Tyrone B. Hayes to Deliver 2026 J.T. Scopes Lecture
The Evolutionary Studies Initiative at Vanderbilt University will welcome Tyrone B. Hayes, the Judy Chandler Webb Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research and professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, to deliver the J.T. Scopes Lecture on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 3:00pm in Medical Research Building III, Room 1220.
Hayes is known for his groundbreaking research on how environmental contaminants affect amphibian development and reproduction. His work has demonstrated that the herbicide atrazine, one of the world’s most widely used pesticides, acts as an endocrine disruptor that demasculinizes male frogs and can cause complete sex reversal at environmentally relevant concentrations. His research has linked environmental contaminants to the global amphibian decline and highlighted how chemical exposures disproportionately affect minority and low-income populations.
His research has been published in leading journals including Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Hayes has received numerous awards for his teaching and research, including the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 and the President’s Citation Award from the American Institute of Biological Science in 2004. He has been featured in The New Yorker, Mother Jones, PBS, and TED Talks, and is the subject of the children’s book “The Frog Scientist” of the “Scientists in the Field” series. Hayes has been elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
Beyond his scientific contributions, Hayes is a prominent advocate for the critical review and regulation of pesticides and other chemicals that may cause adverse health effects. His work addresses the intersection of environmental science, public health, and social justice.
Hayes earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in biology from Harvard University in 1989 and his Ph.D. in integrative biology from UC Berkeley in 1993. He has held an academic appointment at Berkeley since completing his doctoral research, advancing to full professor in 2003.
The J.T. Scopes Lecture is named in honor of John Thomas Scopes, a Vanderbilt alumnus who was tried in 1925 for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school. The lecture series brings distinguished evolutionary biologists to Vanderbilt to discuss their research and its broader implications.
The lecture is free and open to the public.