Elise Kerdoncuff

Two new chapters from my free online book in human genetics out this weekend!
These complete Part 3 of the book, on human population structure and history:
3.3: Human prehistory [separate thread]
3.4: Ancient DNA: a genetic time capsule [this thread]
web.stanford.edu/group/pritch...

Roots of milk drinking revealed by South Asian genomes Natural selection was at work—but only in populations with no alternative to dairy

Thanks for the highlight of our study!

Roots of milk drinking revealed by South Asian genomes | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.

I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio

Out now in @natgenet.nature.com, our Comment analyzing uses of the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), a controversial dataset in human genomics research. A 🧵

rdcu.be/eRu65

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Work from my amazing undergrad @leyan-wang.bsky.social is just preprinted! TL;DR: If you worry that ARG methods might fail on unphased data due to phasing errors, you may not need to.

Check it out & consider reposting to support a great young scientist!

The preprint from my first postdoc is finally out! I had a blast working on this project with such an amazing team!

Revisiting the Evolution of Lactase Persistence: Insights from South Asian Genomes Lactase persistence (LP), the ability to digest lactose from milk into adulthood, is a classic example of natural selection in humans. Multiple mutations upstream of the LCT gene are associated with L...

Exciting new study led by @ekerdoncuff.bsky.social and @meaghanmarohn.bsky.social on the evolution of Lactase Persistence in South Asia.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

My first preprint of my PhD! Thanks to @ekerdoncuff.bsky.social and @moorjanipriya.bsky.social for their guidance and mentorship in this project!

Deep history from the genomes of India People carrying Neanderthal mixture entered the subcontinent after 50,000 years ago, meeting Denisovans

The genetics of South Asia are coming into focus, helping reveal how fast the avalanche of modern humans got going. This region has more Neanderthal genetic variation than any other, and a unique component of Denisovan ancestry never seen before.

www.johnhawks.net/p/deep-histo...

Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.

This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.

More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk

See you there !

Robust and accurate Bayesian inference of genome-wide genealogies for hundreds of genomes - Nature Genetics SINGER is a method for creating ancestral recombination graphs to understand the genealogical history of genomes. The method has increased speed, and thus scalability, without sacrificing accuracy.

SINGER, our ARG inference method, is finally published and freely available online:

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

It was a long journey – 16 months from initial submission to acceptance. Is it just me, or has peer review gotten more arduous lately? 4+ rounds of review isn't so unusual these days...

Our review on the last decade+ of hybrid incompatibility research is now out! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Original thread here: bsky.app/profile/moll...

An illustration of a DNA strand surrounded by faces. Artist: Saurabh Singh.

New research from Priya Moorjani's lab offers insights into India’s genomic legacy.

Postdocs @lauritsskov.bsky.social and @ekerdoncuff.bsky.social traced Indian's ancestry to three main sources. Read the findings in this story by grad student Jules Perez: bit.ly/3IK46vh

’We couldn’t live without it’: the UCSC Genome Browser turns 25 After a quarter of a century, the website remains an essential tool for navigating the genome and understanding its structure, function and clinical impact.

It’s been 25 years since the UCSC Genome Browser launched. Nature profiles how the website remains an essential tool for navigating the genome and understanding its structure, function, and clinical impact. #Academicsky 🧬 🧪

Genomes from people across modern-day India shed light on 50,000 years of evolutionary history.
http://dlvr.it/TLbY4F

@ekerdoncuff.bsky.social & colleagues
@cp-cell@bsky.social

Scientists complete the most thorough analysis yet of India's genetic diversity - Berkeley News A comparison of more than 2,700 complete genomes from South Asians uncovers a wealth of ancient and recent diversity and genetic links to disease.

A new analysis of Indian genomes helps untangle these groups’ complex evolutionary history, uncovering a 50,000-year history of genetic mixing and population bottlenecks that shaped genetic variation, health and disease in South Asia. news.berkeley.edu/2025/06/26/s...

