Research

Peter Forster's research concerns the molecular population genetics of humans. He has developed and applied the mtDNA and Y chromosomal "clock" to identify a single successful migration of a small group of humans out of Africa 60,000 years ago, reaching Europe and Australia by 40,000 years ago, and America about 20,000 years ago. He has extended his evolutionary approach to languages, proposing a spread of Celtic languages during the Bronze Age from 3000BC and a spread of Germanic languages reaching Britain in the Iron Age after 600 BC.

To achieve these aims, Peter Forster has compiled proofread DNA databases and co-developed (with H.-J. Bandelt, A. Röhl, and T. Polzin) phylogenetic network analysis of mitochondrial DNA, Y-chromosomal DNA, and linguistic data. As a practical application, he provides DNA ancestry tests for use in genealogy, family research, and legal medicine.

Career

• Since 2011 Director, Genetic Ancestor Ltd/Roots for Real, Clare (Suffolk)
• Since 2009 Vice-President, Cambridge Society for the Application of Research (Cambridge)
• Since 2009 Director of Research, Institute of Forensic Genetics, Münster, Germany
• 2006-2009 University Senior Lecturer at the Dept of Forensic Science and Chemistry, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
• 1999-2006 Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge University
• 1997-1999 Postdoctoral research at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Münster University
• 1993-1997 Biology studies at the University of Hamburg. PhD thesis (highest grade)
• 1990-1992 Chemistry studies at Hamburg University. Diploma, carried out at the Heinrich-Pette-Institut für Virologie und Immunologie
• 1987-1990 Chemistry studies at Kiel University. Pre-Diploma

Projects

• Since 2006 Founding Member of Transatlantic Slavery Workgroup, Harvard University
• 2000-2005 Founding Member of the “ Junge Akademie”, Berlin

Honours and Memberships

• Since 2012 Member, National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2011 William Bate Hardy Prize (Cambridge Philosophical Society)
• 2005 Official award for best legal medical PhD research in Germany
• 2003 Ranked second-most highly cited researcher amongst archaeologists/ anthropologists in the UK in the 5-year RAE period ending 2001
• 1999-2006/ Since <img name="req_tx_leoperson_domain_model_trait_1608_description" src="http://www.leopoldina.org/typo3/clear.gif" class="t3-TCEforms-reqImg" />2010 Fellow New Hall/MEC, University of Cambridge
• 1995-1997 Friedrich Naumann Foundation grant award for the Highly Gifted
• 1991 ERASMUS Scholar for genetic research at Rennes University, France