Virginia Tech® home

Frank Aylward

profile picture

Dr. Frank Aylward

Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences

Giant DNA viruses and genomics of microbial groups

The Aylward lab is broadly interested in microbial and viral diversity. We use a combination of bioinformatics and wet lab approaches to examine the ecology, evolution, and genomics of diverse microbial groups, their viruses, and their role in the biosphere. Of recent interest are giant DNA viruses that have particularly large genomes and complex evolutionary histories.