Louisiana Via Research Day Book 2026

Keynote Speaker

Harmit Singh Malik Evolutionary Biologist Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

Harmit Singh Malik is an evolutionary biologist renowned for uncovering how genetic conflicts and evolutionary “arms races” between genomes shape fundamental cellular processes and host–pathogen interactions. He is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and professor in the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, where he leads a research program centered on the causes and consequences of genetic conflict. Malik grew up in India and earned his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay before moving to the United States for graduate school. He completed his PhD in molecular evolutionary biology at the University of Rochester, where his work on retrotransposons showed that these “selfish” genetic elements were already present in ancestral lineages rather than recently acquired like viruses, reshaping prevailing ideas about their origins. He joined Fred Hutch for postdoctoral research on centromeres with Steven Henikoff and

subsequently established his own lab, focusing on how rapidly evolving genetic elements might drive speciation, genome stability, and susceptibility to disease. Malik is best known for helping develop the centromere-drive model, which explains how “selfish” centromeres can bias their transmission during female meiosis and thereby drive the rapid evolution of centromeric DNA and its associated proteins. His lab has been a major force in paleovirology, using viral “fossils” in animal genomes to reconstruct ancient host–virus arms races and to understand why genes involved in chromosome segregation, innate immunity, and mitochondrial biology often evolve unusually quickly. Across these projects, his group uses evolution-guided approaches to identify rapidly evolving genes, link signatures of positive selection to mechanism, and illuminate how conflicts between genes, genomes, and pathogens influence both disease and the origin of new species.

Malik’s contributions have been recognized with many prestigious honors. He received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for his work on genetic conflict, and the Eli Lilly and Company Research Award from the American Society for Microbiology. He was appointed an HHMI Investigator, elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and awarded the Genetics Society of America’s Edward Novitski Prize for creative, paradigm-shifting work on chromosome biology and evolution. He has also received the McDougall Mentoring Award at Fred Hutch.Former students and postdocs describe his lab as a place that encourages bold, evolution-guided experiments, interdisciplinary collaborations, and open discussion, and many alumni have gone on to lead independent research programs focused on genetic conflict, viral evolution, and chromosome biology.

Biomedical Research: Section 1

IN THE PHOTO: Kendyl Berry, Class of 2028

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2026 Research Recognition Day