UC Irvine

My professional practice involves four related activities. (1) Scientific research in genetics and biological evolution, including such issues as the molecular clock of evolution, gene expression, natural selection, and the evolution of parasitic protozoa, such as Plasmodium, the agent of malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, research relevant for the development of vaccines and medicines. (2) University teaching, mostly to undergraduates, including a very successful program that pre- pares "minority" (mostly Hispanic) students for Ph.D. research and teach- ing careers. (3) Writing scientific research papers and books, but also numerous articles and several books addressed to the general public. (4) Public lectures, some technical in universities and to other scientific com- munities, and also frequent speaking engagements addressed to general audiences, in universities, educational associations, religious institutions, and various sorts of forums, in the United States and abroad, from America Latina to Europe and elsewhere, including such countries as Israel and Turkey in the Middle East and Japan and China in the Far East.