About the speakers

Richard Delisle is Full Professor at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. He obtained two Ph.D. degrees, one in paleoanthropology and one in philosophy. Delisle’s research focuses on the history and philosophy of science, specifically Darwinism and evolutionary studies, as well as on the history and epistemology of paleoanthropology. Since Fall 2018, he has been the founder and editor of the book series Evolutionary Biology: New Perspectives on its Development with Springer Nature. Delisle is the author of several original articles and books dedicated to the study of Darwinism and the evaluation of traditional understandings of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Among his books, one finds Charles Darwin's Incomplete Revolution: The Origin of Species and the Static Worldview (2019) and Rereading Darwin's Origin of Species: The Hesitations of an Evolutionist (2022). Delisle continues to expand his research on these topics.

Antonello La Vergata graduated from the University of Florence. He was a Researcher at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) in Rome. After teaching at the Università della Calabria and the University of Bologna, La Vergata has been a Full Professor of History of Philosophy at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia until his retirement on January 1, 2022. He was a visiting professor of History of Science at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, and at the Stanford Programme in Florence, University of Stanford. La Vergata  is the President of the Italian Society for the Study of the Relations between Science and Literature (SISL). He was awarded various fellowships and awards, such as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, the Prix Marc-Auguste Pictet by the Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève, and the “Medaglia Giuseppe Montalenti” (Dipartimento di Biologia evoluzionistica “Charles Darwin”, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”). He was the Principal Investigator or coordinator of research projects supported by the National Research Council and/or the Ministry of Education and Research (1996-2004, 2007). La Vergata has been/is a member of the editorial board of various journals and remains a co-editor of Rivista di Filosofia. He is also the editor of the series “Guerra e cultura. Biblioteca della Grande Guerra” (Pisa, ETS). La Vergata is the author of more than 250 articles in Italian and other languages. Among his books, one finds Images of the Economy of Nature, 1650–1930. From “nature’s war” to Darwin’s “struggle for life." His research is focused on the history of evolution theories; relations between life sciences, philosophy, and the social sciences; evolutionary ethics; human beings and animals; biology and culture; aggression; war; the problem of technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; images of nature and man’s place in it; science and literature; ecological ideas.

Srdja Janković graduated at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine in 2002. He has been employed in the laboratory for immunology of University Children's Hospital in Belgrade since 2007, and heads the Division of Immunology since 2015, when he completed his specialization in immunology. He acquired his PhD in 2016 with a thesis regarding the significance of Wilms tumor(WT)-1 gene and protein expression in children with acute leukemia. In 2018, he received the title of research assistant professor. In addition to biology of childhood leukemias, publications co-authored by Dr. Janković are focused on a number of areas: xenobiotic immunotoxicity by means of inflammatory reaction, dendritic cell maturation and acquisition of immunogenic vs. tolegogenic properties, diagnosis and treatment of primary immunodeficiency disorders, as well as pathogen-host interactions and prevention of infectious diseases by active immunization. He also pursues an active interest in the history and philosophy of science and interdisciplinary studies of life and its evolution, where he co-authored two conceptual exploratory papers on evolvability, Gaia hypothesis and natural selection at the overall biospheric level.

Nicolaas Rupke is Professor Em. of the History of Science at Göttingen University and Johnson Professor in the College at Washington & Lee. Educated at Groningen and Princeton, he has held research fellowships at the Smithsonian, Oxford, Tübingen, NIAS, the Wellcome Institute, the NHC, the Institute of Advanced Studies in Canberra, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and he was the initial occupant of the Tyrone Professorship of Medical History at Vanderbilt University. His books include scientific biographies of William Buckland, Richard Owen and Alexander von Humboldt. Rupke’s metabiographical approach to Humboldt has received considerable acclaim. Currently, Rupke works on Johann Friedrich Blumenbach and the non-Darwinian tradition in evolutionary theory. He is a fellow of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Göttingen Academy of Sciences (recently renamed the Lower Saxony Academy of Sciences at Göttingen).

Antonino Drago M.D. 1961 in Physics at Pisa University. Associate professor of History of Physics at the Department of Theoretical Physics of the University of Naples, retired in the year 2004. Experience of research and publications in Cybernetics, Automata theory, Biology, Epistemology, History and Foundations od Sciences, Bioethics, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Linguistic, Theology.

