Marcus William Feldman (born 14 November 1942) is the Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor of Biological Sciences, director of the Morrison Institute for Population and Resource Studies, and co-director of the Center for Computational, Evolutionary and Human Genomics (CEHG) at Stanford University. He is an Australian-born mathematician turned American theoretical biologist, best known for his mathematical evolutionary theory and computational studies in

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes ( natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life ...

, and for originating with L. L. Cavalli-Sforza the theory of cultural evolution.

Early life and education

Marcus Feldman was born and raised in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Australia. His father Simon Feldman was an engineer, and this inspired him to take up mathematics. He studied at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

from where he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1959, and graduated (with majors in mathematics and statistics) in 1964. In 1966 he obtained Master of Science degree in mathematics from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

. He went abroad to US to join a PhD programme at Stanford University. He earned his degree in 1969 under the supervision of Samuel Karlin in the Department of Mathematics. Karlin influenced him to pursue his research in

population genetics Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation (biology), adaptation, ...

using his computational know-how.

Professional career

After a brief work at Stanford as a research assistant for Karlin, and as acting assistant professor in the Department of Biology, Feldman returned to Australia to join at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

as a lecturer of mathematics. In 1971 he was appointed as assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford, and went back to US. With L.L. Cavalli-Sforza in 1973, he originated the quantitative theory of cultural evolution, initiating a research program in cultural transmission and gene-culture coevolution. His own research into human molecular evolution such as in China led him to international recognition. He is the author of more than 625 scientific papers and several books on evolution, ecology, and mathematical biology. In addition, he is the founding editor of ''

Theoretical Population Biology ''Theoretical Population Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on theoretical aspects population biology in its widest sense, including mathematical modelling of populations, ecology, evolution, genetics, demography, ...

'' (1971–2013) and an associate editor of ''

Genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

'', ''

Human Genetics Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population gene ...

'', ''

Annals of Human Genetics The ''Annals of Human Genetics'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering human genetics. It was established in 1925 by Karl Pearson as the ''Annals of Eugenics'', with as subtitle, Darwin's epigram "I have no Faith in anything shor ...

'', ''

Annals of Human Biology ''Annals of Human Biology'' is a bimonthly academic journal that publishes review articles on human population biology, nature, development and causes of human variation. It is published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Society for the Study ...

'', and '' Complexity''. He was the editor of ''

The American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance ...

'' from 1984 to 1990. He was a member of the board of trustees at the

Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inclu ...

from 1984 to 2006.

Award and honors

* Guggenheim Fellowship in 1976–1977 *Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford in 1983–84 *Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1986 *Elected member of the American Society of Human Genetics *Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1987 *Fellow of the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

in 1996 *China Population Association Award in 1998 * Honorary doctorate of philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem *

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of philosophy from the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

*Honorary professor at Beijing Normal University in 2002–2007 *Honorary professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2005 *''Paper of the Year 2003'' award for biomedical science from

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

in 2003 *

Dan David Prize The Dan David Prize is a major international award that recognizes and supports outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. It awards nine prizes of $300,000 each year to outstanding ...

in 2011Dan David Prize Laureates 2011
/ref> *Elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 2011 *Elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2013 *Kimura Motoo award in human evolution in 2016 *Alumni lifetime achievement award, University of Western Australia, in 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Marcus 1942 births 21st-century American biologists Australian emigrants to the United States Australian Jews 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Monash University alumni Evolutionary biologists Stanford University alumni Stanford University faculty Stanford University Department of Biology faculty Living people Population geneticists Theoretical biologists People from Perth, Western Australia La Trobe University faculty University of Western Australia alumni Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Santa Fe Institute people Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences fellows