We are mainly interested in addressing the following questions.

Has evolution shaped our predisposition to disease?

As humans encountered new environments, adaptation shaped thegenetic similarities and differences among populations through the action of natural selection. In a changing environment, previously beneficial mutations may have a detrimental effect and contribute to disease susceptibility. We investigate how much natural selection has maintained disease-associated genetic variants in human populations, as a result of exposure of new pathogens, diet regimes, or extreme environments.

How do we extract reliable information from biological experiments?

Whilst new high-throughput sequencing technologies allow for rapid generation of genomic data, the information they provide is associated with uncertainty and errors. We develop statistical methods and implement software for the bioinformatic analysis of genomic sequencing data. We are particularly interested in estimating population genetic parameters from low-coverage sequencing data of non-model systems.

Is Artificial Intelligence able to solve the unsolvable in evolutionary studies?

One of the main scientific advancements in recent years is the improved predictive power of Artificial Intelligence. We pioneer the use of machine learning algorithms for the inference of past demographic history, admixture events, and genes under positive and balancing selection from genomic data. We established the EvoGenomics.AI consortium for the dissemination of new findings, and wrote a review on applications of Artificial Intelligence in evolutionary genomics.

Why should we transition to ethical publishing for inclusive and accessible science?

We actively promote the use of not-for-profit publishing routes, including society-based or community-based journals and peer-review platforms such as Peer Community In. We stand against barriers to public dissemination of sciences such as paywall, article-processing-charges (APCs), and journal suscriptions. We support disruptive actions to this aim.

Our research has been (or is still) externally kindly funded by:

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