Danielle J. Donnelly

Biography

 Professor Danielle Donnelly is a long-standing member of the Plant Science Dept. at McGill, where she teaches and conducts research with undergraduate and graduate students. She teaches Plant Propagation and various Undergraduate Research courses; videos prepared by her students can be viewed here. Prof. Donnelly’s research relates to plant tissue culture technologies for clonal plant improvement, and lab and field-based screening for improved genotypes of table stock and processing cultivars of potato. She works closely with experts in potato technology both in industry and in government. Recent contributions have highlighted new technologies for potato improvement, based on somatic variation. Current efforts to screen potato genotypes for improved phytonutrients involve collaborators in the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition and Canadian potato breeding agencies. Prof. Donnelly also directs McGill’s summer field study program in Barbados (Barbados Interdisciplinary Tropical Studies or BITS, for short).

Research Interest

 Dr. Danielle Donnelly's research focuses on in vitro technologies for genetic improvement of both table and processing cultivars of potato. Field-based selection of somaclonal variants is used for improvement of tuber yield and type while lab-based selections are applied for better storage and phytochemical characters. Dr. Donnelly has extensive research experience in micropropagation and hydroponic technologies, germplasm storage, and certification programs for clonally propagated species.