Holly McInnes
PhD Student | Plant Pathology
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences | NC State University
2024-25 Global One Health Fellow
About Holly
Holly is a second year PhD student studying Plant Pathology with a special interest in plant pathogenic viruses that threaten our global food supply. Her current research focuses on exploring tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) interactions with its hosts to better understand tospovirus disease dynamics. Her work with emerging tospoviruses includes describing resistance breaking and non-resistance breaking TSWV interactions with their plant hosts and insect vectors to determine if and how these viruses might behave differently in the field. She also works in collaboration with NC State tomato breeders to develop and test novel sources of TSWV resistance in tomato. Holly hopes to incorporate what she learns about basic virus biology and breeding for resistance into developing effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly disease management strategies that are resilient to climate change.
Contact Information
Email: hamcinne@ncsu.edu