Dean Hamer

Dean Hamer is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker, New York Times Book of the Year author, and NIH scientist emeritus with a long history in communicating complex and controversial ideas to diverse publics. He formed Qwaves with partner Joe Wilson to produce insightful and provocative documentaries about often overlooked social issues. Their films have been supported by Sundance, ITVS and Pacific Islanders in Communications, won awards at over 100 film festivals across the world, and used as outreach and educational tools by a wide range of community and educational organizations.

OUT IN THE SILENCE, the first feature film from Qwaves, premiered at Lincoln Center and became a highly visible model for the use of film for social activism. In 2011, Hamer and Wilson moved to the north shore of O’ahu, Hawai’i to begin work on KUMU HINA, the first of a series of films about Pacific Islander issues and voices.

In addition to his film work, Hamer is the author of several best selling nonfiction books including THE SCIENCE OF DESIRE and THE GOD GENE, a consultant for the BBC and Discovery channels, and a sought-after lecturer and frequent guest on TV documentaries and news shows including Nightline and Oprah.