Quirós remembered for work in Brassica crops

Geneticist and Professor Emeritus Carlos F. Quirós Raffo died peacefully on Feb. 3 of lung cancer, surrounded by family and listening to his favorite music. He was 78.

A celebration of life will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at Living Coast Discovery Center, 1000 Gunpowder Point, Chula Vista, Calif. For details or to RSVP, click here.

Quirós was born in Lima, Peru, in 1946 to Carlos Salinas Quirós and Hilda Raffo, the second of five children. He was raised mostly in Lima and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He met the love of his life, Ana Raquel Velando, a vivacious and beautiful “gringa,” in 1965, and they married on March 15, 1970. The couple eventually had two sons, Carlos “Tato” Martin Quirós and César Samuel Quirós.

Quirós earned a doctoral degree in genetics from UC Davis in 1975. He was shaped by the mentorship of renowned plant geneticist Charles Rick, who became a close friend. Quirós returned to Davis and was a professor here from 1983 to 2011, when he retired. His studies and career took him to New Hampshire, Mexico, Quebec, Alberta, France and the San Francisco Bay Area. 

His research focused on the structure, evolution and comparative genomics of Brassica crop species; genetics and breeding of secondary metabolites in that genus; and celery breeding and genetics. Some notable achievements of Quirós and his team include isolating genes that control the production of nutrients beneficial for human health in crops such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. He bred celery strains that improved disease resistance, and bred the delicious potato cultivar “Inca Gold."

As a plant geneticist, Quirós wrote 90 publications, was cited more than 5,000 times, was the editor of several journals and received many awards, including a Fulbright Senior Scholarship Award. He collaborated with scientists from all over the world, including Europe, South America and Asia.  

Quirós' colleagues and students remember him as a friendly and caring instructor, mentoring many young plant geneticists who went on to careers in academia and the private sector. He will be remembered as a gentle, humble and intelligent individual, and a devoted husband, father, Papapa/Tata and friend.

More about Carlos Quirós

Read the In Memoriam tribute here. See the 2011 video interview with Donald Nevins.

Read the detailed obituary here.