Kyria Boundy-Mills

Kyria Boundy-Mills is a Professional Research Microbiologist at the University of California, Davis in the Department of Food Science and Technology, where she has curated the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection since 2001. She maintains this global resource of 9,000 yeast strains for academic, industrial, and governmental researchers.

• Current research focuses on yeast/insect ecology
• Screening yeasts for protein, lipid, and carotenoid production
• Microbial interactions in food fermentations
• Applications in biofuels and biotechnology

Her publications highlight collaborations across entomology, biotechnology, and food microbiology, with applications in wine fermentation, fruit pests, and biofuel production. Awards include the UC Davis Academic Federation Award for Excellence in Research (2015) and the American Society for Microbiology USFCC/J. Roger Porter Award (2016).

She advises undergraduate researchers in her lab and contributes to culture collection management standards through the United States Culture Collection Network. Her work intersects microbial diversity, ecological interactions, and industrial innovation.