Mathematical Genomics RIKEN ECL Research Unit Joins OIST Mirror Lab

The Mathematical Genomics RIKEN ECL Research Unit, led by RIKEN ECL Unit Leader Leo Speidel at iTHEMS, has joined an OIST Mirror Lab together with research groups from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), the Max Planck Institute, and Karolinska Institutet.
Mirror Labs are a framework established by OIST to foster long-term research partnerships with institutions in Japan and abroad. Through joint research, researcher exchanges, and the development of early-career researchers, Mirror Labs promote sustained collaboration that brings together the complementary expertise of participating research groups.
The newly established “The Evolutionary History of Archaic and Modern Humans Mirror Lab” brings together research groups from OIST, the Max Planck Institute, Karolinska Institutet, and RIKEN to investigate human evolution and population history using genomic data from Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans. The collaboration will explore topics including genetic admixture between archaic and modern humans and the more recent population history of modern humans, particularly in the Japanese Archipelago.
The unit will contribute its expertise in population genetic analyses to research on human migration, admixture, and evolution through analyses of modern and ancient genomes.