John H. Gillespie is anevolutionary biologist interested intheoretical population genetics andmolecular evolution. In molecular evolution, he emphasized the importance of advantageous mutations andbalancing selection. For that reason, Gillespie is well known for hisselectionist stance in theneutralist-selectionist debate. He is widely considered the main proponent ofnatural selection inmolecular evolution. He had a well-known feud with the father of theneutral theory of molecular evolution,Motoo Kimura, initiated by a 1984 review inScience ofKimura's book in which Gillespie criticized Kimura for "using the book as a vehicle to establish for himself a niche in the history of science." Gillespie had only four Ph.D. students during his career: Richard Hudson, James N. McNair, David J. Cutler, and Andrew Kern, but mentored many more. Gillespie was a professor in the College of Biological Sciences at theUniversity of California, Davis until his retirement in 2005.

• Blum, D. (1992). "Scientists in Open War over "Neutral Theory" of Genetics".Sacramento Bee, March 16, p.A1.[1]
• Gillespie, J.H. (1984). "The Status of the Neutral Theory".Science.224 (4650):732–733.doi:10.1126/science.224.4650.732.JSTOR 1692840.PMID 17780612.
• Gillespie, J.H. (1994).The Causes of Molecular Evolution.Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-509271-6.
• Gillespie, J.H. (2004).Population Genetics : A Concise Guide. The Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN 0-8018-8009-2.

• Evolutionary biologists
• Population geneticists
• University of California, Davis faculty
• Living people

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Year of birth missing (living people)