July 2026 - Dr. Kay Klausing on 'Orchid Viruses: Practical Tips for the Hobbyist'

Kay Klausing with C. jenmanii

This month we are pleased to welcome back Kay Klausing, PhD who will be sharing his talk, 'Orchid Viruses: Practical Tips for the Hobbyist'. His talk is an updated version of a presentation that he has given many times over the years. He has virus tested his entire collection and will present the results and the implications of what he found alongside what he has learned from literature - focusing on what might be useful to other orchid hobbyists.

Kay is a Virologist/Molecular Biologist/Biochemist (PhD in Molecular Genetics) originally from Germany. He moved to San Diego for his postdoctoral work at UCSD and continued to stay working for various biotech companies including 15 years for Illumina as his longest stint. He has recently co-founded his own company along with 2 other fellow Ex-Illumina veterans.

His interest in orchid viruses stems from the experimental work of his Master’s and PhD theses, which was done using a monkey virus (SV40) as a model system to study eukaryotic DNA replication. As a Virologist, he been fascinated by the strategies these “DNA parasites” have evolved to enslave their hosts for the sole purpose of multiplying.

As long as he can remember, Kay had an interest in growing plants alongside keeping reptiles and amphibians. He has a large collection of orchids (>1000 plants), which he has been growing for 45 years. In fact, one of the first things he bought after moving to the US — even before a car, remarkable in Southern California — was an orchid at the POS orchid show. He also grows quite a few other types of plants including carnivorous plants, cycads, bromeliads, ferns, palms, succulents, and pachypodiums. Kay was on the board for the San Diego County Orchid Society for many years including serving as president.

This month’s opportunity will be provided by Max Yang of Vista Orchids.