Dr. Francisco Ayala  

Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Philosophy,                   Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Irvine

• National Academy of Sciences
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology
• California Academy of Sciences
• Former President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Ayala’s research focuses on population and evolutionary genetics, including the origin of species, genetic diversity of populations, the origin of malaria, the population structure of parasitic protozoa, and the molecular clock of evolution. He writes about the interface between religion and science, and on philosophical issues concerning epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of biology.