Prof. Robin Wolfe Scheffler

Robin Wolfe Scheffler is an associate professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society. He is an historian of the modern biological and biomedical sciences and their intersections with developments in American history. The common aim of his projects is to show the mutual influence of society on science and science on society. His first book, "A Contagious Cause: The American Hunt for Cancer Viruses and the Rise of Molecular Medicine," follows the history of cancer virus research from laboratory to legislature, showing the intimate connections between health policy and the emergence of a molecular vision of life. He is currently at work on a National Science Foundation-supported project to write the first history of the Boston-area biotechnology cluster and the spatial relationships between technological innovation and the production of inequality. He earned undergraduate degrees in history and chemistry from the University of Chicago, an M.Phil in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge, and a doctorate from Yale University in 2014.