Professor Dr Svante Pääbo

Research Priorities: Paleogenetics, molecular anthropology, development and origin of modern humans, evolution research, ancient DNA, genetic drift, selection, population history
Svante Pääbo is a Swedish molecular biologist and palaeogeneticist. He is considered the founder of palaeogenetics, which deals with the analysis of genetic samples of fossil and historical remains. Pääbo was the first to succeed in cloning the DNA of a mummy. With specially developed analysis techniques, he was able to decode the genome of the Neanderthal, determine the proportion of Neanderthal genes in the genome of people living today and investigate their role in the development of diseases. In 2022, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for his research on human evolution.
Svante Pääbo was the first to show DNA in Egyptian mummies. He then developed completely new methods for determining genetic sequences from historical remains (“ancient DNA”). In this Using these techniques, he was able to obtain mitochondrial DNA sequences from the bone of a Neanderthal man and sequence over three billion base pairs of cell nucleus genomes from extinct prehistoric man. This made it possible to compare the genome of modern humans with that of Neanderthals for the first time. 
Pääbo developed his research methods further and decoded the entire Neanderthal genome. With his team, he was able to show that Neanderthals passed on their genes to all modern humans living outside of Africa. Approximately between one and four percent of current human genetic material stems from Neanderthals. Thus, the researchers found proof that early Europeans mixed with Neanderthals. In this work, they also discovered a new, already extinct group of humans, the Denisova humans, who were related to Neanderthals. Some of the genes which were passed down from Neanderthals are advantageous for humans today. However, many contribute to increased susceptibility to disease. Pääbo also studies the role of these genes in the genesis of diseases.
Svante Pääbo’s research opens up new perspectives on evolutionary processes and provides detailed insights into the relationships between extinct human groups. He has, on the one hand, investigated the factors which directly influence the genome, such as mutation, recombination, and genetic drift. On the other hand, he has also examined the effects of selection and population history.
Researchers around the world use the methods developed by Pääbo. They use them to investigate the tissue of extinct animals only preserved in museums, such as mammoths or giant sloths. In 2007, Time Magazine named Pääbo as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2022, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research into human evolution.