TREC Student Spotlight 2021: Sarah Brewer

How do you pick a graduate school or program? Maybe, much like the sorting hat at Hogwarts, the graduate program chooses you.

Sarah Brewer recounts that she knew the exciting work conducted in the genetics and breeding lab run by Dr. Alan Chambers at UF/IFAS Tropical Research & Education Center was the right fit for her.

Dr. Chambers’ goal—to develop premium quality fruits for growers—was most appealing to Sarah because she would get to unite her backgrounds in #horticulture and #biochemistry. Moreover, enhancing the quality traits of fruits, such as their flavor, color, nutritional value, would allow her to incorporate creativity into her work.

For her dissertation research, Sarah evaluated 21 papaya varieties from the USDA germplasm repository in Hawai’i and 4 varieties developed by Drs. Jonathan Crane & Mike Davis here at UF/IFAS TREC. The goals were to identify which varieties would grow best in south Florida and to determine which quality traits could be enhanced to improve growers’ sales as well as consumers’ experiences.

Enhancing the quality traits of any food crop involves trial and error. While Sarah’s research identified promising varieties for the region, as well as compounds that may contribute to positive or negative flavors, her work was just the beginning for Dr. Chambers’ quest for south Florida’s perfect papaya.

For more information on Dr. Chambers research: https://www.tropicalfruitbreeding.com/


#IFASresearch #TRECTV #papaya