Michael Hood

Michael Hood is a Professor of Biology at Amherst College, specializing in the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping genetic systems. His research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, particularly using the anther-smut fungus Microbotryum as a model. He holds a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University (1996), an M.S. (1992), and a B.A. (1991) from the University of Virginia. Hood has received prestigious awards including the NIH and NSF grants, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His work explores genomic instability, disease dynamics, and co-evolutionary principles in natural populations.

• Primary Affiliation: Amherst College
• Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Host-Pathogen Coevolution, Genomic Instability

Education:

• Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 1996
• M.S., University of Virginia, 1992
• B.A., University of Virginia, 1991

Research highlights include studies on Microbotryum’s impact on Caryophyllaceae plants, mechanisms of recombination suppression, and disease distribution patterns. His grants include NIH-funded projects on resistance variation and transmission modes (2020–2024, 2016–2020). Hood also teaches courses on Disease Ecology, Genome Biology, and Plant Models in Organismal Biology.