Quick Facts
Biography
Randolph M. Nesse (born 1948) is an American physician and evolutionary biologist. He is notable for his research on evolutionary psychology and evolutionary medicine, as well as the evolutionary origins of emotions and how natural selection shapes the capacity for mood.
A graduate of the University of Michigan medical school, Nesse was a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. He was also the Director of the Evolution & Human Adaptation Program at the University of Michigan.
In 2014, Nesse became the founding director of the Center for Evolution and Medicine at Arizona State University, where he is also a professor in the School of Life Sciences.
Nesse also co-authored the book Why We Get Sick (1995) with evolutionary biologist George C. Williams.
Published materials
- Nesse, R. M. (1999). "Testing evolutionary hypotheses about mental disorders." In S. Stearns (Ed.), Evolution in Health and Disease (pp. 260–266). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Nesse, R. M., & Williams, G. C. (1995). Why We Get Sick. New York: Times Books.
- Nesse, R. M., & Williams, G. C. (1999). "Research designs that address evolutionary questions about medical disorders." In S. Stearns (Ed.), Evolution in Health and Disease (pp. 16–26). New York: Oxford University Press.
- "Is the market on Prozac?", February 28, 2000 Stanford University Press
- Nesse, R. M. (1999). "Is Depression an Adaptation?" Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:14-20 Full text
- Kellera,M.C. and Nesse,R.M.(2005). "Is low mood an adaptation? Evidence for subtypes with symptoms that match precipitants." Journal of Affective Disorders 86 27–35 Full text