Martin Nowak

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Martin Nowak
Dr. Martin Nowak.jpg
Nowak at Harvard in 2014
Born
Martin Andreas Nowak

(1965-04-07) April 7, 1965 (age 60)
Vienna, Austria
Education University of Vienna (PhD)
Known for Evolution of cooperation, evolutionary dynamics, somatic evolution in cancer, viral dynamics, language evolution
Awards Weldon Memorial Prize
Albert Wander Prize
Scientific career
Fields Mathematical biology
Institutions Harvard University
Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
University of Oxford
Princeton University
Institute for Advanced Study
Thesis Stochastic strategies in the prisoner's dilemma  (1989)
Doctoral advisor Karl Sigmund
Doctoral students David G. Rand
Erez Lieberman Aiden [1]
Marc Lipsitch
Sebastian Bonhoeffer
Franziska Michor
Website www.martinnowak.com

Martin Andreas Nowak (born April 7, 1965) [2] [3] is an Austrian-born professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. He is known for his work in evolutionary dynamics, focusing on evolutionary theory and viral dynamics. [3]

Contents

Nowak held faculty positions at Oxford University and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, before beginning a post at Harvard in July 2003.

Nowak was one of the primary recipients of funding from Jeffrey Epstein on the Harvard faculty. [4] In 2026, a release of U.S. Department of Justice files included cryptic brief email exchanges between Epstein and Nowak. [5] [6] [7]

Early life and education

Nowak was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 7, 1965. [3] He studied at the Albertus Magnus Gymnasium in Vienna  [ de ] and the University of Vienna, where he earned a doctorate in biochemistry and mathematics in 1989. During his studies, he collaborated with Peter Schuster on quasispecies theory and with Karl Sigmund on the evolution of cooperation. [8] Nowak received the Sub auspiciis Praesidentis award upon completing his doctorate at the University of Vienna. [9] [10]

Career

In 1989, Nowak worked at the University of Oxford with Robert May as an Erwin Schrödinger Postdoctoral Scholar. He later became a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College and then Keble College. In 1992, he became a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Biomedical Science [11] before becoming a Professor of Mathematical Biology in 1997. [12]

In 1998, Nowak was recruited by the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton as the Head of the Institute's first Initiative in Theoretical Biology until 2003. [13] In 2003, Nowak joined Harvard University as a Professor of Mathematics and Biology. [10] Nowak was also a co-director, with Sarah Coakley, of the Evolution and Theology of Cooperation project at Harvard University, sponsored by the Templeton Foundation, [14] where he was also a member of their Board of Advisors. [15]

Nowak's research focuses on evolutionary game theory, cancer, viruses, infectious disease, the evolution of language and the evolution of cooperation. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] At Oxford, he helped to establish the fields of virus dynamics [22] and spatial games [23] (which later became evolutionary graph theory). He has collaborated with John Maynard Smith on genetic redundancy, [24] Baruch Blumberg on the hepatitis B virus, [11] Karl Sigmund on game theory, [12] and with George Shaw and Andrew McMichael on HIV. [25] [26] [27]

He has published several books on evolutionary dynamics, [28] [29] the evolution of cooperation, [30] [31] and religion. [32]

Personal life

Nowak is a Roman Catholic. [33] In a 2007 lecture at Harvard, he argued that science and religion occupied different but complementary roles in humans' search for meaning, stating: "Science and religion are two essential components in the search for truth. Denying either is a barren approach." [34]

Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Nowak maintained a close personal and financial relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. [35] The preface of his 2011 textbook, Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life, ends with "I thank Jeffrey Epstein for many ideas and for letting me participate in his passionate pursuit of knowledge in all its forms." [36]

In response to the revelations of Epstein's support of Nowak and his lab (the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics), in 2021 Nowak was suspended from supervising undergraduate research for two years, and the institute was permanently closed. [37] [38] Harvard's review, leading to the suspension, uncovered that Epstein had maintained access to a personal office in Nowak's lab for 9 years, even after his conviction for sex crimes, and used the office over 40 times, "typically accompanied by young women serving as his assistants". [39]

In 2023, Harvard lifted the sanctions against Nowak, and he remains on the faculty, jointly appointed in the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. [40]

In 2026, Nowak was mentioned in the first tranche of documents from the Epstein files. In one exchange, Nowak says "our spy has been captured after completing her mission"; in return, Epstein asked: "did you torture her?" [5] [7] [6]

