Brittany Rife Magalis, PhD, joined UofL in 2024 with the mission of developing a research program devoted to understanding infectious disease pathogenesis and epidemiology from an evolutionary perspective. Through the mentoring of a variety of educational levels - high school to postdoctoral - Dr. Rife Magalis has developed and applied novel molecular biology approaches and bioinformatic tools to studies ranging from pathogen within-host dynamics to global pandemics, from which she has produced numerous collaborative publications.

In addition to research, Dr. Rife Magalis is passionate about teaching. For the past ten years, she has taught and/or co-organized several international workshops open to a range of educational backgrounds, has volunteered to host local high school students, and has mentored graduate students on their way to masters-level and doctoral degrees. In 2025, she was given the title of Director of Admissions for her home Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, helping to spread her enthusiasm for the UofL IPIBS program to prospective students.

Since graduating with her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Florida, Dr. Rife Magalis has taken opportunities to train and learn in a variety of settings (including South Africa), nurturing her collaborative nature and fostering many personal and career relationships that she maintains to this day.