How does genetic variation related to starch digestion impact glucose levels and affect health?

Human genetic variation has been shaped by major dietary changes including the shift to agriculture, exposure to new environments, and many other cultural events. Identifying genetic targets of diet-related selective pressures can improve our understanding of human evolutionary history and shed light on the genetic basis of associated metabolic diseases that affect human populations today.

My research identifies genomic variation related to starch digestion in Indigenous American populations that have long histories of consuming and domesticating starch-based foods. By linking this genetic data with physiological measurements and sociocultural context of our diets today, I examine how ancestral variation can impact glucose levels and lead to insulin resistance and prediabetes.

How can multispecies genetics be used to understand past human activities?

Past human migration often results in significant evolutionary changes through genetics and the cultural exchange of ideas and technology.

I use multispecies genetics to infer how humans and non-human organisms (insects) were shaped through co-evolutionary outcomes as a result of ancient human migration in Peru. This work presents a novel research framework to understand activities of the archaic past when archaeological evidence is limited, and notably, provides an ethical alternative to destructively sampling ancient human aDNA.

Human populations from the Himalayan Plateau and the Peruvian Andes have thrived in high-altitude environments for thousands of years despite the extreme environmental stress of hypoxia.

My research co-analyzes genomic, transcriptomic, and physiological data to identify putative causal variant(s) in two populations: the Quechua from the Peruvian Andes and Nepali Sherpa from the Himalayan Plateau that mediate the genetic basis for protective adaptations to hypoxia.