معرفی
Kathleen M. Pryer is a Professor of Biology at Duke University, affiliated with the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on fern and lycophyte evolution, integrating molecular, morphological, and fossil evidence. She leads projects in phylogenetics, RNA editing, and herbarium digitization, including the Pteridological Collections Consortium. Pryer has received awards such as the NSF CAREER Award and the Edgar T. Wherry Award. She co-authored over 200 publications, with recent work on fern genomics and symbiotic relationships. Her grants include funding for digitization projects and fern genome sequencing. Pryer mentors students in biodiversity and evolutionary biology, and she actively participates in outreach, including the Duke Plants website and FEMMES programs. She also oversees the Duke University Herbarium and collaborates on machine learning applications for ecological data analysis.
Education:
- Ph.D., Duke University, 1995
- M.S., University of Guelph (Canada), 1981
- B.S., McGill University (Canada), 1976
Research Interests: Fern systematics, molecular evolution, polyploidy, and biodiversity informatics. Key topics include RNA editing in plastomes, phylogenetic classification of cheilanthoid ferns, and the PteridoPortal database. Her work bridges traditional botany with cutting-edge genomic and computational methods.
Awards & Honors:
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2004–2010)
- Edgar T. Wherry Award (1988)
- Outstanding Faculty Award (2013)
- Over 20 grants from NSF, National Geographic, and other institutions
Grants & Funding: Includes digitization projects, phylogenetic research, and genome sequencing initiatives. Recent grants focus on fern diversity and climate change impacts.
Labs & Teams: Directs the Pryer Lab at Duke, collaborating on fern genomics and herbarium digitization. Engages in interdisciplinary work with computer science and entomology.
