Dr. Mya Breitbart is a Professor of Biological Oceanography in the USF College of Marine Science, and a leading pioneer in the field of viral metagenomics. She leads this rapidly growing field, publishing novel viral genomes from diverse hosts and environments. Her efforts have changed the way we view viruses and their impacts on our world and laid the groundwork for a whole new body of knowledge. Dr. Breitbart's recent work has demonstrated the widespread occurrence of single-stranded DNA viruses in multiple ecosystems and diverse invertebrate hosts, leading her to develop novel methods for viral classification and produce a field guide of genomic characteristics for this previously overlooked viral group. Dr. Breitbart's research has a direct societal impact; in particular, a creation of the vector-enabled metagenomics technique for monitoring emerging viruses transmitted by insect vectors, and development of a novel viral bioindicator to evaluate and reduce disease risk from reclaimed water, will broadly benefit public health. Dr. Breitbart has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a National Academy of Sciences Kavli Frontiers Fellow, and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow. Dr. Breitbart has received more than $6 million in grants and published 127 peer-reviewed articles, cited over 13,000 times, with an h-index of 54. Her findings represent landmark publications in multiple fields and continue to advance our understanding of ecology, evolution, and virology. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Florida Institute of Technology, and her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from San Diego State University and the University of California San Diego.