B.S. in Biochemistry
North Carolina State University

Ph.D. in Plant Pathology (Minor in Biotechnology)
North Carolina State University

Principles of Biology (BIO1000 with Laboratory)

Molecular Cell Biology (STME 5010)

Indep Research in Biology (BIO 4963 IND04)

Eddy is a Lecturer in the Department of Biology at Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU). Before joining WKU, he was a Research Scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) working on the “Evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of stress response that converge on Mediator and chromatin structure” using the fungus Neurospora crassa as a model organism.  He graduated with both a BSc degree in Biochemistry and a PhD in Plant Pathology & Biotechnology from North Carolina State University in 2000 and 2006, respectively.  At SLU, he served as the coordinator for the Organismal Biology Research School organizing courses and workshops for Ph.D. students, and had the privilege to supervise college students, as well as several high school students interested in CRISPR/Cas and fungal biotechnology.  His research interests include fungal cryobiology and fungi with complex nuclear genomes. Many of these fungi cause devastating diseases in the agriculture and forestry sector, while others are being studied as sources for new drugs, antibiotic compounds, and the production of biofuels.  He is currently participating in an international collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, at Kathmandu University (Nepal) and continues to collaborate with the Department of Forest Mycology & Plant Pathology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Uppsala, Sweden).

I consider myself a fungal geneticist and physiologist, and an ‘amateur’ mycologist. My research interests encompass different, but related topics within the fungal kingdom: biology, ecophysiology, biochemistry, and genomics of adaptation. Specifically, I am interested in (i) cold-adapted fungi that inhabit cold ecosystems, (ii) fungal endophytes as sources for new drugs and antibiotic compounds and (iii) fungi with complex nuclear genomes. The goals of my research program are to learn and develop new platform technologies to increase our understanding of fundamental biological phenomena, whereby we can culture and genetically-manipulate non-model organisms to accelerate their adoption in biotechnology and address societal needs.

*Rafiei, V., *Vélëz, H., Piombo, E., Dubey, M., & Tzelepis, G. (2023). The Verticillium longisporum phospholipase VlsPLA2 is a virulence factor which targets host nuclei and modulates plant immunity. Mol Plant Path. doi.org/10.1111/mpp.13352 *Equal contribution

Rafiei, V., Vélëz, H., Dixelius, C., & Tzelepis, G. (2023). Advances in molecular interactions on the Rhizoctonia solani-sugar beet pathosystem. Fungal Biology Reviews. doi.org/10.1016/j.fbr.2022.11.005.

*Vélëz, H., Gauchan, D. P., & García-Gil, M.R. (2022) Taxol and β-tubulins from endophytic fungi isolated from the Himalayan Yew, Taxus wallichiana Zucc.. Frontiers in Microbiology. 13. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.956855 (*corresponding author).

*Vélëz, H., Skytter af Sätra, J., Odilbekov, F., Bourras, S., Garkava-Gustavsson, L., & Dalman, K. (2022). Transformation and gene-disruption in the apple-pathogen, Neonectria ditissima. Hereditas. 159:31. doi.org/10.1186/s41065-022-00244-x. (*corresponding author).

Rafiei, V., Najafi, Y., Vélëz, H., & Tzelepis, G. (2022). Investigating the role of a putative endolysin-like candidate effector protein in Verticillium longisporum virulence. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2022.08.086.

Rafiei, V., Vélëz, H., & Tzelepis, G. (2021). The role of glycoside hydrolases in phytopathogenic fungi and oomycetes virulence. International Journal of Molecular Sciences.; 22(17):9359. doi: 10.3390/ijms22179359.

Gauchan, D. P., Vélëz, H., Acharya, A., Östman, J. R., Lundén, K., Elfstrand, M., & García-Gil, M.R. (2021). Annulohypoxylon sp. strain MUS1, an endophytic fungus isolated from Taxus wallichiana Zucc., produces taxol and other bioactive metabolites. 3 Biotech 11, 152. doi: 10.1007/s13205-021-02693-z.

Dubey, M., Vélëz, H., Broberg, M., Jensen, D. F., & Karlsson, M. (2020). LysM proteins regulate fungal development and contribute to hyphal protection and biocontrol traits in Clonostachys rosea. Front. Microbiol. 11, 1–19. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00679.