Bryce W. Falk was born in Culver City, California. He received his B.S. degree in biology from the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo in 1974 and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1978. He pursued postdoctoral research at the University of California, Riverside, and in 1980 was appointed assistant professor at the University of Florida Everglades Research and Education Center, Belle Glade. He moved to the University of California at Davis as an assistant professor in 1985, advancing to associate professor in 1987 and professor in 1991. Dr. Falk has made significant contributions in several areas of plant pathology. The most noteworthy of these accomplishments have dealt with the biology, molecular genetic analysis, taxonomy, and virus–vector relationships of tenuiviruses and criniviruses. The discovery that subgenomic messenger RNA synthesis from the tenuivirus Maize stripe virus templates relies on host messenger RNA as the source of the 5′-end sequences (“cap snatching”) created considerable interest in this important virus system. Dr. Falk’s work includes extensive contributions to both practical and fundamental research. On the practical side, and with technically advanced methods, he initiated and improved virus detection to document virus distribution and plant resistance to viruses. Dr. Falk’s contributions to the discovery and characterization of various viruses have resulted in clarification of virus taxonomic relationships. He was recently named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Falk has served on the boards of the journals Phytopathology, Plant Disease, Molecular Plant Pathology, and Virology.
