Rebecca Nelson is part of Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Sciences and Department of Global Development, and is also affiliated with the community hub known as The Soil Factory—bringing together academics, artists, artisans, farmers and other community members around local and global sustainability issues.

Nelson’s lab studies the transformation of Organic Underutilized Resources (OURs) for into valuable agronomic inputs and other products using a Circular Bionutrient Economy (CBE) framework.  One major research area involves co-composting nitrogen-rich urine with carbon-rich agricultural residues, to create horticultural media while simultaneously reducing organic pollutants in urban and aquatic environments.  The team also works on nutrient recovery from urine to produce fertilizers.

The Nelson lab partners with the Lehmann lab at Cornell to study production of biochar from OURs (including human poo) and adapt the surface chemistry of these biochars for better nutrient capture and availability to crops.   The lab also collaborates with Chuan Liao, Lori Leonard, Erika Palmer and others at Cornell on aspects of circular economy.  Nelson works closely with Charles Midega and others in Kenya as part of the east African Circular Bionutrient Economy Network.

The lab has also conducted many years of research on the genetic resistance of corn to various fungal pathogens. Recent focus is has been on mitigating mycotoxin contamination in the food system through crop genetics, density and spectral based sorting of grain, and understanding the environmental and social drivers of mycotoxin exposure in food systems. 

Circular Bionutrient Economy: A tour of the Nelson Lab at Cornell University: A film directed, filmed, and produced by Jensen Njagi as part of the “facilities tour” session for the 2024 Rich Earth Summit.

Anthony Wenndt, Tata Cornell Scholar’s blog on the importance of participatory research to address mycotoxin contamination for smallholder farmers in India