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Rytas J. Vilgalys

Professor of Biology
Biology
Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
Room 346, Biological Sciences Building, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


My scientific work includes traditional and modern research approaches to studying all areas of mycology including systematics, evolution, medical mycology, plant pathology, genetics/genomics, and ecology.  I am best known for my involvement in the transition of fungal systematics from a non-quantitative, largely morphologically based science to the rigorous genome-based discipline that it is today.  For the past 20 years, my lab has been increasingly involved in the study of fungal “ecogenomics” using targeted and shotgun metagenomics which link molecular function with fungal diversity.  In collaboration with medical mycologists and basic scientists at Duke Medical Center, I have also helped to bring an evolutionary biology perspective toward the study of human mycoses.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Biology · 2000 - Present Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Assistant Professor in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology · 2010 - Present Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Basic Science Departments

Education, Training & Certifications


Virginia Polytech Institute and State University · 1985 Ph.D.
Virginia Polytech Institute and State University · 1981 M.S.
State University of New York, Geneseo · 1978 B.A.