PSM Grad Student Qinyuan Cao receives Kirk & Marjorie Lawton fellowship award
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EmailAdvancing Food Safety Through Soil-Plant Research
Originally from Beijing, Qinyuan Cao received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Beijing Normal University and is now pursuing her Ph.D. at Montana State University (MSU). Since October 2023, she has been working on a research project titled “Metallome Profiles in Crops Under Different Soil Water Treatments and Growth Stages.”
Qinyuan speaks highly of her MSU experience:
“MSU provides a very supportive environment for international students. The university, the department, and my advisor’s lab all offer strong support and resources to study contaminants in soil-water systems. I am very grateful to MSU and my advisor, [Advisor Name], for giving me the opportunity to pursue my Ph.D. studies here.”
Her long-term goal is to become an independent academic researcher focused on environmental contaminants in plant-water-soil systems. She aims to develop strategies that improve food safety and promote human health.
As a fellowship recipient, Qinyuan will travel to the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City in November 2025. The award also includes a ¼-time GRA stipend for the Fall 2025 semester.
“At the 2024 Tri-Societies Meeting, I presented a poster of my initial findings and received valuable feedback. For 2025, I plan to give an oral presentation—an exciting chance to share my more developed results and engage in meaningful discussions with peers in the field.”
