Iron deficiency, which causes anemia, is the most prevalent nutritional disorder in the world. Approximately 30% of the world’s population is iron deficient, which results in increased maternal mortality and infant loss, impaired growth and cognitive development, and decreased immune response. In addition,  iron deficiency is a global problem for the growth of major crops grown in calcareous soils. Our mission is to understand how plants respond to iron deprivation with the long term goal of producing plants with enhanced nutritional capacity and tolerance of nutrient-poor soils, thus increasing our ability to address global nutritional needs.