Evolutionary Genetics
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Postdoctoral Researcher
2011-2013
Rasmus Nielsen Laboratory, UC Berkeley, CA, USA
Postdoctoral Researcher
2008-2011
Philipp Khaitovich Laboratory, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB), Shanghai, People's Republic of China
EDUCATION
Ph.D
2004-2008
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Leipzig / Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
M.Sc
2001-2003
Department of Biotechnology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkiye
B.Sc
1996-2001
Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkiye
RESEARCH SUMMARY
We address questions on human history and evolution using genomic data. This includes ancient DNA analyses (archaeogenomics) of humans and domestic animals and population genomics of modern-populations. We work as part of the METU / Hacettepe Archaeogenomics Laboratory. We also use comparative genomic and transcriptomic data to address questions on two main processes: evolution and aging. We have previously studied molecular mechanisms of brain aging, evolutionary and molecular dynamics of aging, and adaptive and non-adaptive evolution in diverse organisms, including primates and fish.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Turan ZG, Parvizi P, Dönertaş HM, Tung J, Khaitovich P, Somel M. Molecular footprint of Medawar's mutation accumulation process in mammalian aging. Aging Cell. 2019 Aug;18(4):e12965. doi: 10.1111/acel.12965
Kılınç GM, Koptekin D, Atakuman Ç, Sümer AP, Dönertaş HM, Yaka R, Bilgin CC, Büyükkarakaya AM, Baird D, Altınışık E, Flegontov P, Götherström A, Togan İ, Somel M. Archaeogenomic analysis of the first steps of Neolithization in Anatolia and the Aegean. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2017 Nov 29;284(1867). pii: 20172064. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2064
Dönertaş HM, İzgi H, Kamacıoğlu A, He Z, Khaitovich P, Somel M. Gene expression reversal toward pre-adult levels in the aging human brain and age-related loss of cellular identity. Scientific Reports. 2017 Jul 19;7(1):5894. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-05927-4
Kılınç GM, Omrak A, Özer F, Günther T, Büyükkarakaya AM, Bıçakçı E, Baird D, Dönertaş HM, Ghalichi A, Yaka R, Koptekin D, Açan SC, Parvizi P, Krzewińska M, Daskalaki EA, Yüncü E, Dağtaş ND, Fairbairn A, Pearson J, Mustafaoğlu G, Erdal YS, Çakan YG, Togan İ, Somel M, Storå J, Jakobsson M, Götherström A. The Demographic Development of the First Farmers in Anatolia. Current Biology. 2016 Oct 10;26(19):2659-2666. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.057
Somel M, Liu X, Khaitovich P. Human brain evolution: transcripts, metabolites and their regulators. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2013 Feb;14(2):112-27. doi: 10.1038/nrn3372. Epub 2013 Jan 17. Review