About Joshua B. Plotkin's Work
I use mathematics and computation to study questions in evolutionary and population biology. My research seeks to understand molecular evolution in natural populations of viruses, as well as laboratory populations of microbes; the evolution of proteins under natural selection to retain their present function or to adapt new functions; and the dynamics of protein translation. I also work to develop inference tools drawn from population genetics to study the evolution of social and cultural traits, ranging from cooperative behaviors in microbes to the evolution of human language.
Awards and Achievements
Akira Okubo Prize of the Society for Mathematical Biology (2015)
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship (2009)
In the News
Game Theory Calls Cooperation Into Question
Quanta Magazine
A crystal ball for predicting the future of flu
National Geographic Phenomena