Since the beginning of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago, humans have molded the diversity of crop plants around them to suit their diverse needs for food and beverage, feed, clothing and other numerous uses. Starting with the process of domestication, crop biodiversity results from the fascinating interactions among humans, plants, and their environment. My research and teaching program is focused on elucidating the evolutionary processes that have shaped evolution of crop plants under cultivation. I focus particularly on Phaseolus beans because they are such an important part of the human diet, especially in developing countries, and provide many health benefits. On the applied level, I look at the consequences of our findings for plant breeding. One of my main activities is a participation in the ABC-KT project (i.e., African Bean Consortium, funded by the Kirkhouse Trust), which seeks to develop a marker-assisted selection capability in East African bean breeding programs.