James Prus
I grew up on a mixed farm outside of Taber, where I developed an early love of nature, animals, and rural life. At about 10 years old, a trip past the experimental plots at the Lethbridge Research Centre inspired me to one day work there. After earning my B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Lethbridge in 1988, I began my career at the Research Centre, holding positions in Crop Sciences, Crop Entomology, Livestock Entomology, and eventually the Winter Wheat Breeding Program. Now in my 29th year producing double haploid seedlings, I am proud that 8 of the last 12 varieties registered by our program came from the double haploid process, many of which can be seen in the manicured plots along the highway. I am also a proud father of a daughter (and son-in-law) and two sons. Alongside my professional and family life, I have been a long-time donor, starting with blood donations in 1988. In 1998 I donated bone marrow and in 2001 stem cells to a young girl from Ontario - Taylor is now 29 years old.
Service to community has been a lifelong focus. I spent eight years on Parent Councils at local schools, presented donor information sessions through the Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry, and volunteered with the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management Team from 1998 to 2019. This included deployments to New York City after 9/11, Louisiana following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, managing the reception centre during the 2012 Coalhurst evacuation, and coordinating Canadian Red Cross services at the University of Lethbridge during the 2013 Alberta floods. I also served seven years on the Relay for Life executive committee for the Canadian Cancer Society. Over the years, I have coached 38 seasons of sport including co-ed slow-pitch, T-ball, ball hockey, and soccer, most recently at the 2024 and 2025 Southern Alberta Summer Games. In my free time, I enjoy attending Lethbridge Hurricanes games, exploring and photographing nature, and convincing my children why it is necessary to take 14 photos of the same plant, cloud, or animal while hiking.