Profile of Jorge Dubcovsky.

Abstract

Growing up in Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s, plant biologist Jorge Dubcovsky witnessed poverty and malnutrition. Driven by social consciousness and a will to help others, Dubcovsky has since dedicated his life’s work to making a positive impact on the world’s food supply. By identifying a gene that increases wheat grain protein, iron, and zinc content, Dubcovsky and his team improved the nutritional value of wheat, which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates provides around one-fifth of the food available for daily human consumption around the globe (1). Dubcovsky also leads efforts to understand the genes that regulate wheat development and flowering time, and to improve wheat frost tolerance and disease resistance. For these and other achievements, Dubcovsky was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2013. Jorge Dubcovsky. Image courtesy of Jorge Dubcovsky. Dubcovsky was born in 1957 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He says of his parents, “They were caring parents who provided a very supportive environment and a strong emphasis on education. They also gave me a lot of freedom to explore and pursue my interests.” His parents also instilled a strong work ethic in him, as well as compassion for those who were less fortunate. “During my adolescence in Argentina, working in very poor neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, I saw the devastating effects poverty, lack of education, and malnutrition had on the lives of real people,” he says. “I realized the privileges I had, and got a sense of obligation to contribute to the solution of those problems.” Dubcovsky became an elementary school teacher at the tertiary school Mariano Acosta in 1977. He taught middle school math and science classes, completing all of his undergraduate studies while working as a teacher. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences …