Student stories: Fatimatzahra Muhammad
Published: August 28, 2025
PhD Student, Department of Animal Biosciences, Data Assistant at Agri-Food Data Canada
The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance and Agri-Food Data Canada are united by a commitment to improve agri-food data sustainability. Together, we are equipping the future agri-food workforce with the skills to succeed in a strong, data-driven agri-food sector.
As a master’s student, Fatima Muhammad realized the importance of solid, practical data skills when she needed to make sense of what she calls “messy” data to complete her research project on equine physiology.
When an email from Agri-Food Data Canada (ADC) landed in her inbox, and with a PhD start date on the horizon, she jumped at the opportunity to apply for a data assistant position. Muhammad laughs as she recounts her thought process: “It was selfish motivation. I wanted to enhance my skills to ensure I was collecting good data but also realized how important good data is for everyone.”
Now in the second year of her PhD studying beef and dairy cattle methane emissions and feed efficiency, she works part-time at ADC, which is situated at the University of Guelph. This important work will enable people to access and use research data, even as it helps Muhammad develop skills she’ll need in an industry career.
Transforming data for the future
Muhammad’s work supports the ADC team of Dr. Michelle Edwards, Dr. Lucas Alcantara and Dr. Carly Huitema by cleaning up databases and transforming hard-copy data records—some 30 or more years old—into digital formats.
These records include historical data sets from Ontario’s agri-food research centres, primarily related to aquaculture, beef and dairy.
She also works on creating schemas to ensure data is packaged with metadata, providing context to ensure comprehensive understanding by future researchers.
“Data needs to be standardized to use in the future,” says Muhammad. “My role is testing and making sure data is in a format that allows as many people as possible to access it.
“Data can be easily misinterpreted and hard to understand. We have to safeguard against this in the future.”
Applying data skills to research
Muhammad’s own PhD research with professor Dr. Angela Cánovas involves using genomics to improve feed efficiency and reduce methane emissions in beef and dairy cattle. Their studies are intended to help in breeding more sustainable and productive animals.
“Selecting more feed-efficient animals may increase profitability for producers, because the animals convert feed into energy more effectively and tend to produce less methane per unit of feed consumed,” Muhammad explains. “This could potentially allow cattle to redirect energy toward production-based activities such as increased milk synthesis in dairy cattle or improved carcass traits like size, weight, and marbling in beef cattle.”
Motivated by a desire to enhance her skills and ensure the collection of high-quality data on these traits, Muhammad has deployed her ADC skill set and embraced the principles of FAIR data management. She expects that her experience will strengthen her career prospects while helping other users analyze previous data collection to discover new insights.
Looking forward to a career in agri-food
Muhammad says working at ADC has improved her soft skills as well, especially the communication skills needed to convey complex topics simply. She has also improved her time management and data collection skills, which have been crucial since she started her PhD.
The supportive environment at ADC has allowed Muhammad to observe her colleagues’ progress and identify her own growth opportunities, such as programming and software development.
She hopes to find work in private industry, although she is still exploring specific career paths. With an agri-food sector increasingly driven by technology and underpinned by data, Muhammad’s skills are sure to find a fit.
Connect with Fatima
Muhammad’s PhD research project is funded in part by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and the University of Guelph. Ontario’s agri-food research centres are owned by the Government of Ontario through its agency, Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario, and are managed by U of G through the Alliance.
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