Professor Eske Willerslev

I hold the Prince Philip Chair in Ecology and Evolution in the Department of Zoology. I am also a Lundbeck Foundation Professor at University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the Director for Centre of Excellence in GeoGenetics. Additionally, I am a research associate the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. I am an evolutionary geneticist. I have led the sequencing of the first ancient human genome, conducted large-scale human population genomic studies across the world, and established the field of environmental DNA, where modern and ancient DNA from higher plants and animals are obtained directly from environmental samples.

http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/professor-eske-willerslev 

Yucheng Wang

My original background was in biology and geology. I was later trained as a molecular biologist and bioinformatician on ancient DNA (aDNA) during my PhD at the GeoGenetics centre in Copenhagen. Currently I am mainly focusing on applying aDNA high-throughput sequencing techniques (metabarcoding, metagenomics, and target genome capturing) on ancient environmental DNA (aeDNA) preserved in all kinds of environmental samples (permafrost, ice core, cave and lake sediment, archeological sedimentary context, etc.) to investigate (1) paleo-environmental and paleo-ecological successions and variations, (2) phelogenetics and evolutionary histories of target species, (3) cereal plants domesticating and spreading histories, and (4) compositions and functions of ancient microbiota. I am also have interests in all broadly aeDNA-related projects and method developments for both wet-lab techniques and bioinformatics.

William Barrie

My research interests focus on using bioinformatics to investigate human evolution and population history through ancient and modern DNA, in order to explain present-day patterns of genetic diversity, distribution, disease load and culture. Previously, I worked under Dr Maanasa Raghavan researching language-gene co-evolution in the Americas - the idea that linguistic and genetic groups have similar patterns of variation and structure over time. I am now focussed on tracing which adaptive/disease variants in modern human populations derive from specific ancestral populations across Eurasia.

http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/william-barrie

Ruairidh Macleod

I am broadly interested in the application of ‘omics’ sciences to ancient or archaeological remains and substrates; through my PhD project I am focusing on population genomics and palaeo-ecology of mid-Holocene Hunter-Gatherers at Lake Baikal, Siberia. I am very excited generally by the potential for ancient biomolecules to capture insights into evolutionary history, and have previously worked on ancient DNA preserved in Sperm Whale ambergris and non-destructive peptide mass fingerprinting of ancient skin, for example.

ALUMNI

Dr Ana Prohaska

My research interests lie at the interface of ecology, biogeography and global change biology. More specifically, I'm interested in understanding the long-term dynamics of species and ecosystems in response to environmental changes. I was a Research Associate at Zoology and a visiting researcher at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. I am now a group leader at the GeoGenetics Centre at the University of Copenhagen.

https://globe.ku.dk/research/geogenetics/prohaska-group/

Dr Maanasa Raghavan

I am a molecular biologist, specializing in the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data to study human population histories. My PhD and postdoctoral research focused on resolving aspects of the early peopling of the Americas by making using of genome-scale data from ancient and modern humans from the Americas and Siberia. I use a combined approach that brings together modern and ancient DNA datasets in order to investigate human population dynamics over time and how events in the past, such as migrations and admixture, have shaped the current genetic landscape. I am currently a Senior Research Associate at the department, Visiting Researcher at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, College Research Associate at St. John's College and Gibbs Travelling Research Fellow at Newnham College.

https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/maanasa-raghavan

Dr Daniel Money

My research interests lie in novel bioinformatics problems and the use of next generation sequencing.  My past research has included work on genotype imputation in non-model organisms and the phasing of very large SNP chip datasets.  I am a Research Associate in the department and my current focus is on solving the bioinformatic challenges involved with sequencing ancient pollen DNA.

http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/daniel-money 

Ms. Esha Bandhopadhyay (March 2017-June 2017)

I completed my B.Tech (2011-2015) and M.Tech (2015-2017) in Genetic Engineering from SRM University, Tamil Nadu, India. I worked on the thesis component of my M.Tech. at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge with Dr. Maanasa Raghavan on human palaeogenomics.