Francisco José Ayala Pereda was a Spanish-American evolutionary biologist, philosopher, and Catholic priest best known as one of the world's leading evolutionary biologist who defended Darwin’s theory in books and in the courtroom. Before Pereda became a world renowned biologist he was ordained as a Dominican priest in 1960 but ended up leaving that very same year. He moved to the United States in 1961 to study for a PhD at Columbia University after graduating from from the University of Salaman... moreFrancisco José Ayala Pereda was a Spanish-American evolutionary biologist, philosopher, and Catholic priest best known as one of the world's leading evolutionary biologist who defended Darwin’s theory in books and in the courtroom. Before Pereda became a world renowned biologist he was ordained as a Dominican priest in 1960 but ended up leaving that very same year. He moved to the United States in 1961 to study for a PhD at Columbia University after graduating from from the University of Salamanca and ultimately became a U.S citizen in 1971. Pereda has been called the "Renaissance Man of Evolutionary Biology" due to his research on population and evolutionary genetics that brought about discoveries that opened up new approaches to the prevention and treatment of diseases that affect hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide. His career took a turn when he was accused of sexual harassment by four women, the investigation found that Pereda violated the University of California's policies on sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the cases of three of the four women. He resigned soon after and his name was removed from the School of Biological Sciences and the Science Library. He won numerous awards and honors during his lifetime including the National Medal of Science.
