Population genetics provides a conceptual foundation for understanding how genes evolve through time and space.
Our focus is on understanding the demographic history of diverse human groups, and the evolution of human phenotypes like skin pigmentation or speech. We have several field sites in Africa where we collect DNA and participate in local educational efforts. Research infrastructure is available through the UC Davis Genome Center. The population genetics specialization is connected to many other fields including biomedical research, computational biology, evolutionary biology and conservation. Students take classes from across the UC Davis campus and have opportunities to interact with the vibrant Bay Area population genetics community.