50,000 years of evolutionary history of India: Impact on health and disease variation A genomic study of 2,762 individuals from India offers important insights into the genomic diversity and evolutionary history of the subcontinent and highlights the extensive genetic variation, gene f...

Our paper out today: 50,000 years of evolutionary history of India: Impact on health and disease variation: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Check out our dive into 50,000 years of Indian genetic history!🇮🇳
🧬~2,700 genomes
🦴Neanderthal/Denisovan DNA
🌾Hunter-gatherer, Iranian farmer & Steppe ancestry
🩺Health-linked, population-specific variants

@lauritsskov.bsky.social & Priya Moorjani
#Genomics #India #HumanEvolution #PopulationGenetics

Attendees of GHIST kick off workshop.

Packed house at today’s GHIST kickoff meeting. Pop gen folks, join the competition to learn, have fun, and help our community. ghi.st (Thanks to @drk-lo.bsky.social for the pic.) #Evol2025

Federal investment in UC research Federal funds are the university’s single most important source of support for research, accounting for more than half of UC’s total research awards. Many of California’s leading industries grew from UC research, including biotechnology, computing, semiconductors, telecommunications and agriculture. Providing health care at UC University of California Health (UC Health) is one of the nation’s largest public academic health systems, serving as a critical part of the California safety net. UC trains approximately 36% of the medical residents in California

The university of California is a powerhouse of innovation, healthcare, and social mobility for California and the US.

We ( @zeniabaek.bsky.social @moicoll.bsky.social and @asgerhobolth.bsky.social ) present a new cool way to visualize the optimal trade off for hmm decoding called Artemis plots!
arxiv.org/pdf/2504.15156
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Why do Polynesians gave high risk of metabolic disease? Dang Liu tests the thrifty genotype vs population adaprive patterns (considering % Austronesian & Papuan ancestries), demographics (strong bottleneck in Eastern Polynesians!). Results: both!! BMI thrifty, HDL & others under drift & more!! 🤩

Flyer for stand up for science--more information available at www.standupforscience2025.org

TODAY IS THE DAY! 🧪☀️⬇️

Join us at the Lincoln Memorial or your local site to Stand Up for Science!

Had the opportunity to present my work on Lactase Persistence in South Asia, in collaboration with Meaghan Maroon, at #probgen25! Excited to share our findings with this amazing community!

🚨 Applications Open! 🎓
The Master 2 EvoGEM offers training in computational & mathematical modelling to interpret evolutionary mechanisms from genomic data.
📍Taught in English in Paris (MNHN, PSL, Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris-Cité & Paris-Saclay)
🔹 Research in leading labs
🔗 Apply now: evogem.fr

How important are your #postdoc years in the likelihood of you staying & succeeding in #academia?

In our newly published paper in @pnas.org, "Postdoc Publications and Citations Link to Academic Retention and Faculty Success," we study the journey of #CareerSuccess of ~45,000 #postdocs.

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Proud to see our work cited as part of these big discoveries ! 🧬🌏

Evolution instructors! I'm adding 'Make an evolution meme' to the extra credit opportunities in my class this semester. I know I've seen some great examples of student-generated memes on here - can you share some of your favorites so I can give them examples of what I'm looking for?

Very excited to see our study published today, joint effort with @benmpeter.bsky.social group, co-led by @leonardoiasi.bsky.social & Manjusha Chintalapati. Excitedly, @arevsumer.bsky.social et al. in Nature today show similar timeline of N gene flow. Details👇

Sketch of IBD segments linking Medieval genomes from the Black Death (1350 CE) to modern Europeans. Logo of ERC-funded research.

PhD opportunity in computational population genetics at @MPI_EVA_Leipzig:
Join our fully funded project to develop IBD-segment tools, connecting high-quality genomes from 500 Black Death victims to modern Europeans. 🌍💻🧬
Please spread the word! 📢🙌 #aDNA #PopGen

www.eva.mpg.de/de/karriere/...