Philip J. Kear

After graduating from Imperial College, University of London in 1999, with a B.Sc (Hons.) in Horticulture I spent a sandwich year in East Africa, before moving to Northeast China to teach Biology to Korean-Chinese at Yanbian University of Science and Technology. I remained in China for 7 years. Then, in 2007 I spent 1 year at the international research center ‘Centro Internacional de la Papa’ in Peru, researching methods to naturally overcome inhibitors to disease resistance in the common potato. He moved to the US in 2008 as part of collaboration with CIP and continued working on a related subject at the University of Missouri before starting work at Cornell University for 1 year prior to becoming a student. In 2011, I started a PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics, focused on the use of genomics to identify nutrient regulators in corn – an area that has broad application to issues as far apart as biofortification and social development. Special attention is paid to nutrients such as iron and zinc, critical for sustained human health. I have come to embrace the positive impact that science can have in our increasingly globalized societies, but believe that scientists need to listen to society to be relevant. While at Cornell University I has taught molecular biology to graduate students in Pyongyang, DPR Korea and frequently travels to Mexico as part of my fieldwork. I'm currently in my 5th year of study at Cornell and hopes to work in the area of agricultural policy, plant genetics and international development.