WSU crop sciences graduate receives fellowship a second time

After receiving the D.W. Steiger Family Graduate Fellowship in 2023, Olufunke Ayegbidun was especially grateful to receive it another time in 2024.

"I was surprised and elated," said Ayegbidun, a PhD student and graduate research assistant in Washington State University's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. "I feel so honored to have been selected again, and I'm very thankful for the fellowship's generous sponsors. I hope they know how much of a difference these funds make in the lives of people like me."

Established by WSU alumni Bettie and Donald Steiger, the fellowship supports crop and soil sciences graduate students whose research centers on wheat breeding and genetics. The fellowship's stipend can be used for tuition, fees, research expenses, and other education-related costs. Last year, the financial support helped Ayegbidun save enough of her own money to travel home to Nigeria for the first time since getting married in 2022.

"I was able to reconnect with my family, and, most importantly, my husband," she said. "It was a really precious opportunity."

Ayegbidun received her bachelor's degree in plant biology from the University of Ilorin in Nigeria, graduating in 2019. During an internship, she learned how plant breeding can be used to increase yield and mineral concentration, potentially improving the nutritional value of crops for consumers and growers.

"Plant biology interested me initially because I wanted to understand how plants work and how we can use them to our benefit," Ayegbidun said.

She relocated to the U.S. in 2020, earning a master's degree in biological sciences with a concentration in quantitative genetics and plant breeding in 2022 from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Though Pullman is even farther from her home country, the choice to attend WSU was an easy one.

"I knew I wanted to work with one of the three main crops: rice, maize, or wheat," she said. "Washington state is one of the country's largest producers of wheat, and WSU has great faculty and a very good ag research program that aligns with my goals. It was a no-brainer for me to come here."

Ayegbidun is currently working on her dissertation, pinpointing the specific genes responsible for high levels of iron and zinc in wheat. She is also exploring how wheat varieties with those genes can be bred faster, making them more nutritious and beneficial for consumption.

"Micronutrient deficiency is a big deal," Ayegbidun said. "More than 2 billion people suffer from it globally, and iron and zinc deficiency are two of the most common forms."

As a member of the WSU and USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) wheat breeding team, Ayegbidun works closely with her advisor Kim Garland-Campbell, a USDA-ARS research geneticist and adjunct faculty in WSU's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.

"Olufunke has been a great addition to our USDA wheat breeding team," Garland-Campbell said. "She has already contributed great skills in data collection and statistical analyses to our project. I am looking forward to continuing to work with her for the next few years of her graduate work and am glad that she chose to come to WSU to pursue her PhD."

Due to the broad scope of plant breeding and genetics, Ayegbidun also collaborates frequently with faculty outside of her department.

"It's really everybody's business," Ayegbidun said. "Every field is part of the puzzle. For plant breeding or quantitative genetics, you need some statistics and some plant biology. You also need to know the consumer impact of the crops being produced and the varieties being developed. You have to reach out to others for ideas."

Ayegbidun plans to graduate with her PhD in spring 2026, but she's already envisioning a future at a plant breeding or agricultural organization.

"I want to see the impact of my research and be able to interact with growers," she said. "I know there's an opportunity for that in academia, but I feel that industry is better structured for what I want to do. I hope to work with other researchers and collaborators, channeling results directly to the field."