In recent time, much work has been done using maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA, and non-recombinant Y (NRY) chromosome markers to map human migration and ancestry. In addition, large numbers of other DNA based markers have been used for similar purposes. However, anthropological geneticists have been looking at human migration and ancestry for as long as there have been genetic markers, starting with the ABO blood groups.
This talk will review some of the realities and unrealities of ancestry testing, as done by commercial laboratories such as Ancestry.com, as well as the overall patterns of human migration and conclusions that can be made about modern humans in the last 100,000 years.
Professor Schanfield is a world authority on the genetic markers on antibodies, and has applied genetic marker testing, both protein- and DNA-based, to the study of anthropologic and forensic genetics. He was involved in some of the earliest forensic DNA cases, and has been involved in some famous forensic cases including the OJ Simpson case and the JonBenét Ramsey case. Professor Schanfield is a co-editor of the book Forensic DNA Applications: An Interdisciplinary Perspective with Professor Dragan Primorac which will be released in February 2014 by Taylor and Francis. He is currently Professor of Forensic Science and Anthropology at George Washington University.
Professor Schanfield has undergraduate and Masters Degrees in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota and Harvard University, respectively and a Ph.D in Human Genetics from the University of Michigan.
Saturday, January 11, 2014 1:30 pm - Free
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard Room 110
Arlington, VA 22203 (map)
Room 110 is located immediately to the left as you enter the building from the intersection of North Stuart and 9th Street North.
There will be refreshments and socializing after the talk.
