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Kathleen M. Pryer

Professor of Biology
Biology
Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
358 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC 27708

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Biology · 2011 - Present Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society · 2017 - Present Duke Science & Society, University Initiatives & Academic Support Units

In the News


Published January 19, 2024
The Duke Herbarium Needs a Bigger Home for Its 825,000 Plant Species
Published March 22, 2023
Climate Lessons from Plants, Past to Future
Published January 1, 2021
The Little Fern That Could

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Recent Publications


Comparative phylogenetic analyses of RNA editing in fern plastomes suggest possible adaptive innovations.

Journal Article The New phytologist · May 2025 RNA editing in plant organelles is widely regarded as a neutral corrective mechanism, yet it persists as a complex, energetically costly process, requiring numerous nuclear-encoded pentatricopeptide repeat proteins. Ferns are the most diverse lineage of la ... Full text Cite

A phylogenetically informed generic reclassification of the hemionitid ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae)

Journal Article Taxon · April 1, 2025 The roughly 500 species of cheilanthoid ferns exhibit a diversity of morphological adaptations to xeric environments. However, most of these traits have evolved independently multiple times, impeding past efforts to establish a natural classification for t ... Full text Cite

The PteridoPortal: A publicly accessible collection of over three million records of extant and extinct pteridophytes.

Journal Article Applications in plant sciences · March 2025 PremisePteridophytes-vascular land plants that disperse by spores-are a powerful system for studying plant evolution, particularly with respect to the impact of abiotic factors on evolutionary trajectories through deep time. However, our ability t ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution and Function of Farina in the Desiccation-tolerant Notholaenid Ferns (Pteridaceae)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2017 - 2022

Oceans Apart: Assessing the roles of Vicariance and Long-distance Dispersal in the Widely Disjunct Fern Genus Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Geographic Society · 2019 - 2019

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Education, Training & Certifications


Duke University · 1995 Ph.D.
University of Guelph (Canada) · 1981 M.S.
McGill University (Canada) · 1976 B.S.

External Links


Pryer Lab Website