[1] Prior to joining NHGRI, he was an associate professor of molecular and human genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine.

[1][5] He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford in 2004, and completed a residency in pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic in 2009.

[2] Hanchard's research focuses on genetic factors that can lead children to manifest especially severe symptoms of malnutrition,[6] genomics of disease progression in children with HIV and tuberculosis, and genetic factors that contribute to comorbidities in sickle cell disease.

[7][8][9] The study was published in and featured on the cover of Nature, which described the work as "a milestone in genomics research".

[8][12] The study revealed previously unknown historical human migration patterns, for example leading to insight into the history of the Berom people of Nigeria.