Carotenoids are an important source of vitamin A (beta carotene), the lack of which can lead to malnutrition or death. Diets that are low in vitamin A are often found in countries where rice, which has no carotenoids, is the staple food. Elli Wurtzel, a faculty member in the plant sciences specialization in The Graduate Center's Ph.D. Program in Biology and Ph.D. Program in Biochemistry, has been conducting research at Lehman College on how plants produce compounds of nutritional importance. One focus of the research is carotenoid biosynthesis in maize (corn) and rice. She hopes her research will lead to improvements in the nutritional quality of corn and other crops consumed in the developing countries. Doctoral students in The Graduate Center's Ph.D. Programs in Biology and Biochemistry have the opportunity to participate in this research.
Dr. Wurtzel was one of only two scientists worldwide to receive a Rockefeller Foundation grant to do work on carotenoid biosynthesis and one of only 10 to win a similar grant from the McKnight Foundation. She has also attracted millions of dollars in funding from the NIH, and other government and private sources for this important work.
http://a32.lehman.cuny.edu/PlantPhD/