Amanda Cavanagh is a lecturer at the University of Essex. She is interested in the biochemical diversity in plants and how this diversity can affect photosynthesis and plant growth. Her research for RIPE involves characterizing the biochemistry and physiology of RIPE's photorespiratory bypass work in plants. Amanda's work has been published in Plant Cell, Photosynthesis Research, and Science. Learn more about Amanda's breakthrough work that boosted crop growth by 40 percent on NPR, or watch the video below. Amanda joined the RIPE project as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois in the lab of Don Ort. 

Amanda earned her bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry and went on to earn her doctorate in biology from the University of New Brunswick. As a doctoral student, she was independently awarded funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and as well as an award from the O'Brien Foundation, a humanitarian trust. Amanda also received the 2021 Rank Prize New Lecturer grant in nutrition, having been one of three scholars to receive the award.