Facts: - name: barbara pickersgill - caption: john in 2006 mcneill , barbara pickersgill , and vernon heywood - image: john mcneill , barbara pickersgill , vernon heywood.jpg Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of barbara pickersgill .
Answer:
barbara pickersgill -lrb- born 1940 -rrb- is a british botanist with a special interest in the domestication of crops , the genetics , taxonomy , and evolutionary biology of cultivated plants , and the preservation of crop diversity .her 1966 dissertation for the degree of doctor of philosophy from indiana university concerned the taxonomy of '' capsicum chinense '' .in 2005 she retired from the school of biological sciences at the university of reading , to become an honorary research associate .her research projects include : the molecular systematics and the use of wild species in the improvement of farmed chillis -lrb- '' capsicum '' -rrb- research on the domestication of crops , notably the common bean , '' phaseolus vulgaris '' , working with the centro internacional de agricultura tropical -lrb- ciat -rrb- in colombia the genetic diversity , conservation and improvement of tropical crops such as : * quinoa -lrb- '' chenopodium quinoa '' -rrb- , working with the centro internacional de la papa -lrb- cip -rrb- in peru * banana -lrb- '' musa '' species -rrb- from the east african highlands