Plant Biochemistry to Feed the World via the “Corn Queen” Katherine Murphy
There’s a small, fenced-in field near the Student Health and Wellness Center on the UC Davis campus. In the summer, you might find corn growing here, and among the rows, you might find Katherine Murphy weeding the field, hand pollinating the corn and finally harvesting it. This corn isn’t destined for the dinner table but rather the lab, where it’s used for research purposes to help feed our future.
“Corn is critical to our food supply, and the reality is that some years down the line, we have to be able to grow more food if we want to feed our growing population,” says Murphy, a plant biology Ph.D. student. Recently, Murphy was crowned UC Davis Grad Slam champion for her three-minute presentation “Call the Plant Doctor.” She’ll compete in the University of California Grad Slam Finals on May 10 in San Francisco