Mary-Dell Chilton

Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton had a childhood marked by many moves and was raised at times by her grandparents rather than her parents. She worked in academia and then at Syngenta and she is largely responsible for the genetically engineered food crops that exist worldwide. After determining a means of reliably changing the traits of plants using bacteria to insert desired DNA into a host plant, her team developed one of the first commercial, genetically engineered plants—insect-resistant corn. Genetically engineered plants are used to produce crops that are resistant to disease, drought, and pests, and to increase crop yields. A history of genetically modified organisms is presented to help put Dr. Chilton’s work in context.