Mateja Hajdinjak

Mateja Hajdinjak is a Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in the Department of Evolutionary Genetics. Their research focuses on ancient DNA (aDNA) recovery to explore genetic diversity and interactions between modern humans and Neandertals during critical phases of human prehistory.

• Specializes in hominin palaeogenomics and genetic demography
• Investigates gene-flow events between Neandertals and modern humans
• Studies genetic adaptations during the Out-of-Africa expansion

Their work addresses how genetic ancestry dynamics shaped human survival and Neandertal extinction. Current projects involve sequencing poorly preserved aDNA from Eurasian skeletal remains to catalog Neandertal-specific genetic variants.

Doctoral Students:

• Pengpeng Chen
• Arev Pelin Sümer