From Grinnell to GAIN

Interdisciplinary learning has led Anthony Wenndt ’15 to become a change-maker in the global agricultural ecosystem. As he designs food safety interventions for resource-poor communities, he is guided by a passion for research that is equitable and fully responsive to the needs of the most marginalized communities. 

In 2015, Wenndt graduated Grinnell College as a Biology and Russian double major with a concentration in global development studies. He felt that this combination could “leverage science as a force for good in empowering marginalized communities — particularly smallholder farmers — to maintain food systems that are nourishing and sustainable--even for the very poorest.”

While participating in the Grinnell Science Project as a first-year student, Wenndt was introduced to plant pathology, spurring his interests in fungal biology, plant science and food systems. In particular, Wenndt grew interested in the ways that fungal diseases of plants translate into human suffering, be it through socioeconomic (vis-à-vis reduced crop yields, etc.) or public health (vis-à-vis human toxins and pathogens, etc.) terms. Discovering this intersection, he recalls, “I knew right away that this was an area I wanted to focus on in my research.” His research has focused on the identification and prevention of mycotoxins — naturally occurring toxins which are produced by certain fungi and found in a variety of crops and foodstuffs. “Mycotoxins are a critical link in the fungus-food-health continuum,” Wenndt explains, “since they are a product of plant disease that has fundamental and devastating implications for human health and nutrition.” 

After graduating from Grinnell, Wenndt earned his doctoral degree in plant pathology at Cornell University in 2020, followed by a post-doc at the Tata Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition. Since 2021, he has worked as a technical specialist in food safety research at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN). In April 2022, he stepped into the position of Technical Officer for Reaching the Very Poor. What he enjoys most about his work is that it aims to empower marginalized communities not only to benefit from the research, but also to ask and answer their own questions in ways that are meaningfully connected to their own lives. By helping these communities to define their own metrics of success and to collaborate in scientific endeavors, Wenndt is ameliorating our perception of how research can be strengthened by the contributions of ordinary people.

To current students seeking a career in STEM, Wenndt advises developing a diverse set of skills across disciplines. While it is easier to unilaterally focus on classes in a single division of study, consolidating knowledge of a variety of perspectives enables professionals in any area to communicate a greater understanding of the world around them. And after all, science should be informed by and linked to the realities of real people. As Wenndt says, “Science can surely be done with the intent of discovery alone, but leveraging diverse and human-centered skillsets allows science to be done with the intent of equity and empowerment, which is something that I believe is important for the future of our world.”