Anya Plutynski

Anya Plutynski is a Professor of Philosophy at Washington University's Department of Philosophy. Her research bridges philosophy and biomedicine, with a focus on conceptual challenges in cancer research, evolutionary biology, and medical ethics. She has authored the monograph Explaining Cancer: Finding Order in Disorder (OUP, 2018) and co-edited interdisciplinary volumes including A Companion to the Philosophy of Biology (Wiley, 2007) and The Routledge Handbook to Philosophy of Biodiversity (2016).

Her research interrogates the philosophical underpinnings of biological and medical sciences, spanning:

• Ontological questions about disease classification and causation
• Methodological issues in modeling and explanation (e.g., systems biology approaches)
• Ethical dimensions of cancer screening and risk communication
• Evolutionary perspectives on cancer development

Her publications since 2015 consistently explore cancer through philosophical lenses—analyzing complexity, randomness, modeling trade-offs, and ethical risks. This body of work demonstrates a unifying focus on epistemology and methodology across biological subfields.

Major recognition includes:

• ACLS Fellowship (2025-2026) for research on clinical expertise in psychotherapy and mental health