Priya Moorjani standing in front of map of the world

Research Bio

Priya Moorjani is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology.  Her lab focuses on using statistical and computational approaches to study questions in human genetics and evolutionary biology. A central aim in the lab is to understand the impact of evolutionary history on genetic variation and to apply this knowledge to learn about human history and biology. To this end, we use genetic data from ancient specimens and present-day humans and primates to learn about: (1) how different evolutionary processes such as mutation rate evolve across primates, (2) when key events--such as introgression and adaptations--occurred in human history, and (3) how we can leverage these patterns to identify genetic variants related to human adaptation and disease. The research in the lab involves both development of new methods and large-scale genomic data analysis.

Research Expertise and Interest

Human evolutionary genetics, human genetics, ancient DNA, population genetics, statistical genetics

In the News

Bottlenecks That Reduced Genetic Diversity Were Common Throughout Human History

Human populations have waxed and waned over the millennia, with some cultures exploding and migrating to new areas or new continents, others dropping to such low numbers that their genetic diversity plummeted. In some small populations, inbreeding causes once rare genetic diseases to become common, despite their deleterious effects. A new analysis of more than 4,000 ancient and contemporary human genomes shows how common such “founder events” were in our history.

Seven early-career faculty win Sloan Research Fellowships

Seven assistant professors from the fields of astronomy, biology, computer science, economics and statistics have been named 2019 Sloan Research Fellows. They are among 126 scholars from the United States and Canada whose early-career achievements mark them as being among today’s very best scientific minds. Winners receive $70,000 over the course of two years toward a research project.

Teaching

Courses taught during the three most recent terms
2026 Spring

  • Computational Biology Seminar/Journal Club  [CMPBIO 275]  

  • Doctoral Seminar in Computational Biology  [CMPBIO 293]  

  • CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar  [INTEGBI C242]  

  • Supervised Internship  [MCELLBI 197]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [MCELLBI 199]  

  • Research Review in Genetics and Development: Human Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology  [MCELLBI 249HH]  

  • Research  [MCELLBI 292]  

  • Supervised Independent Study  [MCELLBI 99]  

  • CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar  [MCELLBI C242]  

  • Honors Research  [MCELLBI H196A]  

  • Honors Research  [MCELLBI H196B]  

  • Supervised Research: Interdisciplinary Studies  [UGIS 192E]  

2025 Fall

  • Computational Biology Seminar/Journal Club  [CMPBIO 275]  

  • CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar  [INTEGBI C242]  

  • The Human Genome  [MCELLBI 149]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [MCELLBI 199]  

  • Research Review in Genetics and Development: Human Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology  [MCELLBI 249HH]  

  • Research  [MCELLBI 292]  

  • Supervised Independent Study  [MCELLBI 99]  

  • CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar  [MCELLBI C242]  

  • Honors Research  [MCELLBI H196A]  

  • Honors Research  [MCELLBI H196B]  

2025 Summer

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [MCELLBI 199]  

2025 Spring

  • CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar  [INTEGBI C242]  

  • Supervised Internship  [MCELLBI 197]  

  • Supervised Independent Study and Research  [MCELLBI 199]  

  • Research Review in Genetics and Development: Human Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology  [MCELLBI 249HH]  

  • Research  [MCELLBI 292]  

  • Supervised Independent Study  [MCELLBI 99]  

  • CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar  [MCELLBI C242]  

  • Honors Research  [MCELLBI H196A]  

  • Honors Research  [MCELLBI H196B]