Welcome!

I am an evolutionary biologist with a special interest in population and quantitative genetics of marine coastal invertebrates. I am also a science writer and host of the YouTube channel, @talkpopgen, which features videos on evolution education, the history and philosophy of science, and pseudoscience debunking. In August 2025, I will be joining the Department of Biological Sciences at Augusta University as an Assistant Professor.

Background

I received my Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University-Texarkana under Dr. David Allard, where I researched species abundance, richness, and distribution of microcrustaceans of the Order Cladocera. I then did my PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Texas A&M University with Dr. Mary Wicksten. My thesis research focused on the systematics, population genetics, and genome evolution of marine amphipod crustaceans of the family Haustoriidae. Afterward, I did a postdoc with Dr. Gideon Bradburd at the University of Michigan, where I was involved in developing statistical methods in spatial population genetics.

Contact

If you’re interested in collaborations, chatting about science, or have questions about evolutionary biology, you can reach me at zachbhancock (at) gmail (dot) com.