BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
KHIDIR W. HILU

Education:

Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, Ph.D., 1976, Botany

Professional History:

1995-present:  Professor, Dept. Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

1986-1995: Associate Prof., Dept. Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

1981-1986:  Asst. Prof., Dept. Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

1979 - 1981:  Research Associate, Department of Agronomy, University of Illinois, Urbana‑Champaign.
 
1978 ‑ 1979:  Postgraduate Biosystematist, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside.
 
Research Interest: 
Systematics and evolution of plants with a focus on angiosperms, systematics and evolution of grasses (Poaceae), molecular evolution of genes, origin and evolution of crop plants with a focus on cereal crops.

Publications:   (Total publications: 100 peer-reviewed articles, two popular article, one book edited, five books reviewed, and ~120 abstracts).

Representative Publications

Hilu, K. W.  1983.  The role of single‑gene mutations in the evolution of flowering plants.  Evol. Biol. 16: 97‑128.

Soderstrom, T. R., K. W. Hilu, C. S. Campbell, and M. E. Barkworth (eds.).  1987.  Grass Systematics and Evolution. Smithsonian Press, Washington, D.C.

Hilu, K. W. and J. L. Johnson.  1991.  Chloroplast DNA sequence variation in the Poaceae.  Plant Syst. Evol.  176: 21‑31.

Hilu, K. W. 1993.  Polyploidy and the evolution of domesticated plants.  Amer. J. Bot. 80: 1494-1499. (Special Paper).

Hilu, K. W. and H. Liang.  1997. The Matk gene: sequence variation and application in plant systematics.  Amer. J. Bot.  84: 830-839.

Hilu, K. W., L. A. Alice and H. Liang.  1999.  Phylogeny of Poaceae inferred from matK sequences.  Annals of Missouri Bot. Gard. 86: 835-851.

Hilu, K. W.  2000.  Contributions of Prolamin Size Diversity and Structure to the Sytematics of the Poaceae.  In Grasses: Systematics and Evolution. Vol. 2, Pp. 241-247.  Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on the Comparative Biology of Monocotyledons, 1998, Sydney, Australia, eds. S. W. L. Jacobs and J. Everett. Melbourne: CSIRO Press.

Hilu, K. W. and L. V. Sharova.  2002.  Evolutionary implications of substitution patterns in prolamin genes of Oryza glaberrima (African rice, Poaceae) and related species.  Amer. J. Bot.  89: 211-219.

Borsch, T., K. Hilu, V. Wilde, C. Nienhuis, and W. Barthlott.  2003.  Noncoding DNA reveals a highly resolved phylogeny for angiosperms.  J. Evol. Biol. 16: 558-567.

Hilu, Khidir W., Thomas Borsch, Kai Müller, Douglas E. Soltis, Pamela S. Soltis, Vincent Savolainen, Mark W. Chase, Martyn Powell,  Lawrence  A. Alice, Rodger Evans, Hervé Sauquet, Christoph Neinhuis, Tracey A. Slotta, Jens G. Rohwer, Christopher S. Campbell, and Lars Chatrou.  2003.  Angiosperm phylogeny based on matK sequence information.  American Journal of Botany 90: 1758-1776. (Article selected fort he journal’s cover)

Hilu, K. W.  2004.  Phylogenetics and chromosomal evolution in the Poaceae (grasses).   Australian Journal of Botany 52: 13-22.

Quandt D, Müller K, Stech M, Hilu KW, Frey W, Frahm JP, Borsch T.  2004.  Molecular evolution of the chloroplast trnL-F region in land plants. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gardens 98: 13-37.

Neves, S., Ginger Swire-Clark, K. W. Hilu, and Wm. Vance Baird. 2005.  Phylogeny of Eleusine (Poaceae: Chloridoideae) based on nuclear ITS and plastid trnT-trnF sequences.  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35 (2): 395-419.

Woods, Kristi,  K. W. Hilu, T. B. Borsch, J. H. Wiersema,. 2005.  Pattern of Variation and Systematics of Nymphaea odorata:  II.  Sequence information from ITS and trnL-trnF. Systematic Botany 30: 481-493.

