Santiago’s paper, “Demographic modeling of admixed Latin American populations from whole genomes” is now published in AJHG (bioRxiv link)! In collaboration with Andrés Moreno at LANGEBIO and other researchers at LIIGH-UNAM, we inferred detailed demographic models for Latin American populations using whole genome data, including 50 newly sequenced whole genomes from Indigenous individuals in Mexico. The demographic models are big improvements over existing models for demographic history in the Americas, and you can simulate data using simulation software that support Demes (such as msprime, fwdpy11, dadi, and moments). The models are provided as supplementary files in the publication, and can also be found on github. In Santiago’s paper, we show how these models can be combined with parameters of selection to run realistic genomic simulations of functional variation in admixed Latin American populations.
Some nice perspectives and summaries have been published covering our recent article (A weakly structured stem for human origins in Africa).
First, an accompanying perspective by Elleanor Scerri: One species, many roots?
In The NY Times, by Carl Zimmer: Study Offers New Twist in How the First Humans Evolved
In National Geographic, by Tim Vernimmen: Did early humans interbreed with a ghost population?
We are excited to share that our work on understanding ancient population structure within Africa is now published as an article in Nature! In this paper, we use geographically and genetically diverse populations across Africa and Eurasia to reconstruct detailed demographic models for our species in the deep past. We find that a model that includes long-lasting population structure, with populations connected by ongoing migration, provides the best fit to the genetic data. In contrast to other recent studies, we do not find evidence for a substantial contribution from an unidentified “ghost” population within Africa (akin to Neanderthal and Denisovan contributions in Eurasia). This work is in collaboration with my former postdoc advisor Simon Gravel, at McGill University, Brenna Henn and Tim Weaver at UC Davis, and others.
Our group has positions available for both postdocs and PhD students interested in population genetics and evolution! Postdoc funding is available for at least two years, with a flexible start date. See the evoldir listing for details. PhD students are admitted through the Integrative Biology Graduate Program, and the application deadline is December 1, 2021. Informal inquiries are most welcome!
As of Fall 2021, I’ve arrived in Madison and the lab is getting up and running! Check out the research page to get a sense of what we do, and opportunities if you’re interested in joining us. Informal inquiries via email/DM/stopping me on the sidewalk are always welcome!