Alexandra Sockell

TL;DR: The value of diverse, multi-ethnic participants in large-scale genomic studies is demonstrated and evidence of effect-size heterogeneity across ancestries for published GWAS associations, substantial benefits for fine-mapping using diverse cohorts and insights into clinical implications are shown.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that skin pigmentation is highly heritable, but known pigmentation loci explain only a small fraction of the variance, and how the architecture of skin Pigmentation can vary across humans subject to different local evolutionary pressures is shown.

TL;DR: It is shown that Early Neolithic Moroccans are similar to Later Stone Age individuals from the same region and possess an endemic element retained in present-day Maghrebi populations, confirming a long-term genetic continuity in the region.

TL;DR: Genomic analyses of DNA from modern individuals show that, about 800 years ago, pre-European contact occurred between Polynesian-individuals and Native American individuals from near present-day Colombia, while remote Pacific islands were still being settled.

TL;DR: A genomic analysis of 200 cacao plants representing more than 10 genetically distinct populations identifies metabolic and disease resistance genes as contributing to the domestication of cacao and shows that domesticated populations maintain a high proportion of deleterious mutations.