Contact Information:
Rytas Vilgalys Laboratory
Duke University, Department of Biology
Twitter: @LotusLofgren
Website: http://www.lotuslofgren.com/
Research interests:
I’m interested in ecology, evolutionary genomics, and host-interactions across diverse fungal systems. My research strategy is to use reverse ecology- starting with big-data methods including computational bioinformatics, comparative-, population- and phylo- genomics to inform subsequent experimental work using bioassays and molecular biology.
Prior to arriving at Duke, I completed a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota (2019) in the Kennedy Lab of Fungal Ecology, followed by a two-year postdoc in fungal population genetics and evolutionary genomics in the Stajich Lab at the University of California Riverside.
Personal interests:
Outside of research, I’m interested in open science / open data, science outreach, and DEI efforts to increase access across academic levels. When I’m not in the lab, I’m usually fussing over plants (indoors and out), cooking/fermenting, drawing or building something, or out in the woods hunting for mushrooms.