Hendrik Poinar
Overview
Hendrik Poinar is involved in collaborative research with an interdisciplinary team investigating the epigenetic basis of aging in the archaeological record. As an expert in ancient DNA methods as applied to skeletonized bone, he will supervise the collection of data on methylation patterns from a documented skeletal collection to help form the basis of chronological and epigenetic age estimation methods, and to explore the relationship between aging, skeletal frailty, and osteoporosis risk.
He is a molecular evolutionary geneticist and biological anthropologist by training, and rely heavily on interdisciplinary research. He uses both chemical and molecular techniques to elucidate the state of preservation within forensic, archeological and paleontological remains. This information is subsequently used to devise novel techniques to extract the molecular information (DNA, RNA and/or protein sequences) and use it to address anthropological questions, such as the identification of pathogens responsible for past pandemics (i.e. The Black Death, The Plague of Justinian) as well as the evolutionary dynamics of infectious disease (i.e. Vibrio cholera).
Affiliations
- Member, McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA), McMaster University
- Professor, Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University
- Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Genetic Anthropology
Education
- BSc, California Polytechnic State University
- MSc, California Polytechnic State University
- PhD, Lüdwig Maximillians Universität München
