Population Genetics of Human Pathogens - Ana Yansi Morales Arce

"The population genetics of human pathogens: tuberculosis, influenza and cytomegalovirus"

Ana Yansi Moracles Arce will be talking about her research at this CEMinar. Ana is a biological anthropologist with a keen interest in population genetics and indigenous groups. She considers the understanding of the past and present human genetic diversity in the Americas and the quantification of the events that shaped it, to be an integral part of her research and teaching interests. First, she obtained a Master's at the University of Costa Rica studying variation in modern indigenous groups that is associated to lactose intolerance and later began a PhD studying prehistoric migrations in Central America using ancient DNA.

In addition to a keen interest in the evolutionary history of indigenous populations, Ana also studies the pathogens that reside in them. At the Center for Evolution and Medicine, she has been applying population genetic modeling and approximate Bayesian statistical analyses to study the evolutionary dynamics of tuberculosis, influenza and human cytomegalovirus. This combination of empirical and theoretical/computational research affords her a unique perspective on the interface of wet and dry lab biology.