Rae McDowell

Hometown

Rochester, MI

Fun Fact

I studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland!

Research

Rae's research interests include biofortification of staple crops to combat food insecurity and widespread nutrient deficiency. She earned a B.Sci. at Purdue University in Agronomy with a concentration in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology in 2022, with additional focus on statistics. She earned a M.Sci. in Horticulture at Colorado State University while doing research in the Rhodes Lab studying the genetic controls of carotenoid bioavailability in sorghum grain. She is now working on her Ph.D. in Cell & Molecular Biology here at CSU, studying iron and zinc biofortification in sorghum.

Career Goal

To continue education and research in biofortification of staple crops with the intention of improving food security and access to nutrition.

Education

• M.S. Horticulture                                         

Colorado State University, 2024

Thesis: Characterizing controls of sorghum carotenoid bioaccessibility for vitamin A biofortification

• B.S. Agronomy - Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (minor in Statistics)                                         

Purdue University, 2022