Biography:
Marlene Zuk developed interests in both writing and animals early in life. She majored in biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and after graduating, she spent 3 years teaching, writing, and working in a museum. Marlene also attended the University of Michigan where she received a Ph.D. studying parasites and the behavior of crickets. In addition, she completed her postdoctoral work at the University of New Mexico, working on red jungle fowl, the ancestors of modern chickens, and then came to the University of California, Riverside, where she is now a professor of biology.