Ceiridwen Edwards

Ceiridwen Edwards is a Senior Research Fellow in Archaeogenetics at the University of Huddersfield, affiliated with the Department of Physical and Life Sciences within the School of Applied Sciences. She is also a member of the Evolutionary Genomics Research Centre. With a distinguished career spanning multiple prestigious institutions, Dr. Edwards specializes in ancient DNA analysis and its applications to understanding historical population dynamics.

Her educational background includes a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Genetics from the University of York (1996), an M.Sc. in Biomolecular Archaeology from the University of Sheffield (1998), and a Ph.D. from Trinity College Dublin (2002). Prior to her current position, she managed the Bioarchaeology Laboratory at Trinity College Dublin (1999-2008) and worked as a Researcher in Ancient DNA Studies at the University of Oxford (2009-2015).

Dr. Edwards' research focuses on using ancient DNA to investigate migration patterns, population genetics, animal domestication, and the phylogeography of European mammals. Her work particularly examines pre- and post-glacial mammals in the British Isles, the Mesolithic/Neolithic subsistence change, and the Romano-British to Anglo-Saxon transition. She has published extensively, with 57 research outputs and a Google Scholar h-index of 36 from 5,646 citations.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on how ancient DNA can illuminate major historical migration events across Europe, particularly in the British Isles. Her research often appears in high-impact journals including Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reflecting the significance of her contributions to archaeogenetics.

Dr. Edwards actively supervises research students and has contributed to significant media coverage of her work, including a notable 2017 study on Ireland's ancient brown bears and their relationship to polar bears. Her research aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals related to understanding our shared human heritage and environmental history.