Kelly Wrighton

Kelly C. Wrighton is an Endowed Professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University, where she directs the Colorado State Microbiome Network (CoSMic). Her research has been foundational in advancing genome-resolved microbiology, integrating microbial physiology with metagenomics and data science to reveal how microbial communities regulate biogeochemical processes that underpin ecosystem productivity and resilience. Dr. Wrighton’s work reframes microbiomes as programmable components of managed ecosystems, spanning soils, livestock, and agro-environmental interfaces.

Dr. Wrighton is an internationally recognized leader in microbiome science and has played a central role in developing community-driven genomic resources, software platforms, and data infrastructures that enable predictive and mechanistic microbiome biology. She is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and is a Fellow of the American Society for Microbiology and the American Geophysical Union, recognizing her contributions at the intersection of environmental science and microbiology. She contributes to national and international research efforts, including a recent National Academy of Sciences report on linkages between soil health and human health, directs the International Society for Microbial Ecology Ambassador Program, and has served in advisory roles for genomic resources such as KBase, the Joint Genome Institute, and several agricultural biotechnology companies. Through her research, training, and service, Dr. Wrighton advances microbiome science by translating genomic insight into scalable, equitable solutions.