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Biography:
Dr. Randolph M. Nesse investigates evolutionary explanations for traits that leave bodies vulnerable to disease. In particular, he studies how selection shapes mechanisms that regulate defenses, especially negative emotions. He is also committed to developing organizational and educational resources for evoltionary medicine.
Before coming to ASU in 2014 Nesse had a long career at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Social Research. He directed the Evolution and Human Adaptation Program there for many years.
He is the Founding Director of the ASU Center for Evolution & Medicine. Center initiatives include producing research that demonstrates the power of evolutionary biology to address problems in medicine and public health, developing new courses, and holding conferences and workshops. Nesse teaches courses in evolution and medicine, as well as evolution and mental health.n
His new book, Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry uses many case studeis and the principles of evolutionary medicine to suggest ways to advance psychiatric research and treatment.
Education:
BA, 1970 Carleton College
MD, 1974, University of Michigan Medical School
Research Website URL:
Google Scholar URL:
Research Interests:
Evolutionary applications to medicine and public health.
Signal detection theory applied to the evolution of mechanisms that regulate defense expression.
Th eevolutionary functions and regualtion of emotions, especially negative emotions like anxiety and depression
The origins of altruism, especially via social selection.
Evolutionary psychiatry and the origins of mental illness.
Publications:
- Nesse RM: Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry. Dutton (Penguin Random House), NY, 2019.
- Nesse RM, Williams GC: Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine, Vintage Books, New York, 1994
- Aktipis A, Nesse R, Evolutionary foundations for cancer biology. Evolutionary Applications, 6 (1):144–159, 2013.
- Nesse RM. Ten questions for evolutionary studies of disease vulnerability. Evolutionary Applications, 4(2):264-77, 2011.
- Nesse RM, Ellsworth PC. Evolution, emotions, and emotional disorders. American Psychologist, 64(2):129-39, 2009.
- Nesse RM, Stein DJ. Towards a genuinely medical model for psychiatric nosology. BMC Med;10(1):5, 2012, doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-5, 2012.
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- Fried, E. I., & Nesse, R. M. Depression is not a consistent syndrome: An investigation of unique symptom patterns in the STAR* D study. Journal of affective disorders (2015).
- Carr D, Sonnega J, Nesse RM, House JS. Do Special Occasions Trigger Psychological Distress among Older Bereaved Spouses? An Empirical Assessment of Clinical Wisdom. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 69 (1), 113-122, 2014 (2014).
- Fried, E. I., & Nesse, R. M. The Impact of Individual Depressive Symptoms on Impairment of Psychosocial Functioning. PLoS ONE, 9(2), e90311, 2014 (2014).
- Fried, E. I., Nesse, R. M., Zivin, K., Guille, C., & Sen, S. Depression is more than the sum score of its parts: individual DSM symptoms have different risk factors. Psychological Medicine, 44(10), 2067-2076, 2014 (2014).
- Nesse, RM. Comment: A General ''Theory of Emotion'' Is Neither Necessary nor Possible. Emotion Review (2014).
Research Activity:
- Nesse,Randolph Martin*. Graduate Student Fellowship in Evolutionary Medicine. DUKE UNIV(9/1/2015 - 1/31/2016).
| Spring 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| Fall 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| Spring 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| Fall 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| Spring 2019 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 493 | Honors Thesis |
| PSY 494 | Special Topics |
| ASM 494 | Special Topics |
| BIO 494 | Special Topics |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| PSY 598 | Special Topics |
| BIO 598 | Special Topics |
| ASM 598 | Special Topics |
| Fall 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| Spring 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| ASB 494 | Special Topics |
| BIO 494 | Special Topics |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| BIO 591 | Seminar |
| ASB 591 | Seminar |
| Fall 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| BIO 189 | Life Sciences Career Paths |
| Spring 2017 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| ASM 494 | Special Topics |
| BIO 494 | Special Topics |
| PSY 494 | Special Topics |
| BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
| PSY 598 | Special Topics |
| BIO 598 | Special Topics |
| Fall 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| ASM 790 | Reading and Conference |
Service:
- George C Williams Prize, Organizer (2015 - Present)
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Director (2014 - Present)
- Omenn Prize, Organizer (2013 - Present)
- International Society for Evolution, Medicine, & Public Health, Founding President (2012 - Present)
- The Evolution and Medicine Review, Editor (2007 - Present)
Expertise Areas: