MACLEOD Ruairidh

Mr. Ruairidh (Rory) Macleod began working with the BAP in Fall 2019 as a research assistant for Dr. Eske Willerslev, performing labwork for ancient DNA extractions of individuals from cemeteries excavated by the BAP at the Centre for Geogenetics in Denmark. He is set to continue work on the ancient human genomic history of the Lake Baikal region as a graduate student supervised by Drs. Eske Willerslev and Matthew Collins at the University of Cambridge in Fall 2020, with Dr. Andrzej Weber as an advisor.

Through sequencing a large representation of the genomes of individuals across different cultural traditions and phases of occupation, Ruairidh’s research focuses on revealing spatio-temporal population history and dynamics, in particular how these are tied to cultural and ecological influences. Through shotgun illumina sequencing, evidence of the genetic basis of past diseases and preserved pathogen DNA will also be studied in relation to the broader ecology of the middle holocene hunter-gatherers at Lake Baikal.

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Ancient genomics and multi-omics, Human evolution and ecology, Population genetics and biomolecular preservation