Lab News

This week, the Ensminger Lab collaborated with members of the Flight Systems and Control Lab (Dr. Hugh Liu, UTIAS), Longhao Qian, Kevin Ji-Tong Chen, and Enoch Lo, for an exciting Alta X drone test flight at the Koffler Scientific Reserve (KSR). Our goal was to execute a full flight mission while tracking drone logs to record performance data. We also installed a dummy…

We are delighted that Anchalya Balasubramaniam presented her poster at the European Plant Phenomics Conference 2025 in Bonn (September 16–19). Her work, titled “Divergent Photoprotective Strategies in White Pine and White Spruce Under Moderate Drought,” showcases how these two conifers adopt distinct mechanisms to safeguard photosynthesis under water stress. This contribution highlights the innovative research from…

The Ensminger Lab was proud to see our ROP students present their research at Summer Research Day 2025. Aimun Malik – Investigating the Climatic Drivers of Tree Growth in White Spruce (Picea glauca) in Canada Tianqi Wang – Comparative Analysis of Xylem Anatomy in White Spruce (Picea glauca) Genotypes Under Drought Stress Adam Raway – The Role…

🏆 Congratulations to Grace Vera Cheng, Winner of the 2025–2026 Seminar Series T-Shirt Design Contest at UTM! We are proud to share that our M.Sc. student Grace Vera Cheng has won the 2025–2026 Seminar Series T-Shirt Design Contest! 🎉

From August 9–12, members of the Ensminger Lab travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to participate in the Canadian Society for Plant Biologists’ CSPB 2025 Conference. This annual meeting brings together plant scientists from across Canada and beyond to share cutting-edge research, network, and explore the latest advances in plant biology. Nova Scotia’s…

We’re excited to share that Bridget K. Murphy, PhD student in the Ensminger Lab, has just published her first first-authored paper in Plant Physiology! Her work, titled “Contrasting effects of warming and drought on autumn phenology of photosynthesis and growth in white spruce,” investigates how climate change-related stresses impact photosynthetic activity and growth timing in white…