About us
We have a broad interest in population genetics, human evolution and human history.
In particular, our research focuses on understanding population history and human evolution using genetic information from both recent and ancient individuals, developing population genetic theory and statistical methods for analyzing large-scale genomic data, and search for genomic regions targeted by selection at various time-points in human history.
We combine approaches of theoretical population genetics, computational biology, statistical genetics, advanced molecular genetics and ancient DNA. Also, we analyze the population-genomic information from current-day individuals and ancient human remains to gain access to information about human past that was previously hidden.
A great part of our research contributed to the ATLAS project.
The Milestones
2008
The lab was founded at Uppsala University by Assistant Professor Mattias Jakobsson, who just finished his Post-doc at the University of Michigan, USA. Focus on theoretical approaches addressing human evolution.
2011
A new research avenue was paved
by incorporating ancient DNA studies into the group’s scope.
Empirical data from ancient remains becomes a pivotal asset.
2013-17
ERC Starting grant fro Mattias Jakobsson.
2013
- The ATLAS project is funded. A collaborative effort of researchers from the universities of Uppsala and Stockholm that produced genomes from ancient humans within modern-day Sweden.
- Mattias selected the Wallenberg Academy Fellow and received the Swedish Research Council grant for Distinguished Young Researchers.
2014
- Mattias became appointed a full Professor of Genetics at Uppsala University.
- Carina Schlebusch received a Young Investigator grant from the Swedish Research Council (VR).
2014-19
Mattias becames Wallenberg Academy Fellow, 10,000,000 SEK
2015
Mattias receives the Göran Gustavsson Prize
Mattias and Carina organize “Africa – a cross-disciplinary approach to inferring human history”, a scientific meeting with 100+ participants
2016
Relocation to new offices and a new Ancient DNA laboratory at the Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Uppsala University.
2017-21
Knut and Alice Wallenberg project grant for Mattias Jakobsson (40,400,000 SEK)
2018
Carina Schlebusch creates her own research group, Schlebusch Lab
2019-21
EU Marie Curie fellowship for visiting researcher Miguel Navascués, 186,000 €
2023
Mattias receives the Linné medal in gold, Uppsala University and the Thuréus prize, Royal Society of Sciences at Uppsala, 100,000 SEK;
Mattias Jakobsson serves as an expert on Swedish television’s 10-episodes’ 1-hour show on the history of Sweden (“Historien om Sverige”). He participated in the first episode, the Stone Age, and an ensuing talk-show. The show received 1.6 million views in the first 12 days (15% of Sweden’s population).
2023-26
Swedish Research Council grant (4,000,000 SEK)
2024-28
An interdisciplinary Excellence Center – the Center for the Human Past is created to strengthen the cooperation between genetics, archaeology and linguistics; a grant from the Swedish Research Council (30,000,000 SEK)
2024-29
extension, Wallenberg Scholar for Mattias Jakobsson (32,000,000 SEK)