Diyendo Massilani

Development of methods for Ancient DNA retrieval and analyzes

Past organisms left traces of their DNA in their environment which can be preserved from hundred thousand of years in sediments, independent of their physical remains. The use of archaeological sediment as source of ancient DNA allows to generate genetic data of human and other organisms at sites and in regions where bone remains are not found, are rare, or cannot be accessed. Our goal is to develop state of the art genetic and genomic approachesto better understand the factors that impact DNA preservation in different type of archaeological material (with a particular emphasis on sediment) and expand the use of sediment DNA for palaeogenetic research.

Tracing the peopling of the world using Ancient DNA from archaeological bones and sediments

We generate genome wide data from ancient bones and sediments in different locations that have been inhabited by humans throughout history and link different ancient human lineages to specific temporal and geographic locations and environments. The goal is to uncover genealogical relationships, migration routes, diversification events and genetic admixtures that shaped present-day human diversity. We are combining DNA data from archaeological bones and sediments to generate high resolution time series ancient genetic data from different point through time in space with a particular focus on under-sampled regions of the world such as East Eurasia or Africa.

Human health and adaptation through time and space

Modern human successfully spread across the world and colonized tropical to arctic, high to low altitudes environments and adapted to different lifestyles. This success relied on new mutations, standing genetic variations, or introgressed variations through admixture between different human groups including archaic Neanderthals and Denisovans. We use ancient DNA from archaeological bones and sediments to investigate the origin of genetic variants targeted by selection and their association with adaptations to lifestyles and environments. Our goal is to link presence, absence and change of frequencies of specific allele to specific events in historic time and uncover details about the history of human health and the origins and evolution of several adaptative traits.