David C. Queller

Who is David C. Queller?

David C. Queller is an evolutionary biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his BA from The University of Illinois in 1976, and his PhD from The University Michigan in 1982. Dr. Queller became a faculty member at Rice University in 1989 and remained there until 2011 when he was named Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Since the late 1980s, Queller has collaborated extensively with his wife and colleague Joan E. Strassmann. Together, they have pioneered the use of DNA microsatellites for relatedness estimation, which has shed light on the importance of genetic relatedness in the evolution of social insects. Empirically, Queller and Strassmann worked primarily with social insects until they made the switch to the social amoebae, Dictyostelium discoideum, in 1998. Queller has also made significant contributions to the field of social evolution theory.