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Department of Archaeology

 

Christiana Scheib is a Research Fellow at St John's College, University of Cambridge and leads the Ancient DNA research group at the Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia.

Biography

Dr. Scheib was the head of the ancient DNA (aDNA) research laboratory at the Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia from 2017 - 2023. Her early research as an MPhil, then PhD student at the University of Cambridge optimised aDNA extraction protocols and explored the complex genetic history of Native American populations. Always fascinated by disease, her postdoc (University of Cambridge) focused on retrieving and analysing pathogen DNA from medieval Cambridgeshire skeletons.

Research

In her current project, "Ancient Antibodies: Identifying pathogen exposure via immunological memory in ancient populations using proteins and DNA" a UKRI Frontier Research Guarantee (ERC Starting Grant), she is developing palaeoproteomics and aDNA methods for the identification and analysis of ancient immune-response and pathogen proteins to gain a better understanding of host–pathogen dynamics and how they have affected our genomes today. She also works on detecting biomarkers in ancient osteological remains including those for pregnancy (Royal Society Small Research Grant).

Job Titles

Research Fellow, St John’s College
Group Leader, Department of Zoology, Cambridge

General Info

Available for consultancy

Contact Details

Henry Wellcome Building, 3rd Floor
David Attenborough Building, Room 1.10
St John’s College
cls83 [at] cam.ac.uk