Rasmus Nielsen
Professor
University of Copenhagen
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
Rasmus Nielsen is an evolutionary biologist, geneticist, and statistician. He is Professor of Biology at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, and Professor of Integrative Biology and Statistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been elected to both the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences.
Rasmus Nielsen's research focuses on the development of statistical and computational methods for the analysis of genetic and genomic data, and on the application of these methods to elucidate fundamental evolutionary processes. He combines evolutionary and population genetic models with advanced statistical and computational approaches to develop new methods for inference, and then applies them, often in large collaborative projects, to understand how demography, natural selection, introgression, and molecular processes shape variation within and between organisms.
A central theme of his work has been the development of methods for detecting natural selection from DNA, which he and his collaborators at Globe Institute have used to reconstruct the selection landscape of the human genome over the past 10,000 years.
Within AEGIS, Nielsen will be responsible for five subaims, all centered on extracting reliable evolutionary and ecological inference from sedimentary and environmental DNA. First, he will develop statistical methods for dating and authenticating sedimentary DNA, providing a rigorous framework for distinguishing genuine ancient signal from contamination and modern leakage. Second, he will develop computationally efficient methods for the fast phylogenetic assignment of environmental DNA, enabling probabilistic taxonomic placement at the scale required by large sedimentary datasets. Third, he will develop methods for inferring spatio-temporal patterns of migration and changes in population size from temporally and geographically distributed samples. Fourth, he will extend his work on selection inference to the sedimentary DNA setting, developing methods to detect natural selection directly from environmental samples. Finally, he will develop models of community ecology that exploit spatio-temporal samples of environmental DNA to reconstruct how ecological communities have responded to environmental change through time. Together, these subaims aim to establish sedimentary DNA as a quantitative tool for studying evolution and ecology across deep timescales.
Nielsen is also a member of the AEGIS Scientific Steering Committee.
Rasmus Nielsen's research focuses on the development of statistical and computational methods for the analysis of genetic and genomic data, and on the application of these methods to elucidate fundamental evolutionary processes. He combines evolutionary and population genetic models with advanced statistical and computational approaches to develop new methods for inference, and then applies them, often in large collaborative projects, to understand how demography, natural selection, introgression, and molecular processes shape variation within and between organisms.
A central theme of his work has been the development of methods for detecting natural selection from DNA, which he and his collaborators at Globe Institute have used to reconstruct the selection landscape of the human genome over the past 10,000 years.
Within AEGIS, Nielsen will be responsible for five subaims, all centered on extracting reliable evolutionary and ecological inference from sedimentary and environmental DNA. First, he will develop statistical methods for dating and authenticating sedimentary DNA, providing a rigorous framework for distinguishing genuine ancient signal from contamination and modern leakage. Second, he will develop computationally efficient methods for the fast phylogenetic assignment of environmental DNA, enabling probabilistic taxonomic placement at the scale required by large sedimentary datasets. Third, he will develop methods for inferring spatio-temporal patterns of migration and changes in population size from temporally and geographically distributed samples. Fourth, he will extend his work on selection inference to the sedimentary DNA setting, developing methods to detect natural selection directly from environmental samples. Finally, he will develop models of community ecology that exploit spatio-temporal samples of environmental DNA to reconstruct how ecological communities have responded to environmental change through time. Together, these subaims aim to establish sedimentary DNA as a quantitative tool for studying evolution and ecology across deep timescales.
Nielsen is also a member of the AEGIS Scientific Steering Committee.