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James Holehouse is a Mathematical and Theoretical Biologist currently doing a postdoc at the Santa Fe Institute. From Fall 2026, he will be an assistant professor and the PI of the $R^3$ Lab at WashU. He received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2022 in Mathematical Biology from the lab of Ramon Grima. His thesis received the Reinhart-Heinrich Thesis Award from ESMTB for 2022. He is the curator of the Sport Rules Project. He believes that life is the origin of the universe’s complex rule and regulatory systems.

James’ interests span the growth of rules and regulations in biology and society, and the role that randomness plays in their evolution. He typically employs methods from non-equilibrium statistical physics, systems biology and evolutionary biology to research these topics. Some of James’ most recent projects involve:

• Categorizing the growth of rule systems in sport and US governance.
• Understanding the relationships between the organization of cells, federal agencies and cities.
• Exploring the role of transient behavioral modes in gene regulatory mechanisms.

For an overview of the philosophy behind some of James’ work, please see this video. You can access James’ full CV here.