According to The Times , Nowak emailed Ghislaine Maxwell to thank her for her “amazing hospitality”, with a little apology about a near miss: “i am so very sorry i caused you so much worry and that i spoilt this day. i am so happy that i did not kill anybody. my perspective of life has changed somehow… lots of love martin.” [41]

References

  1. ↑ Martin Nowak at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  2. ↑ Nowak, Martin A.; Highfield, Roger (2012). SuperCooperators: altruism, evolution, and why we need each other to succeed (1. Free Press trade paperback ed.). New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN   978-1-4516-2663-6.
  3. 1 2 3 Wax, Heather (October 15, 2007). "Cooperation counts for math professor". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2024. Nowak, 42, a Harvard University mathematician and biologist, is at the forefront of a new field called evolutionary dynamics, in which Darwin's idea of natural selection is formulated in terms of math equations.
  4. ↑ Marks, Stephen M.; Schuker, Lauren A. E. (February 7, 2003). "Magnate donates $30M to sciences". The Harvard Crimson .
  5. 1 2 Biswas, Shuvrajit Das (2026-02-01). "Martin Nowak in Epstein files: Harvard professor's disturbing conversation surfaces; 'did you torture her'". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2026-02-01..
  6. 1 2 Kar, Sagar (2026-02-01). "Why Harvard Professor Martin Nowak Features in Epstein Files as Chilling 'Torture' Email Goes Viral". Times Now . Archived from the original on 2026-02-03. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  7. 1 2 Hui, Ling (2026-02-03). "Harvard prof Martin Nowak's disturbing email to Epstein among DoJ files released". Toronto Sun . Archived from the original on 2026-02-03. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  8. ↑ Nowak, Martin. "Evolution of cooperation" (PDF). MIT. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  9. ↑ Witzmann, Erich (2011-04-03). "Martin Nowak: "Junge sollen unabhängig forschen"". Die Presse (in German). Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  10. 1 2 Anderson, Christina M. (2002-10-01). "University Lures Specialist In Interdisciplinary Science". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  11. 1 2 Payne, R J; Nowak, M A; Blumberg, B S (25 June 1996). "The dynamics of hepatitis B virus infection". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 93 (13): 6542–6546. Bibcode:1996PNAS...93.6542P. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.13.6542 . PMC   39060 . PMID   8692852.[ non-primary source needed ]
  12. 1 2 Nowak, Martin A.; Sigmund, Karl (June 1998). "Evolution of indirect reciprocity by image scoring". Nature. 393 (6685): 573–577. Bibcode:1998Natur.393..573N. doi:10.1038/31225. PMID   9634232. S2CID   4395576.[ non-primary source needed ]
  13. ↑ Dyson, Freeman J. (2019-12-09). "Martin Nowak - Scholars | Institute for Advanced Study". www.ias.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  14. ↑ Evolution and Theology of Cooperation
  15. ↑ About Us : Who We Are : Board of Advisors Archived 2007-01-23 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Nowak, M.A. (2006). "Five rules for the evolution of cooperation". Science. 314 (5805): 1560–1563. Bibcode:2006Sci...314.1560N. doi:10.1126/science.1133755. PMC   3279745 . PMID   17158317.
  17. ↑ Wei, X.; Ghosh, S.K.; Taylor, M.E.; Nowak, M.A.; Hahn, B.H.; Saag, M.S.; Shaw, G.M. (1995). "Viral dynamics in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection". Nature. 373 (6510): 117–122. Bibcode:1995Natur.373..117W. doi:10.1038/373117a0. PMID   7529365. S2CID   4343212.
  18. ↑ Wei X, Ghosh SK, Taylor ME, Johnson VA, Emini EA, Deutsch P, Lifson JD, Bonhoeffer S, Nowak MA, Hahn BH (1995). "Viral dynamics in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection". Nature. 373 (6510): 117–22. Bibcode:1995Natur.373..117W. doi:10.1038/373117a0. PMID   7529365.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Nowak, M.A.; May, R.M. (2018). "Minimal functional driver gene heterogeneity among untreated metastases". Science. 361 (6406): 1033–1037. Bibcode:1992Natur.359..826N. doi:10.1038/359826a0. PMC   6329287 . PMID   30190408.
