Anthropological geneticist, ancient DNA, admixture, identity | Busting colonial narratives one DNA extract at a time ✊🏽🧬 | I tweet a lot about my island: 🇵🇷

University of Minnesota
Joined September 2013
Our study investigating the genetic ancestries of Afro-Puerto Ricans is now published in @AmJBioAnth! This work was led by @sankofadna & done in collaboration w/COPI 🇵🇷💃🏿: copipr.com/ (1/n ) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…
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Our very own, Dr. Maria Nieves-Colón has been named a 2025 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences! Dr. Nieves-Colón will investigate the genetic and health impacts of the influx of millions of Africans to Latin America during the colonial period. cla.umn.edu/anthropology/new…
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Join us in the Twin Cities this August!
This Post is from an account that no longer exists. Learn more
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
"The attack on Columbia is a radical threat to scholarly excellence and to America’s leadership in research. Universities and their leaders should speak up and litigate forcefully to protect their rights." — President Eisgruber writes in @theatlantic. bit.ly/4iDZ2Fx
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Super excited to be at #AABA2025! Our lab’s contributions this yr are about aDNA, modern genomics and community engagement 🧬💀🤝. All scheduled for Saturday 🗓️ and featuring work by stellar trainees 🧑‍🔬 ! Come nerd out with us @BiologicalAnth 🤓 @UMNAnthropology
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
ELSIconversations returns on Jan 31 at 12pm ET. We will discuss "Defining Benefit in Genomics Research" — in the first of a two part series in partnership with the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health (CRGGH). Join the conversation: ow.ly/JEcf50UI7kH
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
Puerto Rico’s new natural resources chief has shelved an investigation into allegations of illegal construction in a protected area on the island’s southwest coast, sparking an outcry apnews.com/article/puerto-ri…
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
Get to know our newest CFI faculty member, @mitoPR, through this insightful Q&A! Learn more about her groundbreaking research on genomics and its role in investigating human evolutionary history. Highly recommend checking it out!
I did a recent QandA interview with the features editors at @CurrentBiology about It is now published 👇 🤓authors.elsevier.com/a/1kOXg…
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I did a recent QandA interview with the features editors at @CurrentBiology about It is now published 👇 🤓authors.elsevier.com/a/1kOXg…
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
Kicking off the new year, our paper by @leo_speidel et al. is out describing what to me is a breakthrough in ancient genomics. By using genealogies to study ancestry we can get much more resolution to study finer-scale history. We call this method Twigstats.
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
1/ Human genetics has traditionally been framed and studied using approaches that assume discrete, unchanging clusters such as continental groups🗺️. But what if this oversimplifies complex genetic relationships and co-produces racial frameworks?🤔
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
Gracias co-equipers @_barnavi @FigueiroGonzalo y a las personas que contribuyeron al dossier @diballestero @gabulabis @FranciscoDFR @mitoPR (entre otros) fue realmente un gustazo organizar este volumen para profundizar las reflexiones sobre la bioantropologia latinoamericana 1/2
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
Para los que se sientan desanimados esta mañana (como yo), una cita que me envió una amiga. Habrá mucho trabajo por hacer, independientemente de la ideología política que uno tenga. Pero esa parte no ha cambiado.
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
The ruling party in Puerto Rico, the pro-statehood PNP, has sought and received a court order for early vote counting to continue even when there is no representation from each political party at the table, contrary to what’s been the norm here to guarantee a fair election.
AHORA: Tribunal de Primera Instancia falla a favor del PNP y decide que el conteo del voto adelantado debe seguir ininterrumpidamente, aunque NO haya balance. “Se entenderá que los partidos que no tengan funcionarios presentes están renunciando a su representación en balance”, dice la sentencia.
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Riéndome hasta el final cuando se muestra lo que ha pasado nuestro pueblo 😡😢Sal a votar Puerto Rico! 🇵🇷💪🏽🔥 #PuertoRico @delanadapr De La Nada- Votos Unidos (Puedes Votar) youtu.be/o3pz5bcv01c?si=AARV… via @YouTube
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
IMPORTANTE: Cambio en las instrucciones de votación a dos días de las elecciones generales y cuando ya miles de personas emitieron su voto adelantado.
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Dr. Maria A Nieves-Colón retweeted
#DestelloUltravioleta La Dra. @mitoPR le ha devuelto dignidad a la historia de las comunidades del Caribe gracias a su trayectoria científica. Escucha los detalles en @RadioUdeG @dimeChascona @AzaelSG @aquelricardo @Fabianecr
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