Reconstructing human population histories using ancient genomics

Speaker: Maanasa Raghavan, Senior Research Associate in Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
Host: Ida Moltke, Section for Computational and RNA Biology, BIO-UCPH

Abstract
Reconstructing human population histories using ancient genomics Abstract: Technological advances in sequencing have propelled ancient DNA research into the paleogenomics era, accompanied by a tremendous increase in the amount of generated data. Additionally, continued efforts towards optimizing laboratory pipelines, including sampling, DNA extraction and library preparation techniques, have resulted in increased DNA yield from ancient samples. These genome-wide datasets are being used to reconstruct past population structures and understand how processes such as ancient migrations have shaped present-day gene pools. My talk will focus on the contributions of ancient DNA research to the emerging picture of modern human dispersals across the globe, with a focus on the Americas.