Dr. Rusty Rodriguez

Dr. Rusty Rodriguez is a microbiologist who has studied symbiotic interactions between plants and microorganisms for more than 25 years. During that time, he and his team of scientists have discovered that certain types of symbiotic fungi are capable of conferring several benefits to plants including tolerance to drought, salt, and temperature stress.

In 2012, Rusty formed the nonprofit company Symbiogenics to pursue basic symbiosis research developing solutions for a sustainable future in the face of global declines in agricultural and natural habitats. He also expanded the company Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies to apply symbiotic technologies to real world problems by developing a series of seed and plant treatment product lines to confer symbiotic benefits to crop plants. Rusty is CEO of both Symbiogenics and Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies and he serves as President of the International Symbiosis Society.

Rusty has a Ph.D. in Microbial Physiology and held a faculty position at the University of California, Riverside. In 1993, he took a job with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Seattle and obtained an affiliate faculty position in Biology at the University of Washington. In 2012, he left the government and now devotes his time to Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies and Symbiogenics.