Introducing Elizabeth Krause

Hello! My name is Elizabeth Krause. I am the new Fruit Project Manager at CREC.

I grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota. We didn’t live on a farm, but I loved to grow new things in our vegetable garden. Because of this I decided to study horticulture. I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at NDSU. As an undergraduate, I worked for my professor Dr. Susie Thompson, a potato breeder. That inspired me to want to do research (and sparked an interest in plant breeding). For my master’s degree, I wanted to try working with a different species. That is how I ended up in Dr. Harlene Hatterman-Valenti’s group researching grapes. She let me design my own study. I definitely did not know what I was doing at first, but I was able to shape it into a unique project about the timing of growth stages and how they are related to genetics. Along the way, I learned about designing experiments, collecting data, collaboration, and sharing our results. I defended my thesis just 11 days before starting at the CREC.

I have always been attracted to unusual and new crops. That is something I’m excited for as the orchard manager. Many fruits we can grow in North Dakota are things you won’t find in the grocery store (at least not right now). I am especially looking forward to the haskaps. We have a very diverse collection, and I plan to use it to breed haskaps for North Dakota. Another thing I am looking forward to is creating opportunities for you to be involved in fruit research. Watch for volunteer or citizen science opportunities in the future!

I haven’t been in Carrington long, but I already know I want to be involved in the Church here. Both congregations I have met are amazing! Outside of research, I enjoy reading and cooking. I also enjoy photographing insects and spiders.

If you want to ask about fruit, email me!

Elizabeth Krause
Elizabeth.Krause@ndsu.edu
Fruit Project Manager