Dilantha Fernando

    Awards:

    Professional Awards/Honors:

  1. Editor – Plant Pathology (UK)

    Awards and Honours for Training and Research:

  2. 2011 Appointed Adjunct Professor, University of Guelph, Guelph. Ontario, Canada

  3. 2010 University of Manitoba Merit Award in the Combination Category for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service University-wide award among all Faculties

  4. 2009 University of Manitoba Merit Award for Excellence in Research

  5. 2011 University of Manitoba Merit Award in the Combination Category for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service University-wide award among all Faculties

  6. Appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of PLANTS - an open access journal based out of Switzerland.

    Teaching:

  7. Sanofi-Aventis Mentorship Award for 2008 Sponsoring Organization: Sanofi-Aventis Biotalent Challenge Awards Committee

  8. University of Manitoba. Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award 2006. At Spring convocation. This is a university-wide award and only 1 given each year. This is the first time a Plant Science Professor and a Plant Pathologist has won this award since the awards inception in 1974.

  9. University of Manitoba, Merit Award for 2006 in the combination category for excellence in Research, teaching and service Sponsoring Organization: University of Manitoba and UMFA

    Research:

  10. Lifetime Achievement Award from USA/Sri Lanka Foundation, Los Angeles, USA. The highest honour of the Foundation given to an individual in recognition of world class contributions to science. This is the first time an agriculturist and a Canadian has been awarded this honour.

  11. Excellence Award - United States Department of Agriculture: for service to the US National Sclerotinia Initiative in support of continued development of management strategies to control white mold in multiple crops. This is the first time a Canadian researcher has been recognized.

  12. 2007 Manitoba Science and Technology Certificate of Achievement.

  13. 2007 UN Expert position – under the UNDP to work in Sri Lanka for 3 months.

  14. 2007 Appointment as an Adjunct Professor of Inner Mongolia Agriculture University, Huhhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
    Patent Applications:

  1. US Provisional Patent application (#59094) de Kievit T. and Fernando, W.G.D. 2006. Field of invention – ptrA gene in relation to biocontrol of plant pathogens.

  2. Patenting of a SCAR marker developed to identify resistance genes in canola plants against PG3 strains of blackleg.

    Creativity:

    Development of canola cultivars – The world’s healthiest oil

  1. The world’s first hybrid HEAR cultivar (2013) for release, with excellent resistance to Blackleg.

  2. Developed World’s First Two Roundup Ready HEAR cultivars Red River 1826 and Red River 1852 in March 2006. Developed by Drs. McVetty, P.B.E., Fernando, W.G.D. and Scarth, R.

  3. 22 other canola/rapeseed cultivars developed and registered in Canada.

    Service/Outreach

  1. University of Manitoba Outreach Award. This is a university-wide award and 12 are given per year. This is the first time a plant pathologist has won this award since its inception in 1979.