Mike Buttolph qualified in biochemistry (UCL) in the 1960s, worked for the government in the 1970s, the University of London in the 1980s and the BBC in the 1990s. He then had a MSc in history & philosophy of science (Imperial College London) in the 2000s and was honorary researcher in STS (UCL) in the 2010s. He is now retired.

Andrea Olmo Viola is a PhD student at the University of Rome. His research interests involve the theory of evolution and its history, from Darwin to today's current debates. He focused his research on the debate regarding the extended evolutionary synthesis, its historical roots, and the associated epistemological problems.

Sofia Belardinelli holds a PhD in Environmental Ethics at the University of Naples "Federico II", Italy, and is a Research Fellow for the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7). Her research focuses on the theory of evolution and the ethical aspects of the social and environmental crisis, as well as on the human-nature relationship and biocultural diversity.

Luigi Garaffa is a PhD student at the Universities of Padua and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. His interests lie in the disciplines of evolutionary developmental biology and ecological evolutionary developmental biology. He had focused his research on the study of phenotypic plasticity, and how to integrate it into the theoretical framework of evolutionary biology.

Mikhail Bukhtoyarov earned a PhD in Social Philosophy on emerging global society. He holds a Master of Education in Instructional Technology from Kent State University, USA. He teaches Philosophy, Philosophy and Methodology of Science and Critical Thinking. In 2022-2023 he was a Research Fellow at EduLab, IFDT, University of Belgrade. In 2014-2015 he was invited as a Visiting Lecturer to the Learning Lab at University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Mikhail presented at the MIT LINC International Conference in 2013, 2016 and 2019 with the talks on the trends in Educational Technology. He is an expert in Professional Development recognized for popular Instructional Design and Technology courses. In 2023 Mikhail was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. His current research interests include ethical issues related to human-machine educational systems, learning ecosystems and educational ideologies. 

Anna Bukhtoyarova has degrees in History, English as a second language and Law. In 2008 she earned a Master of Library and Information science from Kent State University. Anna has experience of working for NGOs in both Russia and the USA. Since 2009 she has taught several courses in Educational Technology for University faculty in Russia and other countries. Anna presented at the MIT LINC International Conference in 2013, 2016 and 2019 with the talks on the trends in Educational Technology. In 2014-2015 she received an Erasmus Fellowship as an Invited Researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.  From 2018 to 2021 Anna was an invited Instructional Design and Technology expert in the Netherlands. Her current research interests include the study of educational data implications as well as ethical and practical issues related to data-based education and its perspectives in the future.

David Suárez Pascal studied Biology, and holds Master and PhD degrees in Philosophy of Science at UNAM. He is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Sciences at UNAM, where he focuses his teaching and research activities on the history and philosophy of biology, and on the relationships between science and society. He is a member of the National System of Researchers, has published several papers and book chapters on subjects ranging from natural selection and evolutionary epistemology to biosemiotics, he is a member of academic societies such as the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology (in which he serves as Newsletter Editor and participates in several committees), the International Society for Biosemiotic Studies, and the Ibero-American Association of Philosophy of Biology. Currently his research focuses on such topics as explanation in evolutionary theory, evolutionary creativity, and the relationships between biology, culture, and society. Recently, he did a research stay in Germany researching the links between Darwinism and the works of Jakob von Uexküll.

Rosaura Ruiz Gutiérrez is a Mexican pioneer of the study of the history and philosophy of evolutionary thought from an epistemological perspective. She is one of the principal proponents of teaching of Darwinism in schools, from basic to higher education, as well as its popularisation throughout society. She holds a doctorate in Biology awarded by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and completed a postdoctoral stay at the University of California with Dr Francisco J. Ayala. She has been an invited professor at the University of California and the University of the Basque Country, as well as an associate lecturer at the Department of History of Science of the CSIC, Spain. She is a founder of the International Network for the History of Biology and Evolution (RIHBE) and serves on its board of directors. She was the first woman President of the Mexican Academy of Sciences (AMC) 2008-2010, General Director of Postgraduate Studies at UNAM (DGEP) between 2000 and 2004, Secretary of Institutional Development (SDEI) at UNAM 2004-2010, Director of UNAM’s Faculty of Sciences 2010-2017, member of UNAM’s Board of Governors in 2018, and was the Minister of Mexico City’s Secretariat of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation from 2019-2023. She has been a member of the National System of Researchers since 1985. She was recently honoured by both the Latin American Institute of Educational Communication (ILCE) and the Autonomous University of Guerrero with Doctorates Honoris Causa. The central theme of her research is the study of evolutionary theories, which she has approached from scientific, historical and philosophical perspectives. She has also carried out research on science and higher education. She is the author and co-author of numerous publications. Similarly, she has carried out important work to popularise science, participating in over 80 broadcasts of the TVUNAM series Directions and Arguments, among others. She has appeared on several radio broadcasts and additionally wrote a weekly column for the newspaper El Universal. She is currently coordinator of the University Seminar on Evolution and tenured professor at the Faculty of Sciences at UNAM.

