The professor said she is honored to be given the award.

“It’s a huge honor because it’s given to me by the industry,” Iezzoni said. “It’s nice to have your work valued.”

The Cherry Marketing Institute, or CMI, is a national, Michigan-based organization that represents cherry farmers across North America, said Phil Korson, president of CMI.

“It’s a big deal for someone who gets this award because it’s kind of like entering the hall of fame in the cherry industry,” Korson said. “Iezzoni has basically dedicated her career to the cherry industry,” he said. “She is known both nationally and internationally for her work.”

Sweet and tart cherries comprise the major cherry types, and Michigan is nationally the number one tart cherry grower, in which Iezzoni specializes. She also is the only tart cherry breeder in the U.S. and was the founder of MSU’s cherry breeding program, said Vance Baird, professor and chairperson of MSU’s Department of Horticulture.

“The award tends to be given to someone who is in the commercial business,” Baird said. “It’s a little extraordinary that they would recognize a researcher in the industry.”

Iezzoni said she has been working with cherries since 1981, when her research for the cherry breeding program at MSU involved taking trips to eastern Europe, where the cherry evolved.

“It was behind the Iron Curtain at the time,” she said. “I was collecting plant material and blossoms, so that I had a really solid foundation for breeding improved varieties.”

Iezzoni is currently involved in a $14.4 million research project called RosBREED, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whose mission is to speed up fruit breeding and improve fruit quality within the Rosaceae plant family — including apples, cherries, peaches and strawberries — throughout four years. The project began in September 2009.

“Amy’s work tends to impact a much broader group of people and looking to the future to see what’s needed, whether it has to do with disease resistance or managing orchards,” Baird said.

It was timely that Iezzoni was recognized for her advancements during a high point of her career, and she is an inspiration for the junior faculty in the department, he said.

“It focuses the department’s commitment to the industry and its ability to not only make progress in the discipline of horticulture but (also) in the industry,” Baird said.

Iezzoni said she will be riding in the National Cherry Festival’s DTE Energy Cherry Royale Parade in honor of the award on Saturday.

“There are huge benefits to the growers, and that’s what motivates me,” Iezzoni said. “(At) the end of the day, there’s a real tangible thing out there — there’s a diversity of cherries and the industry will hopefully remain profitable, so that we can keep the orchards of Michigan.”