Müller, Kai F., Khidir W. Hilu and Thomas Borsch. 2006. Phylogenetic utility of rapidly evolving DNA at high taxonomical levels: contrasting matK, trnT-F and rbcL in basal angiosperms.  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution  41: 99-117. 

Hilu, K. W.   2006.  Skewed distribution of species number in grass genera: is it a taxonomic artifact?  In: Trevor Hodkinson, John Parnell and Steve Waldren (eds.), Towards the Tree of Life: the taxonomy and systematics of large and species rich groups. CRC Press.

Hilu, K. W. 2007.  A Century of Progress in Grass Systematics. Kew Bulletin 62: 355–373.

Döring, Elke, Khidir W. Hilu, Martin Röser.  2007.  Phylogenetic relationships in the Aveneae/Poeae complex (Pooideae, Poaceae).  Kew Bulletin 62: 407–424.

Barthet, Michelle and Khidir Hilu.  2007.  Expression of matK: functional and systematic implications. American J. Botany 94: 1402–1412.

Breviario, Diego, Wm. Vance Baird, Shail Sangoi, Khidir Hilu, Pietro Blumetti, and Silvia Gianì.  2007.  High polymorphism and resolution in targeted fingerprinting with combined beta-tubulin introns.  Molecular Breeding 20: 249-259.

Barthet, Michelle and Khidir Hilu. 2008. Evaluating evolutionary constraint on the rapidly evolving gene  matK using protein composition.  Journal of Molecular Evolution.  (Article selected fort he journal’s cover)

Hilu, K. W.,  C. Black, D. Diouf, G. Burleigh, In Press. Phylogenetic signal in matK vs. trnK:  A case study in early-diverging eudicots (Angiosperms).  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

Professional Awards, and Services: 
Awards received:  Outstanding Teacher of the Year award from the Department of Biological Science for, Virginia Tech, 2007.  A Fulbright award, 1999-2000, for a research scholarship in Morocco; the 1996 J. Shelton Horsley Research Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Virginia Academy of Sciences for original research; Research award from the CSIRO, Australia, to support a 1994 sabbatical at the Plant Industry Division in Canberra to work in Dr. Rudi Appels' laboratory; William and Mary Baker Award of the Virginia Academy of Science for the best presentation in botanical work during the 1991 meeting.

Received grants from various agencies including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Jeffress Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the International Board of Plant Genetic Resources.

Reviewer for National Science Foundation, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Agricultural Organization, United Nations Development Program, British Natural Environment Research Council, German Research Foundation, and a number of national and international journals, and Scientific Research Flanders, Belgium.

Served as panel member of the U. S. Agency for International development (USAID), Program in Science and Technology, the subcommittee on Agriculture and Forestry of the Botanical Society of America Committee "Agenda 2000", and Recommendation Committee for the Second International Workshop of Small Millets, 1991, Zimbabwe, and the Editorial Board of the Genetics Newsletter, editorial board of the journal Kurtziana and Journal of Systematics.

Organized with T. R. Soderstrom a national symposium on the Biological Adaptations in Grasses at the 1983 annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America. Organized the 2nd International Symposium on Grass Systematics and Evolution with T. R. Soderstrom,  C. S. Campbell and M. E. Barkworth, held in 1986 at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.  Organized and chaired a session for the 3rd International Symposium on Grass Systematics and Evolution held in conjunction with 2nd International Conference on the Comparative Biology of Monocotyledons, 1998 in Sydney, Australia.  Organized a symposium on land plant evolution jointly with Dr. Brent Mishler for the centennial meeting of the Botanical Society of America, 2006.  The symposium, entitled “Land plants evolution: Phylogenetics and beyond”.

Served as member of the review panel for the U. S. Agency for International development (USAID), Program in Science and Technology, the Plant Protection Placement Panel of the USAID, the subcommittee on Agriculture and Forestry of the U. S. Department of Agriculture Committee of Agenda 2000.

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