NESCent is a nonprofit science center dedicated to cross-disciplinary research in evolution. It is jointly operated by Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University, and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. NESCent's mission is to promote the synthesis of information, concepts, and knowledge to address significant, emerging, or novel questions in evolutionary science and its applications.

NESCent achieves this by supporting research and education across disciplinary, institutional, geographic, and demographic boundaries. Their Science and Synthesis program sponsors postdoctoral fellows and sabbatical scholars, as well as working groups and catalysis meetings, to facilitate collaborative research. NESCent also provides state-of-the-art informatics tools and facilitates the development of databases and analytical tools for evolutionary biology.

They are also working on a major initiative to create a digital data repository for work in evolutionary biology. Additionally, NESCent's Education and Outreach group communicates evolutionary biology research to the general public and scientific community, provides outreach to underrepresented groups, and improves evolution education. Overall, NESCent plays a crucial role in advancing evolutionary science by fostering collaboration, promoting synthesis, and providing resources for research, education, and outreach in the field