CAGT in a nutshell
The Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse is an inter-disciplinary research centre located in the Toulouse city centre, at the Purpan Medical School . CAGT merges together experts in Anthropobiology, Archaeology, Evolutionary Biology and Genomics. The overarching theme is the study of our global evolutionary past.
Our three main research groups aim to synergistically address key questions in the field of biological anthropology, from the early stages of human evolution and the emergence of our own genus – the genus Homo, to the more recent (pre-)historical diversification of our lifestyles across the world, the rise and fall of past civilizations and societies, and the characterization of the diversity present in modern populations.
Our specificity is four-fold. First, our approach to research extends from the field to the laboratory. Second, our research methods span an entire array of forefront technologies, such as drone and medical imaging, high-throughput DNA sequencing, and high-performance computation. Third, our work embraces the whole temporal depth of human evolution, from the Early Pleistocene of Africa to the Anthropocene. Fourth, and perhaps more importantly, our focus is not restricted to the human lineage only but extends to the environment and the whole communities of microbes and domesticated animals and plants that we interact with. One of our key objectives is to understand the impact of past environmental crises, including climatic changes, pandemics and major changes in lifestyle, on human evolution.
The centre is headed by Ludovic Orlando, and was created on January 2021, following deep restructuring of the previous AMIS laboratory.
Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse – UMR 5288 (CNRS/UT3)
Purpan Medical School – 37 allées J. Guesde – 31000 Toulouse – FRANCE
