The Population Genomics team focuses on in-depth genomic analyses and development of bioinformatics tools to answer questions in population genetics and the application of these techniques in other scientific fields.

The main line of research is the development of tools for quantifying genetic ancestry of an individual. The objective is to use this knowledge to generate hypotheses about the demographic history of a species, quantify the amount of spatial population substructure within a species, and to identify new regions in the genome showing an excess of genetic differentiation compatible with the presence of selective pressures. The team also studies how to export this knowledge to other fields of research. For example, detecting population substructure is important in case-control studies in genetic epidemiology and can provide valuable information in forensic science.

“The recruitment of Oscar Lao perfectly fits the CNAG strategy to strengthen research on the evolution genomics area” says Ivo Gut, Director of the CNAG. “His synergies with current research groups will steer CNAG in new directions and bring tangible benefits to our research.”

About Oscar Lao
Oscar Lao holds a degree in Biology from the University of Barcelona and a PhD in Health Sciences from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Between 2005 and 2014 he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Forensic Molecular Biology Department at Erasmus Medical Centre University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He focused on the analysis and interpretation of the genetic variation present in human populations, and the development of new statistical and bioinformatic tools for the detection of hidden population substructure. As result of this work, Oscar Lao has co-authored over 50 articles published in prestigious scientific journals and encyclopedias.