Donal O’Sullivan

My field is crop genetics and I have pursued this topic in various guises for 24 years in Ireland, France and the UK in three Universities and both public and private research institutes. My PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology (specifically genome variability of the common bean anthracnose fungal pathogen) was followed by postdoctoral work on maize and bean structural genomics, and then 10 years as a group/programme leader at NIAB in Cambridge, UK, where I developed a sequence of pioneering cereal association genetics research projects and developed a toolkit (markers, germplasm) for faba bean genetic and pre-breeding research. In 2013, I took up a research Chair in Crop Science at the University of Reading and currently lead a research group with one over-arching aim: to reveal the subtle genetic architecture of complex, quantitative traits underpinning production of resilient, nutritious crops. We work primarily with wheat, the UK’s and the world’s most widely grown staple cereal crop, and the pulses faba bean and common bean.