Doctoral Dissertation Research: Genealogic and genetic history in an island population

人口历史的故事以口头和书面形式流传下来，也被编码在代代相传的遗传物质中。这个博士论文研究项目考虑了如何将人口遗传学和口述历史一起用于阐明土著社区的祖先和迁移历史，同时探索了社区自己对过去的理解如何在几代人之间得到保存。该项目通过分析一个岛屿人口的遗传多样性和迁徙历史，以及评估有关其祖先的代际故事，来研究其史前历史。该项目建立在先前对该地区史前史的研究基础上，并让社区成员参与研究规划、传统故事的记录以及对研究所得基因数据的评估。此外，一名当地社区成员接受了遗传学方面的培训，以帮助培养下一代土著科学家。本研究项目探讨土著口述历史如何通过提出研究问题和解释遗传数据来指导遗传研究。在一个由来自同一岛屿的遗传和文化祖先的个体组成的后代社区中进行，从基因组测序中获得的信息用于搜索后代社区中的遗传变异。然后，针对来自其他岛屿群体以及来自全球其他地区的土著群体筛选在该社区特别发现的任何遗传变异，以确定其潜在来源。从其他地区选择比较人口的部分依据是人口口述历史和后裔社区成员目前对这些历史的解释。通过DNA证据探索的问题是在后代社区的指导下进行的，所有基因组分析的结果都会在可用时与社区成员共享。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Stories of population history are passed down in both oral and written form and are also encoded in the genetic material passed down from generation to generation. This doctoral dissertation research project considers how population genetics and oral histories can be used together to elucidate the ancestry and migration history of an Indigenous community, while simultaneously exploring how the community’s own understanding of the past is preserved across generations. This project examines the prehistory of an island population through an analysis of their genetic diversity and migration history as well as an assessment of the inter-generational stories about their ancestry. The project builds on previous research into the prehistory of this area and involves community members in research planning, the recording of traditional stories, and the evaluation of the genetic data coming from the study. In addition, a local community member is trained in genetics to help foster a future generation of Indigenous scientists.This research project examines how Indigenous oral histories can guide genetic research through the formulation of research questions and the interpretation of genetic data. Undertaken with a descendant community consisting of individuals with genetic and cultural ancestry from the same island, information obtained from genomic sequencing is used to search for genetic variants in the descendant community. Any genetic variants found specifically in that community are then screened against populations from other island groups as well as Indigenous groups from other global regions to determine their potential source. The selection of comparative populations from other regions is, in part, guided by population oral histories and the current interpretation of those histories by members of the descendant community. The questions being explored through DNA evidence are undertaken at the direction of the descendant community, and all results from the genomic analysis are shared with community members as they become available.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.