Dr. Kristiina Tambets is a senior researcher in the evolutionary biology and ancient DNA group and the head of Estonian Biocentre in the Institute of Genomics at the University of Tartu, Estonia. She studied genetics and molecular biology at the University of Tartu and defended her PhD in 2004 on diversity of human mitochondrial DNA in Europe. Her research interests focus on the genetic roots of the Uralic-speaking peoples and on the temporal population dynamics of North Eurasians in general making use of the genomic data of present and past populations.
Dr. Terhi Honkola is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Turku, Finland, in a multidisciplinary BEDLAN research group. After obtaining her MSc degree with evolutionary genetics as her major, she dived into the world of multidisciplinary research to study linguistic divergence and human past by applying quantitative biological methods to language data.
Dr. Mait Metspalu is a senior researcher and a director of the Institute of Genomics at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Mait Metspalu studied geography and molecular biology and evolution at the University of Tartu where he also defended his PhD on phylogeography of human mitochondrial DNA in South Asia in 2006. His research concentrates on using and developing population genetics approaches to understand the genesis of the genetic diversity patterns of humans through reconstructions of past population movements, splits and admixtures as well as adaptations to local environments.
