nikolas is also conducting studies on various mitigation techniques for heat stress, including foliar biostimulant sprays and increasing irrigation levels. This research will provide growers with effective techniques to prevent damages to grape production during periods of extreme heat.

Pin-Jui Chen

Master’s student

The intra-vineyard variability could be substantial regarding vine vegetative growth, plant nutritional status, reproductive growth, grape technological maturity, and grape aroma. Understanding these variabilities is crucial for optimizing vineyard management and making informed wine production decisions. The quality of wine is a multifaceted concept, heavily influenced by a wide range of sensory attributes, among which aroma is a critical factor. Volatile terpenoids, that contribute to floral and citrus flavors, are key determinants of grape and wine quality in aromatic grape cultivars such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer.

Pin-Jui’s research focuses on understanding these intra-vineyard variabilities and revealing the relationships among the aforementioned parameters in Riesling and Gewürztraminer vineyards. Pin-Jui’s studies also assess the potential use of remote sensing techniques for zone delineation, particularly for characterizing vineyard zones with high concentration of grape terpenoids. Moreover, Pin-Jui evaluates the effectiveness of variable rate fertilization as a strategy to improve intra-vineyard uniformity.

Sarah Davis

Master’s Student
 
Sarah’s research explores how high-temperature and drought stresses impact grapevines, specifically the cultivars Riesling and Viognier. Conducted in controlled growth chambers, her work examines how physiological parameters like water potential, photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance are influenced by environmental conditions. Beyond the immediate plant responses, Sarah also investigates how these stressors affect berry quality, focusing on important aspects of fruit composition like sugar and acid content and the levels of volatile organic compounds, including terpenoids. These compounds contribute significantly to grape aroma and flavor profiles, making them critical to wine quality. To deepen understanding, her study also examines the genetic pathways involved in terpenoid biosynthesis, exploring how environmental stressors influence gene expression within this pathway. By comparing the physiological and genetic responses across these two grape cultivars, Sarah’s research aims to contribute valuable insights into the adaptability of grapevines under climate change and to inform future practices for optimizing grape and wine quality.

Malin Petersen

Master’s student

Malin’s research explores the relationship between grape aroma and its genetic basis. Each grapevine cultivar has its own characteristic aroma, which plays an important role in determining wine quality. In several cultivars, this aroma is influenced by terpenoids (both mono- and sesquiterpenoids), compounds regulated by terpene synthases (TPS), part of an expanded gene family. However, the role of variation in TPS gene copy number and sequence across cultivars in shaping their unique terpenoid profiles is still not fully understood and is a central focus of Malin’s work. Her research sheds light on the genetic factors behind grape aroma in key cultivars and opens the door for future studies looking at how terpenoid biosynthesis in different cultivars responds to environmental stresses.