The World Food Prize Foundation

2025 Borlaug-Ruan Interns

Mariana Alvarenga

Guinope, Honduras

Internship Site: International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru. Project: In the Footsteps of Native Nutrition: Discovering the Potential of Potatoes, Yacon, and Mashwa Read more about Mariana's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Siena Brown

Iowa City, IA

Internship Site: International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Mbita, Kenya. Project: The Effects of Climate Change on the Economic Decision-Making of Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya and Eastern Uganda Read more about Siena's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Gavin Egeland

Nevada, IA

Internship Site: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya Project: Insurance, Innovation, and Inclusion: Strengthening Climate Resilience for Pastoralists in Kenya and East Africa [ View ]

Hope Hauck

Duke University

Internship Site: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, China Project: From Field to Gene: Mapping a Mutation Behind Panicle Branching in Rice [ View ]

Anne Gu

Phoenixville, PA

Internship Site: Hunan Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center in Changsha, China. Read more about Anne's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Pranav Mettu

Rocky Mount, NC

Internship Site: Hunan Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center in Changsha, China. Project: Impact of Rice PPR Protein YSA on Early Chloroplast Development Read more about Pranav's experience on his blog! [ View ]

Isabell Olsasky

Milo, IA

Internship Site: International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico. Project: Transdisciplinarity in Agriculture Research for Development: A Case Study of the CIMMY Hub Model in Mexico Read more about Isabell's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Ariadne Pappa

College Station, TX

Internship Site: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India. Project: Evaluating the Outcomes of National Agricultural Policies and Regional Socioeconomic Trends on Nutritional Well-being in Aurepalle, India Read more about Ariadne's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Yuki Qian

Pittsburgh, PA

Internship Site: GrowIndigo in Jalna, India. Read more about Yuki's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Divya Ramadugu

Cedar Rapids, IA

Internship Site: International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Mbita, Kenya. Project: The Role of Microfinance in Shaping Smallholder Agricultural Strategies in Western Kenya and Eastern Uganda Read more about Divya's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Adithi Radhakrishnan

University of North Carolina

Internship Site: Hunan Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center in Changsha, China. Project: Observing Genotypic and Phenotypic Manifestations of Magnaporthe oryzae Resistance in Hybrid Oryza sativa Read more about Adithi's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Maya Sande

Eden Prairie, MN

Internship Site: EARTH University in Guácimo, Costa Rica. Project: Soil or Substrate? Investigating Growth Differences of Lettuce Under Two Growing Conditions Read more about Maya's experience on her blog! [ View ]

Jacob Savela

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Internship Site: World Vegetable Center (ARVDC) in Shanhua, Taiwan. Project: Regenerative Agricultural Practices for Crop Nutritional Quality Read more about Jacob's experience on his blog! [ View ]

Isaac Vosburg

Hampton, IA

Internship Site: S M Sehgal Foundation in Gurugram, India. Project: The Impacts of Vitamin A and Eye Health Education Modules for Children in Nuh, Haryana, India Read more about Isaac's experience on his blog! [ View ]

Andrew Zhang

Norman, OK

Internship Site: World Vegetable Center (ARVDC) in Shanhua, Taiwan. Project: Accelerating Pepper Breeding with Modern Breeding Tools Read more about Andrew's experience on his blog! [ View ]

Dessiy Zhang

Doetinchem, Netherlands

Internship Site: World Vegetable Center (ARVDC) in Hyderabad, India Project: A Genome Wide Association Study on Complex traits in the Global Capsicum Mini Core Collection (C.Annuum) Read more about Dessiy's experience on her blog! [ View ]

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