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Susan Rutherford McCouch

Professor

Primary Research Areas

  • agricultural biotechnology
  • biodiversity
  • bioinformatics
  • evolution
  • genetics
  • international agriculture
  • molecular genetics
  • new life sciences
  • plant biology
  • plant breeding and genetics
  • plant sciences

Graduate Fields

Research Focus

Current work focuses on both forward and reverse genetics approaches to the identification, functional characterization and evolutionary history of genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with domestication and with plant improvement. She is particularly interested in understanding the genetic basis of transgressive variation and exploring how genes from low-yielding wild and exotic Oryza species that enhance the performance of modern rice cultivars.

Educational Background

Master's Degree
Univ Massachusetts-Amherst
1982

Doctorate
Cornell University
1990

Research Grants

  • GEPR: EXPLORING THE GENETIC BASIS OF TRANSGRESSIVE VARIATION IN RICE
  • TRPGR GRAMENE: A PLATFORM FOR COMPARATIVE PLANT GENOMICS
  • CLONING AND INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RICE BACTERIAL BLIGHT DISEASE RESISTANCE GENE XA5
  • GRAMENE: A PLATFORM FOR COMPARATIVE MONOCOT GENOMICS
  • THE PLANT ONTOLOGY CONSORTIUM
  • MEASURING LINKAGE DISEQUILIBRIUM ACROSS THREE GENOMIC REGIONS IN RICE
  • VCA-PGR: EVOLUTIONARY GENOMICS OF RICE
  • EXPLORING NATURAL GENETIC VARIATION" DEVELOPING GENOMIC RESOURCES AND INTROGRESSION LINES FOR FOUR AA GENOME RICE RELATIVE
  • DEVELOPMENT OF COMMON QUERYING INTERFACE FOR RICE GERMPLASM INFORMATION BETWEEN IRIS AND GRAMENE