160 Speaker Series: Hunting Our Molecular Past

Tuesday Aug 16, 2022, 4:00 PM → 5:00 PM America/New_York

Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium/2-GDFA (160 5th Avenue)

We look forward to welcoming you to the 160 Speaker Series talk, Hunting Our Molecular Past, on Tuesday, August 16 at 4:00 p.m. in the Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium at 160 Fifth Avenue.

Eske Willerslev will tell about his transition from expeditioner and fur trapper in the Siberian taiga to professor at the University of Cambridge. He will reveal how ancient DNA from human remains and sediments can reveal how early humans colonized the Americas and Eurasia and what caused the extinction of the woolly mammoth. Finally, he will discuss how ancient DNA will prove important for mitigating the current climate and biodiversity crises.

Speaker Bio:

Willerslev is an internationally recognized evolutionary biologist, who holds a full professorship at the University of Copenhagen, as well as the prestigious Prince Philip Professorship at the University of Cambridge. He established the first ancient DNA facility in Denmark and gained international renown for founding the fields of ancient sedimentary and ice core genetics. Willerslev’s research in the last decade has also focused on macroregional history, population mobility and pathogens evolution. His achievements in this field have advanced the understanding of ancient migration patterns and the spread of specific human traits across the world. This work has led to the rewriting of human history across Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, and has changed how we track human genetic adaptations. He is a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences; a member of The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Event Schedule:
4:00 — 5:00 pm Talk in the GDFA
5:00 — 6:00 pm Reception of light bites and drinks on the promenade

Questions? ewood@simonsfoundation.org

We hope to see you there!
The 160 Speaker Series Committee

Questions? Contact ewood@simonsfoundation.org
 
We hope to see you there!
The 160 Speaker Series Committee