The 18th Annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences

Event Details

Type

Friday Lecture Series

Speaker(s)

Svante Pääbo, Ph.D., director, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Ancient DNA and Modern Human Origins

David Reich, Ph.D., professor, department of genetics, Harvard Medical School; associate member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past

Speaker bio(s)

Svante Pääbo has developed techniques and approaches that allow DNA sequences from archaeological and paleontological remains to be determined. This has allowed ancient DNA from extinct organisms, humans, animals, and pathogens to be studied. His research group has determined high-quality Neanderthal genome sequences, allowing for the reconstruction of the recent evolutionary history of our species and the realization that Neanderthals contributed DNA to present-day humans who live outside Africa. By studying DNA sequences from a small Siberian bone they discovered Denisovans, a previously unknown hominin group distantly related to Neanderthals. Pääbo also works on the comparative and functional genomics of humans and apes, particularly the evolution of genetic features that may underlie aspects of traits specific to humans.

David Reich focuses on realizing the potential of ancient DNA to shed light on biology, and his work has established the central role of population mixture in our species. He led the analyses of the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes proving interbreeding between archaic and modern humans. By implementing a series of technical improvements, his lab has produced more than half of the world’s published ancient genomes. His team’s analyses have highlighted the power of ancient DNA to reveal previously unknown events, for example showing that “whites” are a mixture of four groups as different as Europeans and East Asians; that Europe and South Asia were both impacted by massive migration from the Eurasian Steppe 5,000 years ago; and that there were equally large population turnovers in East Asia, the Americas, and Africa. He also works on using ancient DNA to track how biological traits evolved in the last 50,000 years, and on making ancient DNA technology accessible to all scholars interested in using it.

Open to

Public

Reception

Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge

Contact

Brandon Fleischer

Phone

(212) 327-8689

Sponsor

Brandon Fleischer
(212) 327-8689
bfleischer@rockefeller.edu