Graduate student selected for national plant-breeding scholars program

Navdeep Kaur arrived at NMSU in 2021 as a graduate student to pursue a passion for plant genetics and follow a mission to develop crops that can withstand environmental stressors and improve food security worldwide.

Kaur, who came to the United States from India, spent her time at NMSU working on a master’s degree in agronomy with a concentration in plant breeding and genetics and conducting research for NMSU’s Chile Pepper Breeding and Genetics Program. In early 2023, she was named one of 20 graduate students selected for the National Association of Plant Breeders Borlaug Scholars Program. 

Kaur is the first student from NMSU to participate in the highly competitive program that aims to develop the next generation of leading plant breeders through a yearlong professional development mentorship.

“Navdeep came into the program almost two years ago, and she’s been an excellent student,” says Kaur’s adviser, Dennis Nicuh Lozada, director of NMSU’s Chile Breeding and Genetics Program. “She’s been hardworking and eager to learn the new technologies that we are using in our research.”

As part of the program, Kaur attended the NAPB’s annual meeting in South Carolina in July 2023. She will complete her master’s degree in December 2023 and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics.