SoS 263: Dr. Theodore Schurr on molecular anthropology & the evolution of genetic research

In this episode, Dr. Theodore Schurr shares insights from his career researching genetic prehistories, linkages, and identities within transforming geopolitical landscapes of the past as well as contemporary sociopolitical shifts, including post-Soviet Russia and Georgia. Next, Dr. Schurr and hosts Cara and Chris reflect on the evolution of anthropology and genetic research, including breakthrough technologies and advanced field methods, changing bioethics, intentional relationships with communities, and exciting new approaches that are expanding our understanding of variation and genetic-environmental interactions of the past and present. Dr. Theodore (Tad) Schurr is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. For over thirty years, he has investigated the genetic prehistory of Asia and the Americas through studies of mtDNA, Y-chromosome, and autosomal DNA variation in Asian, Siberian, and Native American populations. For these studies, his lab characterized genetic diversity in indigenous populations of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. His research group is currently exploring the population history of Georgia (Caucasus), Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Polynesia through collaborative studies in those regions. Other projects have investigated the role of the mtDNA in adaptation, cancer, complex diseases, and metabolism. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Yardumian, A., Shengelia, R., Chitanava, D., Laliashvili, S., Bitadze, L., Laliashvili, I., ... & Schurr, T. G. (2017). Genetic diversity in Svaneti and its implications for the human settlement of the Highland Caucasus. American journal of physical anthropology, 164(4), 837-852. Schurr, T. G., Shengelia, R., Shamoon-Pour, M., Chitanava, D., Laliashvili, S., Laliashvili, I., ... & Yardumian, A. (2023). Genetic analysis of Mingrelians reveals long-term continuity of populations in Western Georgia (Caucasus). Genome Biology and Evolution, 15(11), evad198. Ancient Lineages: Reconstructing the Genetic History of Svaneti, Northwest Georgia https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/ancient-lineages/ ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Schurr: tgschurr@sas.upenn.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cara Ocobock, Co-Host Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Mecca Howe, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Fellow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/, Email: howemecca@gmail.com