Charles Delwiche

Charles Delwiche is a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, affiliated with the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. He specializes in evolutionary biology, particularly the origins of plants and plastids, using phylogenomic approaches. His research combines molecular methods with classical fieldwork to study algal evolution, focusing on dinoflagellates, haptophytes, and charophyte green algae.

Education: Ph.D. in Plant molecular systematics and plastid evolution from the University of Wisconsin. Teaching includes courses on microbial ecology, responsible research conduct, and diversity in the biological sciences. He leads the BEES, CBBG, and MOCB graduate programs in the Biological Sciences Interdisciplinary Program (BISI).

Research interests emphasize early plant evolution, including chloroplast origins and land plant emergence from green algae. Recent work includes defining dinoflagellate species via rDNA, analyzing Marsilea vestita genomes, and exploring salinity tolerance mechanisms in Chara algae. His publications span algal biodiversity, phylogenomics, and evolutionary transitions.

Scientific recognition includes AAAS Fellowship (2020). Ongoing projects involve transcriptomic analyses of green algae and genomic studies of charophycean Coleochaete orbicularis. Collaborative grants focus on microbial eukaryotic diversity and plant evolutionary developmental biology.