John Wakeley
Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology · Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences · Harvard University
Quick answer: John Wakeley is Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. John Wakeley shows an active PhD hiring signal as of 2026-09-11.
⭐ Not Accepting Graduate Students for 2026-2027
Research interests
Population samples of DNA sequences contain information about both contemporary and ancient processes and events. I use mathematical models to describe how these current and historical factors conspire to produce the patterns of genetic variation which are readily observable among individuals within species. I employ both analytical and computational techniques to make inferences about these factors from patterns of genetic variation. The field I work in is called Theoretical Population Genetics. Recently I have been studying how the genealogy of individuals in a population affects gene genealogies and patterns of genetic variation in samples from the population.
Selected publications (since 2023)
Newman M, Wakeley J, Fan W-T. 2025. Conditional gene genealogies given the population pedigree for a diploid Moran model with selfing. Theoretical Population Biology 165:29-44.
Fan W-T, Wakeley J. 2024. Latent mutations in the ancestries of alleles under selection. Theoretical Population Biology 158:1-20.
Diamantidis D, Fan W-T, Birkner M, Wakeley J. 2024. Bursts of coalescence within population pedigrees whenever big families occur. Genetics 227:iyae030.
Rivas-González I, Schierup MH, Wakeley J, Hobolth A. 2024. TRAILS: Tree reconstruction of ancestry using incomplete lineage sorting. PLOS Genetics 20(1):1-21.
Wakeley J, Fan W-T, Koch E, Sunyaev S. 2023. Recurrent mutation in the ancestry of a rare variant. Genetics 224:iyad049.
Frequently asked questions
Is John Wakeley hiring PhD students at Harvard University?
Yes. As of 2026-09-11, John Wakeley's faculty page shows a PhD hiring signal: Not Accepting Graduate Students for 2026-2027.
What does John Wakeley research?
Population samples of DNA sequences contain information about both contemporary and ancient processes and events. I use mathematical models to describe how these current and historical factors conspire to produce the patterns of genetic variation which are readily observable among individuals within
Data last updated: 2026-09-11 · Source: phd-match.com faculty database.
Is John Wakeley a match for your research?
Upload your CV and get matched to professors who fit — with hiring signals.
Start matching