Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor of Anthropology

I am an anthropological geneticist who uses both ancient DNA and modern genomic approaches to investigate human population history. I am especially interested in revisiting the histories of underrepresented populations in the Caribbean and Latin America, understanding the genetic and health impacts of colonial encounters in the region, and strengthening scientific research capacities in the Caribbean.

Between 2019 and 2020 I worked as Senior Scientist with Astrea Forensics/Claret Bioscience in Santa Cruz, CA. Previously, I was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in the Human Population Genomics Lab at the Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad (LANGEBIO-CINVESTAV), in Guanajuato, Mexico (2017-2019). My postdoctoral research examined genetic structure and signatures of adaptation in Peruvian populations, and sought to understand the genetic factors influencing preeclampsia susceptibility in the high altitude Andean environment.

During my doctoral studies I was affiliated with the Ancient DNA and Molecular Anthropology laboratories in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. My doctoral research characterized migration, admixture, and genomic ancestry among ancient and modern human communities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. During my graduate studies, I also worked towards developing laboratory methods to improve DNA recovery from ancient tropical samples.

Publicly available code I have written for my research is available on Github. I also have profiles on Research Gate and Academia.edu.

I am from Bayamón, Puerto Rico!

Email: mnievesc (at) umn.edu | UMN CLA Faculty profile | Google Scholar | CV