Despite a number of challenges over the past few months to an ongoing ISU research project, the latest being a “transgenic banana” panel held Wednesday evening in the Memorial Union, we wish to voice our unqualified support for Dr. Wendy White, her research and the objectives of her study.

This is a project led by scientists in Australia and Uganda, who wish to address vitamin A deficiency in millions of women and children worldwide. Vitamin A deficiency remains a major cause of blindness and death of children in developing countries. The team developed bananas that have been modified to contain a naturally occurring gene from bananas with elevated beta-carotene levels. This team sought out Dr. White, a foremost authority on beta-carotene absorption, to test the bioavailability of the beta-carotene in the fruit. In other words, can we gain a better understanding of how well the human body absorbs beta-carotene from the fruit and converts it into vitamin A?

Dr. White’s study is narrowly focused. It is limited in scope to that single question and represents a look at short-term effects on human nutrition. The university’s Institutional Review Board approved the research, in accordance with federal regulations. The board reviews all ISU research involving human subjects.

Dr. White is a highly valued member of the faculty of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, a department co-administered by the two colleges we lead — Agriculture and Life Sciences and Human Sciences. Dr. White has elected to focus on her work and not on publicity. She has been very selective on public comment while the work remains underway and data collection and analysis is still to come. That is her prerogative, and we respect her for it.

We strongly support and defend Dr. White and all our scientists engaged in answering important scientific questions. We are proud of the significant contributions the faculty in our colleges and those across the disciplines at ISU are making every day to improve lives of people here and around the world.

Undoubtedly there will be other scientific questions to answer regarding modified bananas, as well as economic, environmental and cultural questions, before any future decisions are made on whether this approach may help address the suffering of 190 million children and 19 million pregnant women with vitamin A deficiency.

signed,

Pamela White, dean, College of Human Sciences, and

Wendy Wintersteen, dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences