Research Plant Geneticist. Sugarbeet and Bean Research Unit. USDA- Agriculture Research Service. East Lansing. Michigan. USA

Karen Cichy is a Research Plant Geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service in East Lansing, Michigan since 2009. Dr. Cichy holds a BS degree in Horticulture from Penn State University and MS and PhD degrees in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Michigan State University. Her primary goal is to support increased consumption of beans and other pulses by addressing consumer acceptance via genetic improvements to nutritional and culinary quality traits. Research activities include: Breeding dry beans to have faster cooking times, understanding the genotypic variability, genetic control and underlying mechanisms of cooking time; Developing germplasm with superior end use quality for use as whole cooked and canned beans and as a flour ingredient in products such as pasta; Characterizing role of processing in dry bean nutritional value and breeding beans with enhanced iron concentration and bioavailability.