The workshop on population genomics in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), CAS located at Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China will bring together a world-class faculty to study state of the art techniques for analysis of genomic data within species and closely related species complexes. The workshop will combine lectures with hands-on practicals, with ample opportunity for discussion with faculty. The workshop is aimed at researchers from advanced Master students to faculty who are looking to apply population genetic tools to analyze their data. This workshop will be limited to 30 participants. It is a small workshop, you will have more time to interact with the faculty and professors. We also look forward to welcoming participants from the rest of Asia and elsewhere. Applicants from nearby low income countries can apply a fee waiver, please send an email to explain the circumstances to request the travel expenses.  

Time & location 

Time:  09 – 15 Oct 2023 (7 days)     

Host location: Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded under the leadership of the late eminent botanist Cai Xitao in 1959. Geographically, it lies between 101°25′E，21°41′N, with an elevation of 570 m above sea level. It is a place of tropical flavor, beauty, serenity and fun far away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. It is a comprehensive research institution engaged in scientific research, species preservation, science communication, science & technology development, and a well-known scenic spot as well.  

Jonathan Karl Pritchard Stanford University 

Jonathan Karl Pritchard is an English-born professor of genetics at Stanford University, best known for his development of the STRUCTURE algorithm for studying population structure and his work on human genetic variation and evolution. His research interests lie in the study of human evolution, in particular in understanding the association between genetic variation among human individuals and human traits. 

Daniel FALUSH is an English-born professor of genetics at Chinese Academy Science, who has has conducted research at institutions such as the University of Tokyo in Japan, the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. He is also the associate editor of the renowned journal Molecular Biology and Evolution (IF=16, from 2010 onwards). His research achievements include the publication of over 80 papers in journals such as Science and Nature, with over 40,000 citations and an H-index of 55 (Google Scholar). He was listed among the top 10 Chinese researchers in the field of Biology in the 2022 China Highly Cited Scholars list. 

Leo Speidel University College London 

Leo Speidel is a Sir Henry Wellcome fellow at University College London, he develops statistical methods for reconstructing this history, scalable to the largest genomic datasets, which now comprise more than 100,000 individuals and record genetic diversity on an unprecedented scale. He is interested in uncovering how different evolutionary forces have shaped today's observed genetic variation, from which we can learn about our shared evolutionary history and the impact of genetic variation on our health. 

LOU Hai-Yi Fudan University 

LOU Haiyi is an associate professor at Fudan University. His research interest mainly focuses on genetic distribution, functional relevance, pathological mechanisms and evolutionary history of DNA structural variants (SVs) in human genomes. His work involves in applying bioinformatics approaches to characterize the genetic diversity of SVs in diverse human populations based on multiple biotechnologies, analyzing multi-omics data to uncover the functional relationship between genetic variants and human traits as well as disease susceptibilities, and using population genetic methods to reconstruct the evolutionary history. He was selected as a member of Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

YANG Jian Westlake University  

YANG Jian is a Professor of Statistical Genetics at the School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, China. His primary research interests are focused on understanding the genomic variations among individuals within and between populations and the links of genomic variations with health outcomes. The research interests of his lab include (but are not limited to): Population genomics and complex traits，Discovery of new therapeutic targets for cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, and mental illness，Single-cell genomics and epigenomics，Big data modeling and deep learning，Cancer genomics and evolution，Multi-omics and precision medicine，High-performance statistical genetics methods and bioinformatics tools. 

DENG Lian  

Fudan University - Center for Evolutionary Biology 

DENG Lian is an Associate Professor (tenure-track) at the School of Life Sciences, Fudan University. Dr. Deng studies genomic and phenotypic variation in ethnically diverse East and Southeast Asian populations. She is particularly interested in human adaptive evolution, and the genetic basis of human traits, including diseases. Dr. Deng published papers in Nature, MBE, Nature Communications, NSR, etc. She was selected as a member of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and was selected into Shanghai Sailing Program. She is also a recipient of the Safino-SIBS Young Faculty Awards. Dr. Deng’s research is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the National Key Research and Development Program of China. 

