David M. Hillis

David Hillis is the Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Hillis studies the evolution of biotic diversity, using molecular genetic techniques to study relationships among populations, species, and higher taxa. He is known for his development of molecular approaches to reconstructing the evolutionary history of organisms, or phylogenies. He has also made significant contributions to scientific understanding of hybridization, molecular processes of evolutionary change, and statistical phylogenetic analyses. Current research in the Hillis lab is divided into two main areas: (1) empirical studies of molecular evolution and biodiversity, and (2) development of evolutionary theory and methodology. Empirical studies include experimental manipulation of viruses to study evolution in vitro; phylogenetic analyses of genes and genomes; investigations of species boundaries and interactions among species; biodiversity discovery; and studies of molecular processes that give rise to new genes, functions, or phenotypes. Theoretical and methodological work is centered on finding the best ways to estimate phylogenies from molecular sequences and on simulations of molecular evolution using supercomputers. Hillis has received numerous awards for his research, including the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Young Investigator Award, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Systematic Biologists, and Alumni Distinguished Achievement Awards from the University of Kansas and Baylor University. In addition to his American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science. He is involved in numerous efforts to improve science education, and was a co-author of the National Research Council report BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists. He is also the co-author of three widely used biology textbooks: Molecular Systematics, Life: The Science of Biology, and Principles of Life.