Hanon McShea

Hello! I’m a postdoctoral researcher working with Angela Phillips in the department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco. I am interested in the evolution of protein biophysics, with a focus on long timescales and evolutionary dynamics. You can find a list of my publications here, and a full CV here.

I earned my PhD in 2024 working with Paula Welander at Stanford University. My doctoral research explored the functional diversity and evolutionary history of terpenoid cyclases, enzymes that biosynthesize polycyclic lipids such as sterols and hopanoids. I have also conducted theoretical work on the consequences of the effectiveness of selection for protein evolution.

I previously studied Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and researched the evolution of nitrogenase enzymes. I grew up in Durham, North Carolina. Outside the lab, I enjoy birdwatching, growing plants, and building aquaria.