QI Ting  Westlake University  

QI Ting is a Research Associate Professor at the School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, China. She received her PhD in 2016 from Zhejiang University, China, before undertaking postdoctoral research at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Australia. Trained in statistical genetics, her research focuses on understanding the genetic basis of molecular phenotypes and their link to complex diseases, leveraging multi-omics data to discover gene targets for human diseases, and developing novel statistical methods and tools to disentangle the regulatory mechanisms underlying the diseases. To date, she has published 25 papers with 2497 citations, including six first-author papers in high-impact journals such as Nature Genetics and Nature Communications, as well as collaborative research papers in top journals such as Nature and Cancer Research. 

CHEN Wei  

State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University 

CHEN Wei is an Associate Professor at Yunnan Agricultural University. His research interest concerns the domestication and utilization of perennial crops and medicinal plants. He organized and co-led the International 3K Grapevine Genomes Project to understand how ancient humans tamed the vine of Dionysus with population genomic approaches. 

WANG Guo Dong   

Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS 

The focus of his research is in the fields of population genomics and the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of complex traits, with a primary emphasis on domestic dogs. He has published over 20 papers in renowned international SCI journals such as Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, PNAS, Cell Research, Molecular Biology and Evolution, and Nucleic Acids Research. We have also been invited to review manuscripts for distinguished international journals, including Nature Communications, Molecular Biology and Evolution, PLoS Genetics.  

LI Haipeng  

Shanghai Institue of Immunity and Infection, CAS 

Professor Li Haipeng group works in the field of population genetics and bioinformatics. With regard to population genetics, our goals are to study the mechanism of recent adaptation due to positive selection in living organisms, such as humans, Drosophila and pathogens. We search for methods to detect selection which are not influenced by a high false positive rate because of the confounding impact of demography (i.e., varying population size and population structure) and genetic recombination. Our research activities can help us to understand the function of genes and the interaction between genes and environment. We are studying how natural selection has helped humans to adapt to environmental changes and especially how natural selection has accelerated the emergence of consciousness and language. In the field of bioinformatics, we develop comprehensive software to meet various needs in genetic data analysis. 

JIANG Ya Fei   Novogene 

Yafei Jiang is an Associate Researcher specializing in Bioinformatics and Biomedical Sciences. She currently serves as the Director of Bioinformatics at the Bioinformatics Business Unit of Novogene. 

She has extensive experience in the field, having successfully led and participated in over 20 large-scale collaborative projects and more than 30 cooperative projects. She has also undertaken the design and analysis of over 200 project proposals. Her expertise lies in multi-omics approach design, project analysis, workflow development, and research and development. She has published co-first author articles in prestigious journals such as Nature Genetics and Plant Biotechnology Journal. She has multiple authored professional patents and software copyrights in relevant areas. 

Organizing Committee 

Daniel FALUSH 

Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, CAS 

CHEN Jialu  

Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, CAS 

 XU Shuhua Fudan University - Center for Evolutionary Biology 

 Xing Yaowu Xishuanbbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS 

GAO Jie Xishuanbbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS 

 Novogene 

Preliminary Schedule 

Registration  

Deadline: Sep. 15th, 2023 (applicants should provide a 1 -page CV in English together with a 200-word summary of their current research project and reason for wishing to attend the workshop.) 

Fees: 3000 RMB/person (cover lecture room, materials, coffee breaks, meals, costs for instructor, etc.; not including transportation and accommodation (organizer will help to arrange). 

Registration to the email: gaojie@xtbg.org.cn, and jlchen@ips.ac.cn 

Payment Method: Cash payment upon on-site registration.
 

Accommodation & transportation 

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden is located 60 km away from Jinghong City's Gasa International Airport (approximately 1.5 hours by car). You can take a taxi (260-300 RMB) or a ride-sharing service (50 RMB/person, contact: 18988137080 Jinghong City - Garden shuttle times: 08:30, 09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30, 16:30, 17:30, 18:30, 20:30). Additionally, during the training period, we will provide shuttle services between the daily accommodation and meeting venues. 

Hotel information in Menglun Town: Participants can make their own reservations.