Principal Investigator

Anže Švara, Assistant Professor 

Anže Švara is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan. He holds a Ph.D. from KU Leuven in Belgium, and a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biotechnology from the University of Ljubljana. He completed his postdoctoral training and research at Cornell University in New York. Currently, Anže leads the USask Fruit Program, a research and breeding program focused on improving horticultural crops for the Northern Prairies. His work aims to uncover the genetic basis of key traits to enhance crop quality, boost production efficiency, and promote sustainability while aligning with consumer demands. His research spans both wild relatives and modern cultivars of crops such as haskap, saskatoons, apples, and hazelnuts. By developing new fruit varieties, Anže and the USask Fruit Program team are contributing to the advancement of the global fruit industry. 

• Dr. Svara Agbio faculty webpage

Lab Manager

Justin Schaeffer, Research Technician

Research interests: Fruit breeding, tissue culture, polyploidy, propagation.