Nicole De Long has a diverse work experience in business and client development, industry academic collaborations, and commercialization research. Nicole is currently the Director of Business and Client Development at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre since 2022. Previously, Nicole worked at the Ontario Centre of Innovation as a Team Lead for Industry Academic Collaborations and as a Business Development and Commercialization Manager. Nicole also served as a Commercialization Research Officer at Brock University where she facilitated partnerships between researchers and industry partners and provided grant funding and intellectural property management support. Nicole has a strong network and expertise in fostering innovation, building relationships, and supporting companies in their growth through research and development activities. 

Nicole De Long holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Physiology and Pharmacology from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Honours degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Guelph. 

Karen Consigli is the Director of Human Resources with Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.  She supports its Senior Management Team by providing business partner-centered HR support and advice across all Vineland operations through leading, instituting and assisting in the management of progressive and effective human resources practices.  

She is a respected HR professional with experience in public sector and not-for-profit organizations and holds a Board of Director position at a local not-for-profit agency in the developmental sector.  Her ability to foster healthy working relationships is built upon trust, collaboration and mutual respect.   

Prior to joining Vineland, Karen had a successful career in upper-tier municipal government and held progressively-responsible positions leading teams, managing projects and piloting new business models which contributed to the success of many HR-sponsored initiatives.  Ensuring strong partnerships with staff, key stakeholders and union leaders, resulted in her delivery of high-quality outcomes and creating positive work environments.   

Karen holds a B.Sc. in Business Management from D’Youville University along with several certificates in HR management from Niagara College and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).  She also maintains professional designations of Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with HRPA. 

Amy Bowen joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2009 and was appointed Research Program Leader in 2013 then Director, Consumer, Sensory & Market Insights in 2017. 

She leads a group of industry experts in sensory and consumer science with backgrounds in biology, food science, psychology, oenology and culinary arts to offer contract and collaborative research services. 

Amy has a PhD in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Plant Science, Oenology and Viticulture from Brock University. She is also a certified sommelier through the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers. 

Rhoda B. deJonge joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2022 as Director, Plant Responses and the Environment. 

She joins from a Canadian-based plant care company where she led research on the application of microbial technology to improve tree survivorship and innovative ways to control urban insect pests. Prior to her work in academia, Rhoda gained valuable project management experience in the environmental non-profit sector in both the USA and Canada. 

Rhoda completed her PhD at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry, studying the biological control of invasive species, and has worked as a post-doctoral fellow with the Faculty of Forestry and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. 

Rose Buitenhuis joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2010 as Research Scientist, Biological Control, was named Program Leader, Biological Crop Protection in 2019 and was promoted in 2021 to Senior Research Scientist, Biological Control and became Director, Biological Crop Protection in 2023. 

She is responsible for the development and implementation of biological control technologies for management of arthropod pests, supporting sustainable crop management practices for ornamental and production horticulture. 

Rose received her MSc in Biology at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands in 1997, and her PhD in Entomology at Laval University, Québec in 2003. She worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Harrow and the University of Guelph. 

Travis Banks joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2009 as Research Scientist, Bioinformatics and has over 17 years of experience in plant genetics and genomics. He was appointed leader of the greenhouse tomato program in 2018 where he, in conjunction with Vineland’s business development group, led the team through the commercialization of Vineland’s first hybrid tomatoes. 

In 2019 Travis was named Director, Crop Enhancement and Adaptation where he works with Vineland researchers and business development staff to release new varieties in crops such as tomatoes, apples, roses and sweet potatoes. 

Travis holds a MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan and prior to joining Vineland worked as a biologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Michael Pautler, PhD provides senior leadership of Vineland’s technology commercialization and intellectual property portfolio. He is responsible for the commercial strategies and partnerships needed to build supply chains and ensure a smooth path to market for Vineland’s innovations. Previously, Mike served as Head of Genomics Services for Vineland spin-off company Platform Genetics, where he was responsible for scientific operations and global business development. Mike joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2013 as Research Scientist in Applied Genomics leading a program in horticultural trait development. He completed his PhD from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York (U.S.A).

Dave completed the Honours Biology and Pharmacology Co-op program at McMaster University in 2003. He received his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biochemistry from the University of Calgary in 2009, where he used genomics approaches to understand how plants make important medicinal natural products. David continued work on medicinal plant genomics and enzymology as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA, USA). In 2011, he began a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA) studying genomics and structural biology of natural product enzymes. Dave joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in May 2012, as a Research Associate specializing in trait development, and was appointed Research Scientist, Biochemistry in April 2013. The Biochemistry group specializes in the use of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to understand complex traits in plants (i.e. flavour, phytoxicity), and detect and decipher plant responses to stress and horticultural products such as biostimulants.