Nathan Cofnas

Nathan Cofnas (born 1987) is an American postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium. He is known for controversies surrounding his advocacy of scientific racism. Cofnas earned a doctorate from Oxford University in 2020 and, thereafter, a Leverhulme Trust research grant. He became an early-career research fellow at the University of Cambridge and research associate at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 2022. After it was publicized in 2024 that Cofnas had written in a blog post that black people are, on average, less intelligent than other groups, and that they "would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment" under a meritocratic system, he was dismissed from his position at Emmanuel College. In 2026, Cofnas secured a position at Ghent University. In response to student protest and a petition calling for his dismissal, the university defended his appointment, citing academic freedom. Cofnas attracted attention after publishing a blog post in which he alleged plagiarism by University of Cambridge sociologist Jason Arday, who was found dead soon after resigning from his post. In August 2026, Cofnas was suspended from his position at Ghent University, pending investigation.