My research focuses on conservation of crops -- particularly corn in Mexico, its center of origin. I use molecular genetic tools to look at the effects of conservation happening in farmer's fields and in genebanks. I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary projects that integrate biological tools into real world problems. Before coming to Cornell for my Ph.D., I worked on a project that looked at the environmental, economic and agricultural effects of nutrient management (fertilizers) in a developing country. Also I worked for CIMMYT, an international organization which specializes in breeding corn and wheat for third world farmers, where I concentrated on economic evaluations of subsistence farming systems and the decisions farmers make when they save seed for the next planting season.

2002 - 2003 CEIRP Fellow: http://ceirp.cornell.edu/the_fellows/2002/Ellie_Rice.asp
My project homepage: http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/ebr6/