Our Team

Marlie Lukach

I am a Ph.D. Student at Cornell University in the Plant Breeding and Genetics program in the Mazourek Lab. I am exploring plant breeding through the lenses of culture and food security, to better understand the future goals needed for everyone to have access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods.  I am also interested in international agriculture, sustainable agriculture systems, and the evolutionary mechanisms that have led to the abundance of diversity in nutrient components in cucurbits. 

I completed two B.S. in Agricultural Science and International Agriculture and Rural Development. I traveled to Spain, Kenya, and Greece during this time to explore their agricultural systems and completed an independent research project in Greece. I worked with the Sorrells Lab to research alpha-amylase/ trypsin inhibitors in wheat to understand how they are affected by genetic and environmental variables.

In my free time, I ride and show my two horses, Athena and Monty. (Below is Monty and I in a late spring snowstorm.)