Research Bio
Michael Nachman is a population geneticist whose research explores how evolutionary forces—such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation—shape genomic variation in natural populations. His work uses both model and non-model organisms to investigate speciation, adaptation, and the genetic basis of complex traits.Nachman is widely recognized for his studies of rodent populations, which have illuminated how genomes evolve in response to ecological pressures. His work has provided key insights into reproductive isolation, pigmentation, and the evolution of sex chromosomes.
An expert in evolutionary genetics and comparative genomics, Nachman is a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley and Director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on advisory boards for major genomic initiatives.
Research Expertise and Interest
population genetics, evolution, genomics, mammalian evolution
In the News
Eastern and Western house mice took parallel evolutionary paths
The European house mouse has invaded nearly every corner of the Americas since it was introduced by colonizers a few hundred years ago, and now lives practically everywhere humans store their food.
Yet in that relatively short time span — 400 to 600 mouse generations — populations on the East and West Coasts have changed their body size and nest building behavior in nearly identical ways to adapt to similar environmental conditions, according to a new study by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley.
What we inherited from our bug-eating ancestors
People who advocate adding insects to the human diet may be channeling their distant ancestors.
Human faces are so variable because we evolved to look unique
Why are human faces so variable compared to other animals? Berkeley biologists Michael Nachman & Michael Sheehan analyzed human faces and the genes that code for them and found a variability that could only be explained by selection for uniqueness, probably because of the importance of social interactions in human relationships and the need for all of us to be recognizable.
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