When Dr. Rick Jellen stood on the red soil of Morocco, watching quinoa plants sway beatifically beneath the North African sun, he saw more than just a plot of land. Though he had only paused for a moment to consider the vegetation (descendants of a handful of seeds he himself had sent to Morocco years ago) before continuing on to give a lecture at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Jellen felt an overwhelming sense of fulfillment. These simple plants were the culmination of years of scientific service—the product of a concentrated effort to nourish both bodies and communities.
The project started back in 2000, when Jellen traveled to Morocco to study oats. There, he and three fellow BYU faculty colleagues, along with a collaborator at the Hassan II Agriculture and Veterinary Institute (IAV-Hassan II) explored the idea of combining their expertise for a joint research project. Surveys showed farmers in northern Morocco were abandoning traditional protein crops like lentils, chickpeas, and fava beans in favor of wheat and barley, raising the risk of protein malnutrition. “That got us thinking,” Jellen says. “Why not introduce quinoa?”
However, one major hurdle remained: quinoa, despite its nutritional superiority, lacked heat tolerance and wasn’t completely adapted to the lowland semi-desert environment of interior Morocco. Quinoa was developed as a crop over thousands of years by farmers in the Andes Mountains and from there was translocated to the geographically isolated Chilean coast. Undeterred, Jellen and his fellow scientists decided to experiment with quinoa, hoping to create a heat-resistant strain that could survive in hotter environments and provide nourishment to nutritionally vulnerable communities. “We began using quinoa’s wild relatives to find genes for disease resistance and better adaptation to new environments,” Jellen shares. “That includes subtropical lowlands like northern Argentina and Morocco, but also tropical lowlands.” Working with breeders in places like Malawi, Guyana, and Kenya, Jellen’s work now focuses on adapting quinoa to grow in those regions. His current BYU faculty colleagues, Dr. David Jarvis and Dr. Jeff Maughan, each co-manage the project using their unique backgrounds, knowledge, and skill sets.
As Jellen’s quinoa research progresses, new opportunities for service continue to emerge. “In places like Southeast Asia, massive rice-growing regions in river deltas are becoming increasingly inundated with seawater due to climate change,” he explains. “Rice can’t tolerate that kind of salinity, but quinoa can. That’s one of quinoa’s biggest advantages: it’s naturally salt-tolerant.” The BYU Plant Genetic Resources Lab hopes farmers might eventually replace a significant portion of their rice crop with quinoa.
The broader impact of Jellen’s work deeply resonates with students in his lab, where research is an extension of the original vision that began in Morocco. Although the lab and Moroccan project operate independently, the challenges Jellen encountered abroad continue to inspire and shape the lab’s direction. For Mary Thiel (PH ’28), this direction is deeply inspiring. She came across Jellen’s work while exploring agricultural study opportunities at BYU, sharing that she, “felt an immediate connection” with the work. Growing up, her family participated in Washington State University’s quinoa trials, giving her firsthand experience growing, irrigating, and caring for the crop. “I’ve always felt that farming is an incredibly spiritual experience,” Thiel explains, “It’s difficult but also so fulfilling. Experiencing the real-life challenges of growing crops like quinoa, then coming into a lab where we design phenotypes to solve those very problems—it was mind-blowing. It completely changed my world. Seeing both sides come together felt deeply spiritual.”
Thiel and her peers find a strong sense of purpose in continuing the humanitarian research that first took root in Morocco. Riley Roser (MS’26, PWS) expresses a sense of purpose working with quinoa. “Being able to grow a nutritious crop on a wider scale is going to be beneficial for humanity. If you’re improving the crop, it’s going to help everyone,” Roser shares.
The lab not only gives students a strong sense of purpose but also equips them with valuable experience for future education. Kayla Stephensen (PWS ’25) credits the BYU Plant Genetic Resources Lab with helping her qualify for a PhD program in Genetics at Texas A&M. “Working in the lab is especially awesome because of the combination of field work, coding, and bench work,” says Stephensen. “I love the mix of all three and the opportunity this mix provides to learn about different domains in the genetics field.”
Whether through fieldwork, coding, or genetic analysis, the BYU Plant Genetic Resources Lab participates in research that is both intellectually rigorous and spiritually resonant. For Jellen, the lab’s long-standing success is due in large part to divine guidance. “People, contacts, and opportunities have just kind of appeared throughout my career, almost as if they’ve fallen out of the woodwork,” he reflects. “All these connections came together almost magically. Now, the project in Morocco has been going for 24 years, and the main cooperative that grows quinoa in southern Morocco just celebrated its 17th year of production. It’s all pretty amazing.”
For those interested in joining the meaningful work happening in the BYU Plant Genetic Resources Lab opportunities are available, especially for students who demonstrate genuine interest and preparation. Dr. Jellen explains that while he doesn’t typically need to actively recruit, he welcomes inquiries from students and tries to accommodate as many as he can. “Ideally, I like to have about six to eight students working with me.” To be best prepared, Jellen recommends that prospective lab members gain some foundational lab training first. Students with this kind of background are typically comfortable using pipettors, performing DNA and RNA extractions, quantifying genetic material, and applying basic bioinformatics skills.
The BYU Plant Genetic Resources Lab isn’t just a research opportunity; it’s a chance to be part of something bigger than yourself. If you’re seeking a space to grow in both knowledge and purpose, this is the perfect place to plant your roots.
6-8 students
A student would be a good fit for this lab if they:
Want to learn about genetic variation and the challenges with using wild relatives to improve domesticated plants.
Students learn the following skills working in the lab:
- different DNA extraction methods for different sequencing applications
- genome assembly and analysis
- taking care of plants in a greenhouse