Steven has been a botany & genomics professor at the University of Guelph, Canada for 18 years and currently the Director of the NHP Research Alliance. He conducts research on plant genomics, medicinal plants and molecular diagnostic identification systems with more than 120 publications and $20 million in R&D funding. Currently he is conducting leading international research on molecular diagnostic tools for NHP authentication, genomic diversity in botanical ingredients used in food, nutritional supplements, medicinal plants and natural health products. His R&D has resulted in the development of policy on biodiversity, and International trade of botanicals including product authentication certification within the food and natural product industry within Canada, USA, Europe and Asia. He advises on the authentication of herbal products to regulators and is developing new QA/QC industry standards for testing natural ingredient authenticity. He is one of the founders for the world’s first ingredient identity certification program (TRU-ID), which has processed over 30 million natural ingredients in the USA, Canada, E.U and Asia. His current research focuses on Cannabis genomics and metabolomics. This research has resulted in development of the Cannabis Barcode Project, which is assembling genetic and chemical barcodes that characterize Cannabis strains, define chemical traits and enable marker assisted breeding programs for consistent product brands.