Speakers
Vice Chief Fabian Head is a member of the Red Earth Cree Nation in Treaty Five territory in eastern Saskatchewan. Throughout his life, he has maintained a connection to his culture, language, and identity, the cornerstone of his personal and professional journey.
Vice Chief Head has an extensive background in leadership and education. He has served as Chief, Councillor, and educator and has demonstrated a commitment to the advancement and well-being of his people. His advocacy for the Treaty Right to Education emphasizes his deep understanding of its critical importance for the future of First Nation youth and communities.
Vice Chief Head holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Indigenous Studies from the University of Regina and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan. These academic achievements have equipped him with a solid foundation to support his leadership and advocacy efforts.
Beyond his professional responsibilities, Vice Chief Head actively participates in and promotes initiatives that strengthen cultural identity and heritage, recognizing their vital role in the resilience and empowerment of First Nations communities.
Recently elected as the Third Vice Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), representing 74 First Nations and over 160,000 First Nations people, he passionately advocates for Treaty and Inherent Rights, ensuring these rights are upheld and respected for future generations. His dedication is driven by a vision of a thriving and self-sustaining future for all First Nations people.
Dr. Baljit Singh is a highly accomplished researcher, educator and administrator in the field of veterinary medicine, with specific expertise in lung biology and anatomy. He began his role as Vice-President Research at the University of Saskatchewan in 2021, after serving as Dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (2016 - 2020), and as Associate Dean of Research at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan (2010 - 2016). He also was a Special Advisor (Experiential Learning) to the Provost (2010-2012) at the University of Saskatchewan. Recently, he served on a seven member Advisory Panel on the Canadian Federal Research Support System.
Dr. Singh’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (BVSc and AH) and Master of Veterinary Science (MVSc) from Punjab Agricultural University in Punjab; a PhD from the University of Guelph; post-doctoral training at Texas A&M University and Columbia University, New York; and he completed licensing requirements set by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) for foreign veterinary graduates.
Dr. Singh’s research has focused on cell and molecular biology of lung inflammation. He is the author or co-author of more than 135 peer-reviewed journal articles and books including the Textbook of Veterinary Anatomy (5th edition; Elsevier), and has supervised the research training of more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students.
Dr. Singh has received the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2009), the Alan Blizzard National Award for Collaboration in University Teaching and Learning (2010), the University of Saskatchewan Master Teacher Award (2008), and the Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award (2003). He has also received the Outstanding Veterinary Anatomist Award from the American Association of Veterinary Anatomists (2015), as well as the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence (2002). He was named a fellow of the American Association of Anatomists (2013) and a fellow of Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2018).
Dr. Ingrid Pickering was appointed to the role of Interim CEO on February 25, 2026. She joined CLS in August of 2024 as Chief Science Officer. Concurrently, she is a Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Molecular Environmental Science at the University of Saskatchewan, where she also leads the NSERC CREATE to INSPIRE graduate training program associated with the CLS.
As CEO, Ingrid’s primary responsibility is the operational and strategic administration of the facility, including securing and managing the operating budget, and overseeing all operations to ensure consistency with strategic plans and direction, and compliance with relevant legislation, regulations, policies, and procedures.
Ingrid holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Imperial College London (UK). She moved to USask in 2003 following an appointment at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource in California. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2018 and served as Chairperson of the Board for the Canada Foundation for Innovation from 2018 to 2024.
Meet the Speakers
This year’s AUM speakers showcase the breadth of synchrotron-enabled science, featuring researchers from across disciplines and all stages of their careers.
Dr. David Cooper is a Professor, Centennial Enhancement Chair in Synchrotron Sciences and former Tier II Canada Research Chair in Synchrotron Bone Imaging at the University of Saskatchewan. He has 25 years of experience working with X-ray micro-computed tomography, including conventional and synchrotron systems. He is the co-Leader (with Dr. Dean Chapman) of the BioMedical and Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) Beam Team at the CLS and former member of the CLS User Executive Committee. Dr. Cooper has contributed to extensive works focused on bone adaptation, aging and disease as well as advanced imaging. Working with local, national and international partners, his group has employed BMIT and other beamlines (CLS and abroad) in interdisciplinary projects that have been supported by all three of Canada’s national Tri-Agency funders (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC), New Frontiers, and international agencies (including the Australian Research Council and Novo Nordisk Foundation).
Dr. Lindsay is a Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan. His research in environmental geochemistry and mineralogy broadly examines controls on metal mobility in the terrestrial hydrosphere. Lindsay is particularly interested in complex metal-mineral interactions under dynamic environmental conditions, where diverse reaction pathways can produce non-intuitive outcomes for metal mobility and bioavailability.
