Editing List of biologists (section)

==W==
===Wa===
*[[Frans de Waal]] (born 1948), Dutch ethologist, primatologist and psychologist whose research centers on primate social behavior
*[[Coslett Herbert Waddell]] (1858–1919), Irish priest and botanist known for work on difficult genera of flowering plants
*[[Jeremy Wade]] (born 1960), British writer and TV presenter with a special interest in rivers and freshwater fish
*[[Amy Wagers]] (thesis 1999), American biologist, stem cell and regenerative biology
*[[Johann Georg Wagler]] (1800–1832), German herpetologist and ornithologist,<ref>Abbreviation in zoology: Wagler</ref> author of ''Monographia Psittacorum''
*[[Warren H. Wagner]] (1920–2000), American botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: W.H.Wagner</ref> who developed an algorithm for analysing phylogenetic relationships between species
*[[Göran Wahlenberg]] (1780–1851), Swedish naturalist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Wahlenb.</ref> who worked on plant geography, author of ''Flora lapponica'' 
*[[Selman Waksman]] (1888–1973), American biochemist, awarded the Nobel Prize for work on antibiotics
*[[Charles Athanase Walckenaer]] (1771–1852), French entomologist<ref>Abbreviation in zoology: Walckenaer</ref> who placed the black widow in its current genus
*[[George Wald]] (1906–1997), American biologist, winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on visual perception
*[[John E. Walker]] (born 1941), British biochemist awarded the Nobel Prize for work on ATPases and ATP synthase
*[[Alfred Russel Wallace]] (1823–1913), British naturalist<ref>Abbreviation in zoology and in botany: Wallace</ref> and explorer, known for independently conceiving the theory of natural selection
*[[Nathaniel Wallich]] (1786–1854), Danish botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Wall.</ref> who described many Indian plant species
*[[Benjamin Dann Walsh]] (1808–1869), British-American entomologist<ref>Abbreviation in zoology: Walsh</ref> who studied agricultural insect pests
*[[William Grey Walter]] (1910–1977), American-British neurophysiologist and roboticist who improved techniques of electroencephalography
*[[James C. Wang]] (born 1938), Chinese-American biochemist who discovered [[topoisomerases]]
*[[Deepal Warakagoda]] (born 1965), Sri Lankan ornithologist who identified new bird species of Sri Lanka
*[[Otto Heinrich Warburg]] (1883–1970), German biochemist awarded the Nobel Prize for pioneering studies of respiration
*[[Robin Warren|J. Robin Warren]] (born 1937), Australian pathologist awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for discovering that most stomach ulcers are caused by bacteria
*[[Arieh Warshel]] (born 1940). Israeli-American biochemist awarded the Nobel Prize for computational studies of functional properties of biological molecules. 
*[[Charles Waterton]] (1782–1865), English naturalist who introduced curare to Europe
*[[James D. Watson]] (born 1928), American molecular biologist, awarded the Nobel Prize-winning for discovering the structure of DNA

===We–Wh===
*[[Edwin C. Webb]] (1921–2006), British (later Australian) biochemist known for systematic classification of enzymes
*[[Philip Barker Webb]] (1793–1854), English botanist,<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Webb</ref> author of ''Histoire Naturelle des Iles Canaries''
*[[Hugh Algernon Weddell]] (1819–1877), English physician and botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Wedd.</ref> specializing in  South American flora
*[[Jean Weigle]] (1901–1968), Swiss physicist and molecular biologist who worked on the interactions between [[lambda phage|bacteriophage λ]] and ''E. coli''
*[[Robert Weinberg (biologist)|Robert Weinberg]] (born 1942), American cancerologist who studies oncogenes and the genetic basis of cancer
*[[August Weismann]] (1834–1914), German biologist who argued that inheritance only takes place by means of the germ cells
*[[Friedrich Welwitsch]] (1806–1872), Austrian explorer and botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Welw.</ref> who discovered the plant ''Welwitschia mirabilis'' in Angola
*[[Karl Wernicke]] (1848–1905), German physician and neuroanatomist who discovered Wernicke's area
*[[Hans Westerhoff]] (born 1953), Dutch biochemist known for work in systems biology and metabolic regulation
*[[Victor Westhoff]] (1916–2001), Dutch botanist who published work on phytosociology and conservation
*[[Alexander Wetmore]] (1886–1978), American ornithologist, author of ''A Systematic Classification for the Birds of the World''
*[[William Morton Wheeler]] (1865–1937), American entomologist and myrmecologist<ref>Abbreviation in zoology: Wheeler</ref> who studied the behavior and classification of ants
*[[William Joseph Whelan]] (1924–2021) British-American biochemist noted for research on glycogen and as a founder of international unions such as the [[IUBMB]]
*[[Gilbert White]] (1720–1795), English naturalist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: G.White</ref> known for ''Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''
*[[John White (surgeon)|John White]] (c. 1756–1832), English botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: J.White</ref> who studied the native flora and fauna of Australia

