Simon Fraher

Bio

Dr. Simon Fraher is a Research Scholar at NC State University working with the Sweetpotato and Potato Breeding and Genetics Program under Dr. Craig Yencho. Simon is originally from Olympia, Washington, and had his first job in agriculture on an oyster farm. He attended Oregon State University, where he studied bioresearch and worked in a forest pathology lab. During his final semester, he met Dr. Pat Hayes, a barley breeder, and realized that plant breeding was his dream job. After completing an MS and PhD in Horticultural Science at NC State, Simon now leads the genetics, genomics, and pathology studies within the sweetpotato breeding program. He is also deeply involved in the culinary development of new sweetpotato varieties.