Kyle Piller*

Piller is currently the Director of the Center for Environmental Research, Schlieder Endowed Professor, and Curator of Vertebrates in the Department of Biological Sciences at Southeastern Louisiana University. His research program focuses on the diversity of North American freshwater fishes with a focus on fishes in the southeastern United States, Mexico, and Central America. In particular, he uses both traditional and modern genetic approaches to conduct research projects encompassing systematics and taxonomy, population and conservation genetics, and environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring.

Prior to coming to Southeastern, he obtained a BS from the University of Illinois, a MS from Southern Illinois University, and a PhD from Tulane University. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Wisconsin from 2001-2003. He has been a faculty member and Curator of Vertebrates at Southeastern Louisiana University since 2003 and has served as Director of the Center since 2025. In 2015, he was the recipient of Southeastern’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Research, and most recently, in 2025, he received the meritorious teaching award in ichthyology from the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.