William Gillanders, MD, a physician-scientist and avid cyclist, keeps the wheels turning in the race against breast cancer. His career goal is to change treatment paradigms by making breast cancer vaccines a reality for patients.

At the forefront of ancient DNA research is evolutionary biologist and MacArthur Fellow Beth Shapiro, DPhil. She will deliver the annual Ferguson Science Lecture at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in Knight/Bauer Hall’s Emerson Auditorium. The Woman’s Club is co-sponsoring the free program, which is open to the public.

The outcome of a duel between mathematical models supports the reigning theory of the genetics of altruism. Called inclusive fitness, it says altruism is competitive if it benefits relatives carrying the same gene as the selfless individual. Evolutionary biologist David Queller, PhD, of Arts & Sciences, defends the concept, which was challenged by a 2010 article published in Nature.