Laura A. Katz

Smith College

Full Professor(heuristic)

Protist diversity and phylogeny · Molecular Biology

Compare more Molecular Biology professors.

h-index48
i10-index141
Publications234
Citations9,917

Grants

17 total · 2 active

NSF #2439030

Collaborative Research: PurSUiT: The diversity and evolution of extremophilic microbial eukaryotes

Active
Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2025-03-01 → 2028-02-29
PIs
1

NSF #2230391

RUI: PurSUiT: Biodiversity discovery of shell-building amoebae (Arcellinida: Amoebozoa) in low pH bogs and fens

Active
Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2023-05-01 → 2027-04-30
PIs
2

NSF #2620734

RUI: Enabling phylogenomic research on microbial eukaryotes with EukPhylo

Amount
$700K–$800K
Period
2027-01-15 → 2029-12-31
PIs
2

Active grants are a starting point, not proof of an opening. Confirm recruiting and funding with the professor, current students, and your written offer. Learn how to verify PhD funding →

All Grants

17 total · 2 active

NSF #2439030

Collaborative Research: PurSUiT: The diversity and evolution of extremophilic microbial eukaryotes

Active
Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2025-03-01 → 2028-02-29
PIs
1

NSF #2230391

RUI: PurSUiT: Biodiversity discovery of shell-building amoebae (Arcellinida: Amoebozoa) in low pH bogs and fens

Active
Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2023-05-01 → 2027-04-30
PIs
2

NSF #2620734

RUI: Enabling phylogenomic research on microbial eukaryotes with EukPhylo

Amount
$700K–$800K
Period
2027-01-15 → 2029-12-31
PIs
2

NSF #1924570

Collaborative Research: Combining single-cell and community 'omics' to test hypotheses about diversity and function of planktonic ciliates

Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2019-09-01 → 2025-02-28
PIs
1

NSF #1651908

RUI: Biodiversity of testate (shelled) amoebae in New England bogs and fens

Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2017-06-01 → 2023-05-31
PIs
1

NSF #1541511

GoLife: Collaborative Research: Bringing the diverse microbial clade Stramenopila + Alveolata + Rhizaria (SAR) into a modern genomic context

Amount
$500K–$600K
Period
2015-09-01 → 2022-08-31
PIs
1

NSF #1436003

Collaborative research: Patterns of diversity in planktonic ciliates ? spatio-temporal scales and community assembly in the coastal ocean

Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2014-09-01 → 2019-02-28
PIs
1

NSF #1208741

Collaborative research: Automated and community-driven synthesis of the tree of life

Amount
$300K–$400K
Period
2012-06-01 → 2017-05-31
PIs
1

NSF #1129734

Collaborative research: Diversity and dynamics of planktonic ciliates - what can next-generation sequencing technologies tell us?

Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2011-09-01 → 2015-08-31
PIs
1

NSF #0919152

RUI: Testing phylogenetic hypotheses within Tubulinea, a clade of free-living lobose amoebae

Amount
$200K–$300K
Period
2009-08-01 → 2014-03-31
PIs
1

NSF #0816828

RUI: Ciliate Phylogeny Assessed by Mitochondrial Markers

Amount
$100K–$200K
Period
2008-09-01 → 2011-12-31
PIs
1

NSF #0648713

Collaborative Research: Testing hypotheses about diversity, gene flow, and effective population size in marine planktonic ciliates

Amount
$200K–$300K
Period
2007-03-01 → 2011-02-28
PIs
1

NSF #0431185

AToL: Collaborative Research: Reconstructing Eukaryotic Phylogeny through Multigene Analyses of Microbial Eukaryotes

Amount
—
Period
2004-10-01 → 2010-09-30
PIs
2

NSF #0092908

CAREER: Phylogeny of Ciliates in the Class Phyllopharyngea

Amount
$400K–$500K
Period
2001-06-01 → 2007-05-31
PIs
1

NSF #0221062

Collaborative Research: Diversity and Biogeography of Marine Oligotrich and Choreotrich Ciliates Assessed by Morphological and Molecular Markers

Amount
$200K–$300K
Period
2002-09-15 → 2006-08-31
PIs
2

NSF #0079325

SGER: A Multi-Gene Approach to Understanding Relationships Among Ciliates in the Class Spirotrichea

Amount
$100K–$200K
Period
2000-05-01 → 2002-04-30
PIs
1

NSF #9510777

NSF/Sloan Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Molecular Evolution for 1995

Amount
<$100K
Period
1996-01-01 → 1998-06-30
PIs
1

Awarded at NY Fellowships

Recent Public Signals

  1. New paper: Self-assembling proteins compose the chemically resistant shell biomaterial of planktonic tintinnid ciliates (Nature Communications)2026-06-13
  2. New preprint: A new class of proteinaceous biomaterial with unprecedented properties in unicellular eukaryotes2025-12-23
  3. New NSF award: Collaborative Research: PurSUiT: The diversity and evolution of extremophilic microbial eukaryotes2025-03-01

Are you this professor?

No account needed — verify once with your ORCID iD to set recruiting status and correct your rank.

Data Freshness

  • Publications as of 2026-07-09
  • Grants as of 2026-08-29

Data may not be current

Find elsewhere

Institution / lab homepage Search on ResearchGate

ORCID: 0000-0002-9138-4702

Professor Insights

Career Trajectory