  20. ↑ Nowak, Martin (October 2006). Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life. Belknap Press. ISBN   978-0-674-02338-3.
  21. ↑ Michel, J.B.; Shen, Y.K.; Aiden, A.P.; Nowak, M.A.; Aiden, E.L. (2011). "Quantitative analysis of culture using millions of digitized books". Science. 331 (6014): 176–182. Bibcode:1992Natur.359..826N. doi:10.1038/359826a0. PMC   3279742 . PMID   21163965.
  22. ↑ Nowak, Martin A.; Anderson, Roy M.; McLean, Angela R.; Wolfs, Tom F. W.; Goudsmit, Jaap; May, Robert M. (15 November 1991). "Antigenic Diversity Thresholds and the Development of AIDS". Science. 254 (5034): 963–969. Bibcode:1991Sci...254..963N. doi:10.1126/science.1683006. PMID   1683006.[ non-primary source needed ]
  23. ↑ Nowak, Martin A.; May, Robert M. (October 1992). "Evolutionary games and spatial chaos". Nature. 359 (6398): 826–829. Bibcode:1992Natur.359..826N. doi:10.1038/359826a0. S2CID   4328667.[ non-primary source needed ]
  24. ↑ Nowak, Martin A.; Boerlijst, Maarten C.; Cooke, Jonathan; Smith, John Maynard (July 1997). "Evolution of genetic redundancy". Nature. 388 (6638): 167–171. Bibcode:1997Natur.388..167N. doi: 10.1038/40618 . PMID   9217155.[ non-primary source needed ]
  25. ↑ Wei, Xiping; Ghosh, Sajal K.; Taylor, Maria E.; Johnson, Victoria A.; Emini, Emilio A.; Deutsch, Paul; Lifson, Jeffrey D.; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian; Nowak, Martin A.; Hahn, Beatrice H.; Saag, Michael S.; Shaw, George M. (January 1995). "Viral dynamics in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection". Nature. 373 (6510): 117–122. Bibcode:1995Natur.373..117W. doi:10.1038/373117a0. PMID   7529365. S2CID   4343212.
  26. ↑ Nowak, Martin A.; McMichael, Andrew J. (August 1995). "How HIV Defeats the Immune System". Scientific American. 273 (2): 58–65. Bibcode:1995SciAm.273b..58N. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0895-58. PMID   7652527.[ non-primary source needed ]
  27. ↑ Eigen, M.; Nieselt-Struwe, K. (1990). "How old is the immunodeficiency virus?". AIDS. 4: S95–7. doi:10.1097/00002030-199001001-00014. PMID   2152591.
  28. ↑ "Virus dynamics - Martin A. Nowak; Robert May - Oxford University Press". Oxford University Press . Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  29. ↑ Nee, Sean (November 1, 2006). "Beautiful models" . Nature . 444 (7115): 37. Bibcode:2006Natur.444...37N. doi:10.1038/444037a . Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  30. ↑ Harman, Oren (April 8, 2011). "How Evolution Explains Altruism". The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Evolution, Games, and God — Harvard University Press". Harvard University Press . Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Beyond". Martin Nowak. 2024-04-27. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  33. ↑ Ohlson, Kristin (October 25, 2012). "The Cooperation Instinct". Discover . Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  34. ↑ Powell, Alvin (March 15, 2007). "Can science, religion coexist in peace?". The Harvard Gazette . Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  35. ↑ Hippensteel, Mark ArsenaultChris; Hakim, Danny (2025-11-21). "The Professors Who Stayed Close With Epstein". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2026-01-31.
  36. ↑ Nowak, Martin A. (2011). "Preface". Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. xiv. doi:10.2307/j.ctvjghw98.3. ISBN   978-0-674-02338-3.Nowak, Martin A. (2011). "Preface". Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. xiv. doi:10.2307/j.ctvjghw98.3.
  37. ↑ Gibson, Lydialyle (March 25, 2021). "Martin Nowak sanctioned for Jeffrey Epstein involvement". Harvard Magazine .
  38. ↑ Helmore, Edward (March 27, 2021). "Harvard closes evolution center after finding connections to Jeffrey Epstein". The Guardian .
  39. ↑ Svrluga, Susan (May 1, 2020). "Jeffrey Epstein had his own office at Harvard University — after he was convicted as a sex offender". The Washington Post .
  40. ↑ "Harvard Lifted Sanctions on Epstein-Associated Professor Martin Nowak in March | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  41. ↑ "I studied the latest Epstein files. As a woman, this is what I felt". The Times . Retrieved 2024-05-22.
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