Staff Profile

Written in the DNA of every individual are not just the instructions for building the organism, but also the history of its ancestors. When populations of individuals are analyzed together, their DNA can tell an even larger story of population dynamics, demography and divergences, both recent and ancient. Genetic approaches allow us to interpret the historical information contained in DNA, which can provide insights difficult or otherwise impossible to obtain. The DNA of populations can also influence the future, as it is the genetic variation within populations and the resulting differential fitness that is the raw material on which natural selection acts.