has authored books and scientific papers on topics in evolutionary game theory, cancer, viruses, infectious disease, the evolution of language, and the evolution of cooperation. His first book, Virus Dynamics (written with Robert May) was published by Oxford University Press in 2001. Nowak is a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He won the Weldon Memorial Prize, the Albert Wander Prize, the Akira Okubo Prize, the David Starr Jordan Prize and the Henry Dale Prize. Nowak's 2006 book Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life earned him praise from other scientists along with the R.R. Hawkins Award for the Outstanding Professional, Reference or Scholarly Work of 2006 from the Association of American Publishers. Nowak was co-director with Sarah Coakley of the Evolution and Theology of Cooperation project at Harvard University, sponsored by the Templeton Foundation. where he was also a member of their Board of Advisers. In a lecture given at Harvard in March 2007 called "Evolution and Christianity", Nowak, a Roman Catholic, argued that "Science and religion are two essential components in the search for truth. Denying either is a barren approach." Harvard University placed Nowak on paid academic leave on May 1, 2020 because of his failure to disaffiliate with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction. Nevertheless Harvard had declined a donation from Epstein in 2013. A report commissioned by the university found that Nowak allowed Epstein to visit the PED offices more than 40 times after his conviction, to maintain an office with a phone line and webpage, and to interact with students at PED. In 2021, Harvard decided a proportionate response to the severity of Nowak's ethical errors was the closing of the institute founded with Epstein's money, the donation of the balance of the money remaining to a foundation helping victims of sexual assaults, and a two year ban on Nowak lecturing and doing research. He will also have his interaction with students limited. Nowak said he would "take the lessons from this time with me as I move forward". Academic research In 1990, Nowak and Robert May proposed a mathematical model which explained the puzzling delay between HIV infection and AIDS in terms of the evolution of different strains of the virus during individual infections, to the point where the genetic diversity of the virus reaches a threshold whereby the immune system can no longer control it. This detailed quantitative approach depended on