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Banaras Hindu University (BHU), in collaboration with the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), will host a landmark two-day symposium titled BHU-AnSI Paleogenomics and Paleoarchaeology Symposium on March 23-24, 2026, at the Department of Zoology, BHU, Varanasi.
This high-profile academic workshop aims to bring together leading national and international experts in ancient DNA (aDNA) research, palaeoanthropology, gut microbiome studies, and population genomics. The primary goal is to identify research priorities, strengthen institutional infrastructure, and establish collaborative frameworks for a major international project that integrates deep human evolutionary history with modern genomic science. The symposium will feature focused discussions on key themes, including enhancing research infrastructure for advanced genomic and anthropological studies, ridging critical gaps between ancient and modern genomic datasets, exploring national and international collaboration opportunities and developing strategies to connect ancient DNA evidence with contemporary population genomics. These efforts are expected to contribute significantly to reconstructing the demographic, migratory, and adaptive history of human and pre-human populations in South Asia and beyond, while also providing insights into modern human health through an evolutionary lens. Prominent experts participating include Prof. BV Sharma (Director, AnSI), Dr K Thangaraj, Dr VN Prabhakar, Prof. Vasant Shinde, Dr. Madhusudan R. Nandineni, Dr. Naveen Gandhi, and several others from leading institutions such as BSIP, ZSI, ILS, BSI, IITs, and various universities. The event will include panel discussions on biological anthropology research opportunities, microbial genomics and infectious diseases, technical challenges in aDNA and paleoanthropology in India, population genomics, and archaeological perspectives, along with sessions on palaeoclimatology and animal domestication. Prof. BV Sharma (Director, AnSI) emphasised that the symposium aligns with India's legacy of blending ancient knowledge with cutting-edge science. He expressed hope that it will foster enduring institutional partnerships and lay the foundation for large-scale, impactful research initiatives in India. This initiative is seen as a pivotal step toward positioning South Asia at the forefront of global debates on human evolution, uniting archaeology, anthropology, and genomics to unlock new dimensions of our shared human past. (ANI)
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