aDNA Workshop Organizers

Sasha (Alexander)  Mikheyev, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

I have broad interests in evolutionary biology, focusing mainly on leveraging the power of next-generation tools for answering long-standing basic questions. As a result, I like to explore new techniques, be they laboratory, computational, or involving new sequencing technologies. Although I started my career in the laboratory and in the field, presently I am more of a bioinformatician. Over the past couple of years, I became increasingly interested in applying short-read sequencing to degraded DNA, such as that found in museum, archaeological or other poorly preserved specimens. Having developed a range of tools for high-throughput processing of degraded insects, are harnessing these tools for projects ranging from ecosystem phylogenetics and phylogeography, to studying evolutionary processes using museum samples. Additionally, I maintain an interest in social insect systems, which I worked on during my graduate studies, and also nurture a more recently acquired research program using snake venoms to understand adaptation. In my spare time, I enjoy long runs, and playing the violin.

Tatiana Tatarinova, University of Southern California

I am a theoretical physicist who became a computational biologist. I got my undergraduate education  in Theoretical Physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, then MSc in Physics from University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. After a few years of soul searching, I earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southern California. For eight years, I worked at Ceres, Inc., a biotech company in Southern California, and returned to academia in 2008. In 2013 I joined Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, University of Southern California as an Associate Professor of Research, where I lead the Computational Biology Laboratory. My group works on development of computational genomics tools and we are trying to work with researchers from many fields, such as medicine, biology, archaeology, history, computer science to develop useful applications. I am also a black belt in shotokan karate.

Yoko Fujitomi, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology

I am a research administrator of Ecology and Evolution Unit at OIST. I am originally from mainland Japan, and has been soaking in the Okinawan sun for over ten years. I love yummy food from all over the world, and in between meals I ensure that the workshop functions smoothly and efficiently.