Jeanie Borlaug Laube
Chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI), Borlaug family
Jeanie Borlaug Laube has served as chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative (BGRI) since 2009, a year after its launch. A passionate advocate for wheat research, she encourages scientists to “take it to the farmer.” Laube has fostered a global community of wheat researchers, elevating their voices among politicians, policymakers, farmers, scientists, and donors. To honor her father Norman Borlaug’s 100th birth anniversary, she toured Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Mexico, Washington, D.C., and Minnesota in 2013 and 2014, advocating for wheat, food security, and global cooperation. Laube met with scientists, farmers, and leaders during these visits.
In 2009, she founded the Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum Award for early-career scientists, now boasting 75 awardees transforming wheat research. She also established the Jeanie Borlaug Laube Mentor Award in 2010 to recognize scientists who mentor young wheat researchers.