Science in the City: Professor Hendrik Poinar

Hendrik Poinar

Science in the City Lectures 2011-2012

The Genome of the Black Death
November 15, 2011
Hendrik Poinar

PAST LECTURES

February 22, 2011
Dr. Dave Williams

October 28, 2010

Gerry Wright
Antibiotics & Resistance: Is it really that bad?

Special Guest Lectures
Anti-Poverty Series

Evelyn Forget Feb 25/10
Jim Dunn March 10/10
Armine Yalnizyan
April 20/10
Arjumand Siddiqi tbc

Eileen Schuller & Daniel Machiela
What are we learning from the Dead Scrolls today?
Tuesday April 13, 2010

Special Guest Lecturer Chris Hedges
September 16, 2009

Special Guest Lecturer

David Malone
October 13, 2009

	Special Guest Lecture Wade Davis October 30, 2009
	Dr. Valerie Taylor January 20, 2010

This is a free public lecture.
All are welcome!

The Genome of the Black Death

The Black Death swept across Europe in 1346 killing an estimated 30–50 million people. What was the unknown pathogen behind this plague that eradicated between 30 - 50% of the population? That question has long been debated by scientists worldwide, complicated by conflicting studies of the spread and mortality rate of the disease that wreaked havoc on medieval Europe for five years.

Using the skeletal remains from a London graveyard, geneticist Hendrik Poinar and his collaborative research team have unlocked the mystery of the Black Death, identifying the bacteria responsible for one of the most devastating pandemics in history and reassembling its entire genome –the first ancient pathogen genome to date!

A detailed analysis of the genome shows that the Black Death is the “grandfather” of modern plague strains today. Professor Poinar will use this genome to discuss the evolutionary history of plague and its dissemination across Europe some 700 years ago.


	ABOUT THE LECTURER
	Hendrik Poinar is the Canada Research Chair in Paleogenetics and Director of the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre. His research group focuses on the use of DNA extracted from fossil remains to address questions on the origins, evolution and migration of humans, animals and pathogens in the past. An associate professor in the departments of Anthropology, and Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Poinar came to McMaster from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, where he was a post-doctoral fellow from 2000-2003. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Oregon State University from 1999-2000, after obtaining his Ph.D. from the Lüdwig Maximillians Universität München. Poinar has received international acclaim and media attention for his research on many fronts: the discoveries he’s made about ancient humans from their fossilized remains; the work he’s done determining the timing and origin of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from some of the oldest samples of archival HIV; his successful sequencing of a complete woolly mammoth genome; the contributions he’s made to research on ancient antibiotic resistance; and his latest work identifying the origin of the Black Death. Tuesday November 15, 2011 The Hamilton Spectator Auditorium (Directions/Map) Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Lecture begins at 7 p.m. To reserve your seat: e-mail sciencecity@mcmaster.ca Or by phone 905-525-9140, extension 24934

A skull from the East Smithfield plague pits in London, located under what is now the Royal Mint. ( Photo Credit: Museum of London)

Five skeletal remains from the East Smithfield site (Photo Credit: Museum of London)

Jawbone from a victim of the Black Death (Photo Credit: Museum of London)