Mario Casanueva López is an Experimental Biologist from UAM-Iztapalapa, Master in Philosophy of Science (1992) from UAM-I and Doctor in Philosophy of Science (1999) from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He was the founder of the Department of Humanities and later took charge of the Division of Social Sciences and Humanities. He has been a member of the National System of Researchers since 1999, currently holds level two, and has published more than seventy articles or book chapters in the field of philosophy of science in national and foreign journals. He has also co-edited several anthologies in both biology and philosophy of science, notably “Science and its methods” (co-edited with León Olivé) published by SEP. He specializes in the history and philosophy of genetic theories; his book, Mendeliana, includes the reconstruction of three theoretical networks with more than forty specializations of early genetics. He has directed undergraduate, master's and doctoral theses at UAM and UNAM. He has been a guest professor at the Universities of Barcelona, Córdoba and Buenos Aires. He belongs to four international societies of philosophy of science, and to the editorial committees of the journals: Signos Filosóficos, Metatheoria, and Espacialidades. He is a permanent member of the Seminar on Scientific and Philosophical Problems, UNAM, he was the founder of the seminars of Phi-bio, (Philosophy of Biology) and REMO (representation and modeling of knowledge). In 2015-2018 he held the presidency of the Ibero-American Association of Philosophy of Biology. He is currently dedicated to research on scientific dynamics, representational systems, visual transmission of knowledge, and philosophy of biology; topics on which he has directed four projects funded by CONACYT.

Eric B. Anderson earned a BS in biology at the University of Wisconsin Madison and an MA in philosophy at the University of British Columbia. He is currently a doctoral student in the department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Eric's primary research interest is the history and philosophy of evolutionary biology. His work has focused on historical contingency in evolution and on the importance of naturalization and invasion phenomena to the early development of Darwinism.

Enrico Piergiacomi is assistant professor in history of philosophy at the Technion | Israel Institute of Technology. He was recipient of the international grant The Reception of Lucretius and Roman Epicureanism from the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth century (2019-2020), research in residence at the Bogliasco Foundation of Genova (2021), fellow at Villa I Tatti | The Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (2021-2022) where he carried on the project The Pleasures of Piety. The History of a Neglected Religious Tradition, and postdoctoral fellow in the research group Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations at the Max-Weber-Kolleg of Erfurt (2022).

He specializes in ancient/modern philosophical thought and its intersections with philosophy of science, medicine, psychology, theology, and ethics. His research interests include atomism; hedonism; medical theory; philosophical theology; scientific poetry; theory of performance. He has three books: Storia delle antiche teologie atomiste (Sapienza University Press, Rome 2017), Amicus Lucretius. Gassendi, il “De rerum natura” e l’edonismo cristiano (De Gruyter, Berlin-New York 2022), and Gli esercizi di Epicuro. Discipline per il piacere (ETS, Pisa 2024). From July 2024 until June 2025, he will be fellow of the Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) of Harvard University.

Stefano Carlini is a first year PhD student in Philosophy at Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa). His main research interests include Evolutionary Aesthetics, Animal Cognition, Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Biology.

Ludo Schoenmakers is a philosopher and molecular biologist who works at the interface of biology, chemistry, and philosophy. He studied philosophy and molecular biology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, obtaining a bachelor’s and master’s degree in both. He subsequently completed a PhD in synthetic biology at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, working on membrane protein insertion and biomolecular condensation. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research near Vienna, Austria, where he works on the applicability of evolutionary theory to the origins and early development of life.

Anastasija Filipović is a PhD student and Research Assistant at the Institute of Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. My research focuses on problems related to the philosophy of psychology, especially emotion theory & 5E cognition. In my thesis, I am discussing the issue of extended affectivity from the perspective of sensorimotor enactivism. 

