Max Palevsky Professor Emerita
Judith Farquhar does research on traditional medicine, popular culture, and everyday life in contemporary China. Anthropological areas of interest include medical anthropology; the anthropology of knowledge and of embodiment; critical theory and cultural studies; and theories of reading, writing, and translation.
History of Cell and Molecular Biology, Epithelial Cell Biology
Karl Matlin is a cell biologist whose laboratory research is focused on the mechanisms by which epithelial cells spatially polarize to form normal epithelia or to directionally migrate during wound repair.
Professor Emeritus
The goal of my academic work is to help physicians, biomedical scientists, and students appreciate the value of evolutionary biology for medical research, education, and practice. Evolutionary concepts provide a framework for understanding why we remain vulnerable to disease. Several aspects of evolutionary biology have special relevance to medicine. The theory of host-pathogen coevolution helps to explain the natural histories of infectious diseases and calls attention to the idea that the manifestations of disease may be part of our evolved defense mechanisms. Life history theory enriches our understanding of aging and provides novel insights into socioeconomic disparities in health. Finally, evolutionary theory helps us appreciate the origins and significance of human variation. Integration of an evolutionary perspective into medical research may lead to new interventions to prevent, cure, or ameliorate disease.
Peter B. Ritzma Professor Emeritus
William Wimsatt, Peter B. Ritzma Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, served as Professor of Philosophy and is a member of the Committee on Evolutionary Biology and the Committee on the Conceptual Foundations of Science. He studied engineering, physics, and philosophy at Cornell, earning a BA in 1965. He received the PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971 and began working at the University of Chicago in the same year. Wimsatt taught in the Biology Collegiate Division (undergraduate), the Committee on Conceptual Foundations of Science (graduate), the Program in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science (undergraduate), the Committee on Evolutionary Biology (graduate), the MA Program in the Social Sciences (graduate), and, of course, the Department of Philosophy (graduate and undergraduate). His work centers on the philosophy of the inexact sciences--biology, psychology, and the social sciences--the history of biology, and the study of complex systems. He continues, in retirement, to teach classes.
William Wimsatt won the 2015 Norman Maclean Faculty Award from the UChicago Alumni Association.