See text Pichia (Hansenula and Hyphopichia are obsolete synonyms) is a genus of yeasts in the family Pichiaceae with spherical, elliptical, or oblong acuminate cells.

The genus name of Pichia is in honour of Pico Pichi (1862–1933), who was an Italian botanist and Professor of natural history and plant pathology at a viticulture school in the town of Conegliano in the Province of Treviso.

Some Pichia (sensu lato) representatives can be found in raw milk and cheese, such as P. anomala (now named Wickerhamomyces anomalus).

W. anomalus has been shown to combat the undesirable mold Aspergillus flavus, which contaminates food sources such as tree nuts and corn, and produces aflatoxins.

Another former member of the genus, P. pastoris (now Komagataella phaffii),[7] is widely used in molecular biology and biotechnology as an expression system.

P. angusta (now called Ogataea polymorpha), is a model organism for studying the functions of peroxisomes and their underlying molecular biology.