Posted on 8 April 2025
Anna-Sapfo Malaspinas is an associate professor in the Department of Computational Biology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and a distinguished evolutionary geneticist known for her groundbreaking research in human evolution and population genetics. She studied biology and physics as an undergraduate at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and earned her PhD in population genetics and computational biology at the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Montgomery Slatkin. Before returning to Switzerland as an assistant professor at the University of Bern, Anna-Sapfo completed a postdoc at the University of Copenhagen with Eske Willerslev.
Her current research focuses on theoretical population genetics and understanding the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of human populations, particularly in Africa. Anna-Sapfo's work emphasizes the analysis of ancient DNA, combining the development of computational tools with large-scale data analysis, such as high-throughput genome sequencing. Her innovative research methods have significantly contributed to our knowledge of ancient human migrations and adaptations, earning her recognition in the scientific community.
Anna-Sapfo will be the keynote speaker on Wednesday at 9:00.