Currently based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dr. Vazrick Nazari is an evolutionary biologist and entomologist.
The University of Alberta awarded him an MSc in 2006 and the University of Guelph awarded More
The University of Alberta awarded Vazrick Nazari an MSc in 2006 and a Ph.D. in 2011 respectively. In addition to taxonomy and biogeography, he studies molecular systematics and evolutionary biology. Aside from entomology, he is interested in cultures and arts of various countries, including butterflies and moths.
Biography
A rare swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) accidentally caught by Vazrick Nazari when he was 10 made him fascinated with butterflies. His school's show-and-tell award for butterfly collection later won him a collection of butterfly books, which he then used for his collection of butterflies.
As an entomologist, he worked for seven years as a curator at the National Museum of Natural History (MMTT) after completing his undergraduate studies in linguistic interpretation.
The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), being implemented by the UNDP, the GEF, and the Department of Environment, was also under his leadership for three years during this period.
A graduate of the University of Alberta's Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (of swallowtail butterflies) program, he began his postdoctoral study in Felix Sperling's lab in 2003.
He earned an MSc in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta after which he participated in doctoral research at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, studying molecular taxonomy and DNA barcoding of Lepidoptera.
As an assistant curator of entomology at the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes from 2011 to 2019, he worked as a curator for the National Museum of Canada.
The private sector has hired him as wildlife management and research consultant since 2019. As an author or co-author of more than 50 scientific papers and several books in butterfly and moth taxonomy, cultural entomology, and molecular phylogenetics, he is a pioneer in many fields.
