Surinder Vasal is an Indian geneticist and plant breeder, known for his contributions in developing a maize variety with higher content of usable protein. He was born on 12 April 1938 in Amritsar in the Indian state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

and received a PhD in genetics and plant breeding. He worked with biochemist

Evangelina Villegas Evangelina Villegas (October 24, 1924 – April 24, 2017) was a Mexican cereal biochemist whose work with maize led to the development of quality protein maize (QPM). She and her colleague from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Cent ...

for 35 years to develop a protein enriched form of maize in the 1970s.

Quality Protein Maize Quality Protein Maize (QPM) is a family of maize varieties. QPM grain contains nearly twice as much lysine and tryptophan, amino acids that are essential for humans and monogastric animals but are limiting amino acids in grains. QPM is a product o ...

is created by adding protein to low nutrient corn and is prevalent in China, Mexico, parts of Central America, and Africa today and is referenced as "miracle maize" because of its role in alleviating malnourishment. In addition to improving the nutritional value of maize, its productivity was also increased. They were jointly awarded the

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...

in 2000 for their development of Quality Protein Maize at the

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (known - even in English - by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT for ''Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo'') is a non-profit research-for-development organization that develops im ...

in Mexico. Vasal is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

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World Food Prize Biography
1938 births Living people Indian geneticists Fellows of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences Scientists from Amritsar 20th-century Indian biologists Agriculture and food award winners {{india-scientist-stub