Laramie Aközbek

Raised in the Piedmont forests of North Georgia, Laramie Aközbek earned her bachelor’s degree in Plant Biology from the University of Georgia and then her Ph.D. in Plant Genomics from Auburn University while conducting her research at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. She has foraged for wild edible plants for much of her life and is passionate about bringing more wild plants into cultivation to help diversify our fields and our diets. After learning about The Land Institute’s work using de novo domestication to develop perennial crops through Dr. Renan Souza, she couldn’t imagine a better place to bring together her love of wild plants and background in genomics. At the Land Institute, Laramie focuses on developing and applying genomic technologies and models to aid in the domestication of perennial crops.

My most perennial trait is Wonder – whenever we look carefully and intentionally at the world around us, even the familiar can become fascinating.

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