Kirsty Duncan, federal minister of science, visited the University of Guelph Jan. 26 to discuss gender equity in science and to tour U of G’s Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO).

Duncan was joined by Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield and U of G president Franco Vaccarino while meeting with students and faculty at the BIO.

In a roundtable discussion led by Charlotte Yates, provost and vice-president (academic), she talked with Guelph faculty and students about how to improve gender equity in academia.

During a tour, Duncan learned how DNA barcoding developed at U of G allows biologists to rapidly identify plant and animal species from a snippet of their DNA.

The technique is used to detect meat and seafood fraud and to identify invasive species. Regulatory agencies also use DNA barcoding to authenticate and identify other mislabelled foods and consumer products.