Ancient DNA Analysis (ADNA01) – Applications for Evolutionary Biology https://prstats.org/course/ancient-dna-analysis-adna01/ Delivered by Dr Nikolay Oskolkov, a bioinformatician, computational biologist and data scientist with extensive experience in genomics, metagenomics, population genomics and ancient DNA analysis. Learn how to analyse ancient DNA (aDNA) and ancient metagenomic datasets, from raw sequencing reads through quality control, authentication and contamination assessment to population structure, ancestry and evolutionary interpretation. Ancient DNA provides evolutionary biologists with a unique opportunity to investigate biological change directly through time. Ancient genomic data can reveal changes in population structure, ancestry, migration, admixture and gene flow, allowing evolutionary hypotheses to be investigated using genetic information recovered from historical and ancient material. What you'll gain Understand the principles of ancient genomics and ancient metagenomics Understand DNA degradation, low sequencing coverage and post-mortem damage Perform quality control, adapter trimming and read merging using fastp Align ancient DNA reads using BWA and Bowtie2 Perform taxonomic profiling of ancient metagenomic datasets using Kraken and sourmash Identify, evaluate and mitigate modern contamination Authenticate ancient DNA using characteristic damage patterns Use mapDamage and PMDtools Work effectively with low-coverage ancient sequencing data Use genotype likelihoods and probabilistic variant calling with ANGSD Analyse population structure using PCA, t-SNE and UMAP Infer ancestry using ADMIXTURE and STRUCTURE Use population-genetic approaches to investigate evolutionary history Understand and apply F2, F3 and F4 statistics Use D-statistics / ABBA-BABA to investigate gene flow and introgression Investigate ancestry, migration, admixture and population relationships Develop complete workflows from raw ancient sequencing data to evolutionary interpretation Course format Dates: 26–30 October 2026 Duration: 5 days, 25 hours total Format: Live online Combination of theoretical instruction and hands-on computational analysis Practical analysis of ancient genomic datasets R/RStudio and Python/Jupyter used alongside specialist bioinformatics tools All sessions recorded 30 days' access to recordings 30 days of post-course email support Course fee: £400 Who is this course for? The course is particularly relevant to students and researchers working in: Evolutionary biology Evolutionary genomics Population genetics and population genomics Ancient DNA and palaeogenomics Molecular evolution Human evolution Archaeogenetics Phylogeography Admixture and introgression Population history and demographic change Conservation and evolutionary genetics Ancient metagenomics It is particularly useful for researchers interested in using genomic information to reconstruct population relationships, ancestry, migration, admixture, gene flow and evolutionary change through time. Participants should have a basic understanding of genetics and molecular biology and some familiarity with command-line computing and bioinformatics. Previous experience with next-generation sequencing is useful but not essential. Why take this course? Most evolutionary genomic studies infer historical processes from genetic variation observed in living populations. Ancient DNA adds a temporal dimension, allowing researchers to analyse individuals and populations that existed at different points in evolutionary history. This can substantially improve our understanding of processes such as population turnover, migration, admixture, introgression and changing population structure. Rather than relying exclusively on present-day genetic patterns, ancient genomes can provide direct evidence of populations and genetic relationships that may no longer exist in modern samples. The course combines the specialist challenges of working with ancient DNA — including degradation, contamination, post-mortem damage and low sequencing coverage — with population-genomic methods for evolutionary inference. Approaches including ANGSD, PCA, ADMIXTURE, STRUCTURE, F-statistics and D-statistics allow participants to move from authenticated ancient sequence data to questions concerning ancestry, population history, gene flow and evolutionary relationships. For evolutionary researchers, this provides a practical workflow connecting ancient genomic data processing with population genetics and evolutionary inference. Please feel free to share this course with colleagues, friends, research groups, labs, and others within your institute, organisation, or wider research network. Learn more & enrol Ancient DNA Analysis (ADNA01) https://prstats.org/course/ancient-dna-analysis-adna01/ Questions? Email: oliver@prstats.org Best wishes, Oliver Hooker PR Stats (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to evoldir@evoldir.net)