Penn State University Anthropological Genomics Lab

Research

Our research interests include:

  • Applied human population genomics
    • Admixture mapping
    • Selection scans
  • The evolutionary genetics of normal-range variation in common traits
    • Skin, hair, and eye pigmentation
    • Facial features
    • Hair form
    • Voice characteristics
  • The evolution of sexually dimorphic traits
  • The perception of facial and vocal characteristics
  • Mapping genes for common diseases (e.g., Prematurity and T2D)

Admixture Mapping

Access the latest data on our developing admixture map. This map has two elements:

  1. a geographical map of admixture proportions in ethnographically defined population samples, and
  2. a genomic map which shows data on the admixture marker map including the chromosomal positions and levels of allele frequency differential for important markers

Ancestry Informative Markers

Available here are the primer sequences, amplification conditions, genotyping details, and population allele frequencies for the markers that we are developing. These markers are especially useful for estimating ancestral proportions, mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium (MALD), and forensic ethnic affiliation estimation.

Prospects for Complex Disease Mapping

There are several gene mapping projects underway in our laboratory, including NIDDM in Hispanics, hypertension, and obesity in African-Americans, keloids, pigmentation genes, and genes for tooth features. These seemingly disparate projects are related by the common thread of admixture.

Human Pigmentation

Our studies of human pigmentation are always underway and include collaborations with 13 other universities across the globe.

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