John Medina

John J. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist with special research interests in the isolation and characterization of genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders.

Medina has spent most of his professional life as an analytical research consultant, working primarily in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on research issues related to mental health. Medina wrote the column "Molecules of the Mind" for Psychiatric Times.

He was the founding director of the Talaris Research Institute, which supports researchers such as Patricia Kuhl and John Gottman. He directed Talaris until 2006 and now is the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University, which has worked on creating learning environments at Woodland Park Zoo. He is also an affiliate professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Medina earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Washington State University and is a national faculty fellow of Continuing Medical Education, Inc., of Irvine, CA. In 2004, he was appointed to the rank of affiliate scholar at the National Academy of Engineering.