Susan McCouch

Susan R. McCouch (born 1953) is an American geneticist specializing in the genetics of rice. She is the Barbara McClintock Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University, and since 2018 a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

McCouch completed her Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies from Smiths College in 1975. She went on to receive her Masters of Science in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts in 1982. McCouch completed her doctorate at Cornell in 1990, under the supervision of Steven D. Tanksley.

After receiving her PhD, McCouch worked with the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines until 1995. She then joined the Cornell faculty in the departments of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Plant biology, Biological Statistics, and Computational Biology.

Her research has included identifying the genetic mechanisms used by rice to survive long-term flooding, and the development of a new cultivar of red rice.

• Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities (2012)