Xyrus obtained a PhD at the University of Massachusetts working in Laura Katz’s laboratory to study genome evolution in microbial eukaryotes (protists). Xyrus later joined Mariusz Nowacki’s lab at Universität Bern to explore the molecular biology underpinning developmentally regulated genome rearrangements in ciliates (a crazy group of protists). Afterwards, Xyrus joined Eunsoo Kim at the American Museum of Natural History (NY) to focus on the eukaryotic tree of life, including the identification and placement of previously unknown major lineages of eukaryotes.
Xyrus joined the Department of Biology where his work combines state-of-the-art genomics, imaging, and bioinformatics largely using culture-independent techniques (i.e. single-cell -omics) with the goal of exploring the eco-evo-devo dynamics of atypical genome cycles in protists and the identification and description of new lineages of eukaryotic life.
Search for Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá's papers on the Publications page