Daniel M. Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Wilson in 2020 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Clarion University (B.S.),Carnegie Mellon University (Ph.D.) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Molecular biology |
| Thesis | Assembly of Functional Centers in the Ribosomal 60S Subunit (2021) |
| Doctoral advisor | John L. Woolford, Jr. |
| Website | Debunk the Funk |
Dan Wilson is an Americanmolecular biologist andscience communicator. He is best known as a host and creator of the podcastDebunk The Funk, which focuses on pseudoscience surrounding theanti-vaccine movement andCOVID-19 misinformation.
Wilson was born inHarrisburg and lived in Pennsylvania nearly his whole life.[1] His parents both had graduate degrees: his father in Education and his mother in environmental biology.He attended a high school in Harrisburg where his father was dean, developing an interest for science but also for conspiracy theories, including cryptids,9/11 conspiracy theories (through the filmLoose Change) andancient aliens.[1][2] He credits a good high school biology teacher for giving him the tools to challenge his own conspiracy beliefs and get interested in science communication.[1][3]
Wilson did his undergraduate studies atClarion University (B.S. in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology), and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology atCarnegie Mellon University, studying and working in the laboratory headed byJohn Woolford.[4] He gradually abandoned his beliefs in conspiracy in his undergraduate years.[1][3]
His Ph.D. work, he concentrated on studyingribosome biogenesis (how ribosomes get made and made correctly).[3]
In January 2020, as he was completing his Ph.D., Wilson created aYouTube channel as a hobby, intending todebunk anti-vaccination conspiracists he was familiar with, such asDel Bigtree. With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he got interested in the new influencers peddlingCOVID misinformation.Debunk the Funk rapidly gained in popularity in March 2020, as both the pandemic and the influencers profiting from it took off.[1] Wilson did not expect the amplitude of disinformation in the current pandemic. However, he's encouraged by the vaccine numbers, pointing out it took far longer for the polio vaccine to be accepted.[5]
As of February 2023,Debunk the Funk had more than 34,000 subscribers and its videos had been viewed more than 1.3 million times.[6]
AuthorMatthew Remski describes Wilson's approach as "clear, respectful, meticulous with evidence and clearly devoted to the common good."[3] Inspired byTimothy Caulfield's science communication work, he presents data in a compassionate way to engage with his audience. To produce the videos, Wilson reads the relevant scientific literature and seeks out the scientists currently publishing on the topic to ensure the information he communicates is current.[7]
His distinctiveafro developed when he spent the first months of the pandemic avoiding the hair salon. Wilson decided to integrate it to his science communication style: "My dad when he was younger had a pretty big afro growing up in the seventies (...) I kind of like that I get to be that image of him now, I hope he's proud of that."[7]
He frequently appears on podcasts dealing with misinformation such asConspirituality andDecoding the Gurus, as well as the medical podcastsThis Week in Virology andDr. Drew's.[1][3][7][8]
As of 2023, Wilson was working atEurofins Scientific.[1]
Pediatricimmunologist,Paul Offit praised Wilson's response to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "dangerous misleading information" on theJoe Rogan Experience podcast, calling it "a takedown."[9]
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