John Waller, Ph.D.

John Waller, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of the History of Science and Medicine at Michigan State University. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford (B.A. in History, M.Sc. in Human Biology), Imperial College London (M.Sc. in History of Science), and University College London (Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science). Before joining MSU in 2006, he served as a research fellow at University College London and as a lecturer at the University of Melbourne.

Waller has published seven books spanning science, medicine, and social history, and has just completed a major study of group dynamics across the past 12,000 years of human history. Since 2013, he has served as founding director of the Social Science Scholars Program at MSU, a cohort-based initiative that provides incoming students with an enriched, multidisciplinary education combined with extensive opportunities for research, leadership, and community engagement. Through the Scholars Program, Waller has collaborated with students and colleagues on research addressing environmental conservation, the role of social connections in reducing stereotyping, stakeholder priorities in mental health research, and the impact of incarceration on housing insecurity.