Quick Facts
Biography
Nancy A. Moran (born December 21, 1954, Dallas, Texas) is an American evolutionary biologist, University of Texas Leslie Surginer Endowed Professor, and co-founder of the The Yale Microbial Diversity Institute.
Nancy began her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas in 1972. She started out as an art major, and later switched to philosophy. For an elective requirement she took an introduction to biology course. From this, she became interested in biology. During her senior year at college, she undertook an honours project, and tried something in biology. The class was on animal behaviour, and provided her with an opportunity to experience independent research, and solidified her interest in evolution and behaviour. She applied to graduate school and ended up at the University of Michigan, where she studied under W.D. Hamilton and Richard D. Alexander.
Nancy Moran graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in biology in 1976, and from University of Michigan with a Ph.D. in zoology in 1982.
She was a research professor at the University of Arizona from 1986-2010, and at Yale University from 2010-2013. Her research has focused on the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum and its bacterial symbionts. In 2013, she returned to the University of Texas at Austin, where she continues to conduct research on bacterial symbionts in aphids, bees, and other insect species. She has also expanded the scale of her research to bacterial evolution as a whole. She believes that a good understanding of genetic drift and random chance could prevent misunderstandings surrounding evolution.
Awards
- 1988 American Society of Naturalists President's Award
- 1997 MacArthur Fellows Program
- 2001 University of Arizona Regents' Professor
- 2008 University of Arizona Amumni Association Extraordinary Faculty Award
- 2010 International Prize for Biology
- 2014 James Tiedje Award for lifetime contribution in Microbial Ecology (International Society for Microbial Ecology)
Works
- Hamilton, W. D., Henderson, P. A. & Moran, N. A. (1980) Natural Selection and Social Behavior: Recent Research and New Theory, eds. Alexander, R. D. & Tinkle, D. W. (Chiron Press, New York), pp. 363–382.