Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
February 13, 2012

Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. has expanded its team with the appointments of Mejda Lortie as Director of Regulatory and Government Affairs and Rick Bennett as Plant Breeder. These additions reflect the continued growth and business development Agrisoma is experiencing as it commercializes Carinata, an energy feedstock crop uniquely suited forbiofuel production.

Mejda Lortie, in her role as Director, Regulatory and Government Affairs, will be responsible for managing the regulatory program for the company’s proprietary Engineered Trait Loci (ETL) technology and Carinata crop platform. Mejda will also lead product stewardship activities; direct Agrisoma public affairs strategies and activities; and, represent Agrisoma on relevant seed, biotech and biofuel regulatory committees. She is particularly well qualified for this position, most recently serving as the Director of Agricultural and Environmental Policy and Industry Relations for BIOTECanada, and possessing a PhD in Environmental Chemistry, an M.Sc in Sustainable Development, and a B.Sc in Agricultural Engineering. Mejda will be based in Ottawa.

Rick Bennett joins Agrisoma as Plant Breeder. In this role, Rick will lead all Agrisoma Carinata breeding activities and manage the Carinata breeding program in North and South America. Rick will work closely with Agrisoma partners on plant breeding initiatives and represent the company within theplant breeding community. Rick, who is completing his PhD under Dr. HabiburRahman of the University of Alberta, brings significant Brassica breeding experience to the program and will be key to advancing Carinata performance objectives. He will be working out of the company’s Saskatoon office at the National Research Council-Plant Biotechnology Institute.

“We are very pleased to add both Mejda and Rick to the Agrisoma team,” said Steven Fabijanski, President and CEO of Agrisoma. “They each bring a valuable set of skills and experience to Agrisoma and will play important roles in our delivery of a sustainable, scalable source of biofuel.”
 

Website: http://www.agrisoma.com

Published: February 13, 2012