Maria G. Corradini is a Professor in Food Science and the Arrell Chair in Food Quality at the Arrell Food Institute (University of Guelph). During her career, she has focused on developing procedures and protocols to identify and assess changes in food quality and safety linked to processing and handling practices throughout the supply chain, from producer to consumer. She has also developed and validated models to evaluate and predict how food processing and handling practices can favor or act in detriment of food quality, safety, and nutritional content. Using a systems dynamics perspective, she has leveraged her expertise to participate as the PI and co-PI in research projects that take an integrative view of food chemical and microbiological safety and security within communities in Argentina (City of Buenos Aires), China (City of Macau), and USA (Newark, NJ). She has authored or co-authored over 160 research articles in refereed journals, 21 book chapters, two contributions to encyclopaedias, and six educational kits to promote STEM among underrepresented populations (middle/high school level).
Professor Dalai is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. He has served as Canada Research Chair (2001-2024) in Bioenergy, Head of Chemical Engineering and as Associate Dean, Research and Partnership in the College of Engineering. Professor Dalai worked as Special Adviser to VP Research Signature Areas of Energy and Mineral Resources. His research focuses on sustainable energy and bio-product production from biomass, petroleum refining technology, nano-catalysis, hydrogen production, chemical reaction engineering, gas-to-liquid technologies, novel catalysts’ characterization including synchrotron science, and pollution control strategies. Dr. Dalai has published over 700 research papers with his 200+ researchers and many national and international collaborators. His ground-breaking research has led to over 57,000 citations of his work, H-index of 122 and i10-index of 557. He serves on the Editorial Board of several prestigious journals. Professor Dalai has received fellowship from 10 different prestigious societies. He is also a Fulbright Fellow from USA, DAAD Fellow from Germany and JSPS Fellow from Japan. Professor Dalai has received several national and international awards including Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers DRC Life Time Achievement Award, Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering R.S. Jane Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to Chemical Engineering Profession, Royal Society of Canada’s Miraslow Romanoswki Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Science, University of Saskatchewan’s George Ivany Internationalization Award, and University of Saskatchewan’s Distinguished Researcher Award.
Robert Szilagyi is an associate professor of chemistry at The University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus (UBCO). He received his degrees from University of Pannonia, Hungary in Carbon and Oil Technology (M.Sc.), Theoretical Organic and Organometallic Chemistry (Ph.D.), while working with Prof. Lajos Bencze. He was a postdoc with Prof. Keiji Morokuma at Emory University and then gained his synchrotron science skills at Stanford University with Profs. Ed Solomon, Britt Hedman, and Keith Hodgson. His independent academic career started at Montana State University, where he rose to the rank of associate professor. Since 2022, he is member of the faculty at UBCO. He was recognized as an emerging young scientists in 2011 by the Kavli Foundation, and received the “Momentum” prestigious research award from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2014. He thrives at the boundaries of experimental and theoretically research by contributing to fundamental scientific discoveries using quantum chemical methods and synchrotron spectroscopic techniques in bioinorganic systems, coordination chemistry, and materials science of Fe-S systems and carbon materials.
Jessie Freese is a PhD candidate in the physics department at the University of Saskatchewan supervised by Prof. Robert Green. She completed a BA in Physics at Mount Holyoke College in 2013 and worked in industry as a crystal growth scientist with a focus on electro-optical and non-linear optical crystals and x-ray characterization before returning to academia to pursue graduate work at the University of Saskatchewan. She completed her MSc in 2022, examining the metal-insulator transition in NdNiO3 using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and scanning transmission x-ray spectromicroscopy (STXM) using data collected at the REIXS and SM beamlines at the CLS. Her current work applies resonant x-ray reflectometry (RXR) to understanding surface electronic states in titanate materials.
Jerit Mitchell is currently a PhD physics student at the University of Regina, where he also received his BSc and MSc in physics. His PhD research continues his MSc work, focusing on tomographic imaging of fossils using synchrotron radiation and neutrons, particularly large dinosaur bones, to look for preserved soft tissues. He also has experience with chemical analysis techniques such as X-ray Fluorescence, X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, and Infrared Spectroscopy applied to paleontology research.
Ariel Tirado is a M.Sc. candidate in Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan, and currently working in collaboration with the Far-Infrared Beamline at CLS, as a Mitacs Intern. He graduated with a B.Sc. (Hon) in Chemistry at USask, where he has published work in infrared spectroelectrochemistry. Concurrently, he has worked at the Far-Infrared Beamline since May 2024, developing infrastructure for the sustainable coupling of electrochemical techniques to synchrotron-based Far-Infrared spectroscopy. The milestones achieved by this work, and the scientific output it has led to, will the topic of this presentation.
I received my BSc in Biomedical Neuroscience in 2025. I am currently an INSPIRE funded MSc student in the department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology at the University of Saskatchewan. My research focuses on the behavioural effects of gestational cannabis exposure and investigating associated biochemical and biomolecular changes in the brain. I use X-ray fluorescence imaging (XFI) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) to compliment my behavioural research.
