Dr. Harmit Malik is a member of the Biomedical Science Advisory Committee for the Vilcek Foundation. In this capacity, he works alongside the other members of the advisory committee to provide expert guidance to the Vilcek Foundation on programs and initiatives in biomedical science. 

Since 2019, Malik has served as a juror for the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, providing support to the foundation’s senior staff and programs team on the determination and award of prizes. Malik received the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in 2010 for uncovering evolutionary insights into the phenomenon of genetic conflict, which arises in a wide range of cellular scenarios and carries implications for proper cell division and immunity against viruses, among others. 

Malik is a professor and associate director within the Basic Sciences Division at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. His research is focused on the continuation of his work on genetic conflict: These explorations parse the way different genetic entities in human cells and in the microbiome try to maximize evolutionary success. Malik and his team are interested in understanding the mechanisms and consequences of what he terms “molecular arms races.” His research hypothesizes how genetic conflict drives genetic innovation, from the perspective of both evolutionary biology and human disease.

His research has implications for a range of diseases, from HIV to cancer. As part of this work, Malik’s research team has developed an approach for identifying genes that divide one species from another— exploring the riddle of how new species evolve, and the viruses, bacteria, and other species over time that have helped to shape human evolution. With his colleagues at Fred Hutch, Malik has characterized the rapidly evolving interface between proteins on human cells and viruses that make us sick. He has shown that formerly infectious viruses can also become part of an organisms’ own genetic heritage, helping pioneer the field of paleovirology. 

During his undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, Malik discovered a passion for molecular biology, particularly the topic of transposons—“jumping genes.” This fascination drove his decision to pursue his PhD in biology; he immigrated to the United States in 1993 when he was offered the University of Rochester’s prestigious Sproull Fellowship. His doctoral research revolutionized scientists’ understanding of retrotransposons, demonstrating that some transposons are much more ancient than previously believed. Following the completion of his PhD, he went on to complete postdoctoral work at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, before being appointed to the faculty in 2003. 

For his research leadership in molecular biology, Malik has earned many important accolades. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He received the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist Award in 2009, and was appointed an investigator in 2011. He also received the Eli Lilly Prize from American Society of Microbiology in 2017 and the Edward Novitski Prize from the Genetics Society of America in 2022.