When Mary Ruth McDonald was studying plant pathology at the University of Guelph, she didn’t think she could have a career in agriculture because she hadn’t grown up on a farm. Now, as an internationally recognized researcher of integrated pest management in vegetable crops, it’s safe to say she didn’t let that initial impression stop her. Between her work as an OMAFRA pest management specialist and as a professor in the department of plant agriculture at the University of Guelph, McDonald has spent almost her entire career focusing on vegetable cropping in the unique agricultural production conditions of the Holland Marsh. She emphasizes the importance of extension work and putting research into action in the field. Her contributions to the science of clubroot of Brassica crops and as an expert on diseases of onions, carrots and integrated pest management of vegetable crops have earned her the Award for Outstanding Research from the Canadian Phytopathological Society (CPS), the CPS award for Achievements in Disease Management twice (once for a team and once as an individual), and the International IPM Award of Excellence in 2015 from the International IPM Conference. She also serves as a research program director for the Ontario AgriFood Innovation Alliance.