His lab’s prehistoric DNA research is altering human history

Since 2012, geneticist David Reich and his team of investigators have been analyzing DNA from contemporary and ancient populations to explore enigmas surrounding the beginnings of human existence. However, the future of their efforts is clouded with uncertainty following the Trump administration’s sweeping cancellation of nearly $2.7 billion in federal grants to Harvard.

Reich and his associates have released 114 scientific papers through a National Institutes of Health grant that has been renewed three times in the last 13 years. The published works have addressed a spectrum of issues from the genetic roots of Indo-European languages to the emergence of the early English gene pool and the genetic lineage of the pre-contact Caribbean inhabitants.

Reich’s inquiries have aided in the revelation that Neanderthals interbred with the ancestors of both modern Europeans and Asians between 55,000 and 40,000 years in the past, indicating that present-day humans possess genetic contributions from both Neanderthals and Denisovans.

The team is also focused on reconstructing the demographic trajectory of human population expansion and creating a new iteration of the world’s published ancient DNA repository, which encompasses complete genomic details from more than 10,000 individuals.

“The database has emerged as a foundational resource for numerous papers in the domain,” remarked Reich, a professor of human evolutionary biology in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology and a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School.

Upon learning about the grant termination, researchers were already engaged in hundreds of studies, primarily focused on individuals who lived in the last 10,000 years. The grant’s third cycle, which is set to conclude in 2026, offers essential resources to develop innovative methods and tools for enabling access to ancient DNA for scientists.

“We are not facing a catastrophic collapse,” explained Reich, “but in the medium term, we won’t be able to maintain this research initiative without ongoing funding. Without NIH backing, which has historically been our principal source of support, it’s challenging to formulate even medium-term strategies.”

Currently, Reich’s research progresses with backing from the University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Earlier this month, a federal judge declared the federal cuts were unlawful and should be restored, but the government has pledged to contest this decision. Although Reich’s grant has been included on a list of reinstated funds as of September 12, it seems that the finances remain in limbo.

“The patterns of variation that we observe in contemporary populations are, at their core, consequences of population history,” noted Reich. “They reflect population separations and integrations. By assessing variation in both contemporary and ancient peoples, we can uncover the origins of that variation.”