David Enard

David Enard is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment in Genetics (Graduate Interdisciplinary Program). His research focuses on understanding how host genomes adapt to ancient epidemics through quantitative evolutionary genomics, particularly in bats and humans. He develops novel methods to quantify genomic adaptation and investigates the ecological drivers of these adaptations.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. (w/ Honors) in Evolutionary Genomics, École Normale Supérieure, Paris (2010)
  • Masters (w/ Honors) in Molecular and Cellular Biology, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (2006)
  • Licence (w/ Honors) in Molecular and Cellular Biology, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (2004)

His lab explores the interplay between diseases and genomic adaptation, emphasizing viral epidemics and host immune responses. Recent work highlights bat immunity mechanisms and the genomic signatures of ancient viral outbreaks in human populations. Key contributions include identifying genetic adaptations in bats linked to longevity and virus resistance, as well as developing statistical tools for analyzing selection pressures.

Dr. Enard has received the Early Career Scholar Award from the University of Arizona (2022) and serves as an Associate Editor for Genome Biology and Evolution.

His research integrates computational methods with experimental data to address fundamental questions in evolutionary biology, with implications for understanding modern and ancient disease dynamics.