===Wi–William===
*[[Robert Wiedersheim]] (1848–1923), German anatomist known for his list of 86 "vestigial organs" in ''The Structure of Man: An Index to His Past History''
*[[Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied]] (1782–1867), German explorer and ethnologist, the first in Europe to show real images of Brazilian Indians
*[[Hans Wiehler]] (1930–2003), German-American botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Wiehler</ref> who studied [[Gesneriaceae]]
*[[Eric F. Wieschaus]] (born 1947), American developmental biologist awarded the Nobel Prize for work on the genetic control of embryonic development
*[[Torsten Wiesel]] (born 1924), Swedish-American neurobiologist awarded the Nobel Prize for work on information processing in the visual system
*[[Joan Wiffen]] (1922–2009), New Zealand paleontologist who discovered numerous dinosaur fossils in New Zealand 
*[[Siouxsie Wiles]] (thesis about 2005), British microbiologist who studies how glowing bacteria help to understand microbial infections 
*[[Maurice Wilkins]] (1916–2004). New Zealand and British x-ray crystallographer awarded the Nobel Prize for work on the structure of DNA
*[[Carl Ludwig Willdenow]] (1765–1812), German botanist,<ref>Abbreviation in botany: Willd.</ref> pharmacist, and plant taxonomist, one of the founders of phytogeography
*[[George C. Williams (biologist)|George C. Williams]] (1926–2010), American evolutionary biologist known for his criticism of group selection, and for introducing the gene-centric view of evolution
*[[Mark Williamson (biologist)|Mark Williamson]] (thesis 1958), British zoologist, expert on biological invasions

===Willu–Wyn===
*[[Francis Willughby]] (1635–1672), English ornithologist and ichthyologist who introduced innovative and effective ways of classifying animals
*[[Alexander Wilson (ornithologist)|Alexander Wilson]] (1766–1813), Scottish-American ornithologist,<ref>Abbreviation in zoology: Wilson</ref> author of ''American Ornithology'' (nine volumes)
*[[Allan Charles Wilson]]  (1934–1991), New Zealand biochemist and evolutionary biologist who pioneered molecular approaches to evolutionary changes and reconstructing phylogenies
*[[David Sloan Wilson]] (born 1949), American evolutionary biologist who supports the concept of group selection
*[[Edward Adrian Wilson|Edward A. Wilson]] (1872–1912), English naturalist and artist who painted British birds and objects seen in Antarctica 
*[[E. O. Wilson|Edward O. Wilson]] (1929–2021), American entomologist<ref>Abbreviation in zoology: E.O. Wilson</ref> and father of sociobiology, expert on ants, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize
*[[Sergei Winogradsky]] (1856–1953), Russian microbiologist, ecologist and soil scientist who pioneered the cycle-of-life concept and studied nitrifying bacteria
*[[Caspar Wistar (physician)|Caspar Wistar]] (1761–1818), American anatomist and physician who developed anatomical models to assist in teaching anatomy
*[[Henry Witherby]] (1873–1943), British ornithologist who introduced a bird-ringing scheme
*[[William Withering]] (1741–1799), English botanist<ref>Abbreviation in botany: With.</ref> who introduced the use of digitalis, the active principle in foxgloves, as a remedy
*[[Carl Woese]] (1928–2012), American microbiologist who used phylogenetic taxonomy of 16S ribosomal RNA to defined the Archaea as a new domain of life
*[[Friedrich Woehler|Friedrich Wöhler]] (1800–1882), German chemist known for his synthesis of urea from ammonium cyanate (a nail in the coffin of vitalism) 
*[[Lewis Wolpert]] (1929–2021), South-African-British developmental biologist known for the French flag model of embryonic development
*[[Wong Siew Te]] (born 1969), Malaysian zoologist known for studies of the Malayan sun bear and efforts for its conservation
*[[Flossie Wong-Staal]] (1947–2020), American virologist known for complete genetic mapping of HIV 
*[[Sewall Wright]] (1889–1988), American geneticist, known for  work on evolutionary theory and  on path analysis, co-founder of population genetics
*[[Dorothy Maud Wrinch|Dorothy Wrinch]] (1894–1976), British mathematical biologist who promoted the [[cyclol]] structure for proteins
*[[V. C. Wynne-Edwards]] (1906–1997), Scottish zoologist known for advocacy of group selection, the theory that natural selection acts on groups