Carrie Miranda has joined NDSU as an assistant professor and project leader for the soybean breeding program. She also will teach NDSU’s Department of Plant Sciences applied plant breeding and research methods class in the fall of 2021.

The goals of her soybean breeding program are to produce high-yield varieties while discovering new genetic mechanisms for useful traits to ensure North Dakota farmers have access to superior soybean varieties.

“We look forward to Dr. Miranda working with scientists, producers and growers with the common interest of developing and improving soybean varieties,” said Richard Horsley, department head for plant sciences.

Miranda succeeds longtime soybean breeder Ted Helms, who retired in June.

“I look forward to continuing Ted Helms’s excellence in soybean breeding and ensuring North Dakota farmers have superior varieties available,” said Miranda. “I will add new technology to the program including marker assisted breeding to expedite variety release and discover new sources of traits. I am grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the soybean research community and to benefit North Dakota farmers.”

Miranda earned her bachelor's degree at Cleveland State University. After volunteering for AmeriCorps in Arizona and teaching English in Seoul, South Korea, she returned to the U.S. to earn her master's degree in molecular biology at San Diego State University and her doctorate at the University of Missouri.

She worked as a pea breeder for Puris Foods in Oskaloosa, Iowa, before returning to the University of Missouri as a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service postdoctoral fellow focused on using bioinformatic tools to identify and validate candidate genes.

As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.