Trudy Frances Charlene Mackay (born 10 September 1952) is the director of Clemson University's Center for Human Genetics located on the campus of the Greenwood (S.C.) Genetic Center. She is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on the genetics of complex traits. Mackay is also the Self Family Chair in Human Genetics and Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University. Mackay is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2010). Mackay was formerly the

William Neal Reynolds William Neal Reynolds (March 22, 1863 – September 10, 1951) was a U.S. sportsman and businessman with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which was founded by his brother R. J. Reynolds. Early life Born in Patrick County, Virginia, Reynolds went ...

and Distinguished University Professor at North Carolina State University, where she specialized in

quantitative genetics Quantitative genetics deals with phenotypes that vary continuously (such as height or mass)—as opposed to discretely identifiable phenotypes and gene-products (such as eye-colour, or the presence of a particular biochemical). Both branches u ...

. She is responsible for establishing the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel.

Education

Mackay received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1974 and

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in 1976 in Biology from Dalhousie University. She completed postgraduate study at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

with a PhD in

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

awarded in 1979 for research supervised by Alan Robertson.

Career and research

Mackay's research investigates the environmental and genetic factors that influence

quantitative trait Complex traits, also known as quantitative traits, are traits that do not behave according to simple Mendelian inheritance laws. More specifically, their inheritance cannot be explained by the genetic segregation of a single gene. Such traits show ...

s. These phenotypic traits include height or weight and are represented by continuous, rather than discrete, values. Her work is undertaken by studying the impact of natural variants and

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral repl ...

s on many behavioural, morphological, physiological and life history traits in

fruit flies Fruit fly may refer to: Organisms * Drosophilidae, a family of small flies, including: ** ''Drosophila'', the genus of small fruit flies and vinegar flies ** ''Drosophila melanogaster'' or common fruit fly ** '' Drosophila suzukii'' or Asian frui ...

, which she uses as a model organism. The broad importance of such traits gives Mackay's work potential application in many areas — from improving plant breeding and

animal breeding Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation (using best linear unbiased prediction and other methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior E ...

to the treatment of human diseases. Mackay is the co-author with Douglas Scott Falconer of the fourth edition of the widely used and highly cited textbook, ''Introduction to Quantitative Genetics'', published in 1996.

Awards and honours

Mackay was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

(FRS) in 2006. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: She was awarded the Genetics Society of America Medal in 2004 and the

Wolf Prize in Agriculture The Wolf Prize in Agriculture is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and the Arts. ...

in 2016. She was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 2021. She is a recipient of Trinity College’s Dawson Prize in Genetics in 2018. She was elected

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

in 2003. She became a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 2005.

Personal life

Mackay married Robert R. H. Anholt in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay, Trudy 1952 births Living people Female Fellows of the Royal Society Wolf Prize in Agriculture laureates People from Moncton Scottish geneticists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh North Carolina State University faculty Women geneticists Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Clemson University faculty Scottish women scientists Scottish women academics