Slobodan Perović is professor of the history and philosophy of science at the University of Belgrade. His research interests and publications encompass a wide range of topics, including experimental foundations of early quantum mechanics, epistemology of experiments in modern physics and the philosophy of biology. His monograph “From Data to Quanta: Niels Bohr’s Vision of Physics” was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2021, and another one (co-authored with M.Ćirković), “The Cosmic Microwave Background: Historical and Philosophical Lessons” is forthcoming with the Cambridge University Press. In collaboration with biologists he has been publishing on the underlying physical and functional conditions of abiogenesis. Recently, his project on philosophical foundations of deep natural history, including the search for the origin of life, has received support by the John Templeton Foundation.

Ana Katić is a researcher in the fields of philosophy of biology, astrobiology, and bioethics. She has been a PhD candidate at the Department of Philosophy, University of Belgrade where she explores the evolutionary integration of biological functions. She has authored several papers published in prestigious international journals since 2020, including topics such as the moral status of extraterrestrial intelligence and philosophical approaches to the concept of superorganism. She actively participates in international scientific conferences and has been engaged as a teaching assistant for the course Philosophy of Science at the same faculty since 2019. Through an interdisciplinary approach, Ana investigates the connection between philosophical and scientific methods in interpreting biological and astrobiological phenomena, theoretically and practically contributing to the understanding of complex living systems.

Petar Nurkić area of expertise lies in the domains of epistemology and the philosophy of science. He presently serves as a Research Assistant and Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for Philosophy, part of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.

Bogdana Stamenković Jajčević is a Research Associate at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Institute for Philosophy. She received her Ph.D. degree in philosophy in 2023, defending the thesis “Methodological Holism of Alexander von Humboldt: Genesis, Philosophical Aspects, and Relevance for the Development of Modern Biology.” Her research focuses on the philosophy and history of science, especially the philosophy and history of biology, the Earth System Sciences, and the sciences of the origin of life. Stamenković Jajčević participated in several teaching courses at the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy. She is currently engaged in a project Science and its philosophical aspects in the contemporary Balkan area — the idea of ​​scientific integration financed by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation of the Republic of Montenegro. She is also the organiser of two international conferences at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, including the conference Darwin and Darwinisms. Stamenković Jajčević published several notable papers such as “Humboldt, Darwin, and theory of evolution” (History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 44: 1-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40656-022-00546-3); “Darwin, Archaeopteryx lithographica and the Problem of Intermediate Species” (in Richard G. Delisle; Maurizio Esposito; David Ceccarelli (Eds.), Unity and Disunity in Evolutionary Biology: Deconstructing Darwinism. Switzerland: Springer Nature (forthcomming)); “Natural History and Variability of Organized Beings in Kant’s Philosophy” (Belgrade Philosophical Annual 35 (1): 91-107. DOI: 10.5937/BPA2235091S). She continues to expand her research in the history and philosophy of science.

Daniel Blanco has a degree in theology (UAP, Argentina). Degree in Biodiversity (UNL, Argentina). Specialist in History and Epistemology of Sciences (UNTREF, Argentina). PhD in History and Epistemology of Sciences (UNTREF, Argentina). Full Professor of "History of Science and Technology" at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Researcher CONICET (IHUCSO Litoral).

Linda Grohmann is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Wuppertal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Stuttgart and a master’s degree in logic and philosophy of science from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Her PhD project focuses on the study of plant cognition, intelligence, and consciousness, and its impact on cognitive science and biology. She is also interested in topics in the philosophy of biology such as multi-level selection or punctuated equilibria, and she has worked as a gardener.

Ozan Altan Altinok is a postdoctoral researcher at CELLS at Leibniz University of Hannover working on politics and ethics of science. I studied Molecular Biology and Genetics at Middle East Technical University where I did my master’s in philosophy as well. I did my PhD at the University of Münster in the project EvoPAD (Evolutionary Processes in Adaptation and Disease) within Münster Graduate School of Evolution about the concept of disease within evolutionary medicine. I am working at the intersection of philosophy of science in practice and ethics of science.
At the intersection of philosophy of science in practice, hands-on bioethics, and global justice, I aim to understand the structures of local and international inequality to provide a future-looking body of knowledge that is more equitable, responsible, and inclusive towards the publics locally and globally within the concepts of health and disease and the branches of evolutionary medicine, public health, and bioethics.