Explorers Club members, member’s guests, associates, & friends are cordially invited to the May 2024 dinner & presentation by Dr. Miguel Vilar, to be held at the Cosmos Club on Saturday, May 11th, 2024 at 6:00 PM.

The Genographic Project used advanced DNA analyses to work with indigenous communities and the general public with the goal to answer fundamental questions about where we originated and how we came to populate the Earth. The project was a multiyear, global initiative by National Geographic that used genetics as a tool to address anthropological questions on a global scale. Launched in 2005, the first phase of the Genographic Project enlisted a consortium of 11 global regional scientific teams who, following regional institutional review scientific protocols, undertook sample collection and DNA analysis in their respective continental regions. In addition, more than 470,000 members of the public took part in the first phase of the project by purchasing a Genographic Project DNA Public Participation Kit to trace their own ancient ancestry. Relaunched in 2012 as Geno 2.0, the project grew to include more DNA markers and provide even more detailed ancestral results. More than 500,000 people joined Geno 2.0 before the project eventually came to an end in 2020.

Launched in 2005, the first phase of the Genographic Project enlisted a consortium of 11 global regional scientific teams who, following regional institutional review scientific protocols, undertook sample collection and DNA analysis in their respective continental regions. In addition, more than 470,000 members of the public took part in the first phase of the project by purchasing a Genographic Project DNA Public Participation Kit to trace their own ancient ancestry. Relaunched in 2012 as Geno 2.0, the project grew to include more DNA markers and provide even more detailed ancestral results. More than 500,000 people joined Geno 2.0 before the project eventually came to an end in 2020.

About Our Speaker Dr. Miguel Vilar

Miguel Vilar is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. By training, Miguel is a molecular anthropologist and science writer.
Vilar was a Senior Program Officer for the National Geographic Society (NGS) and Lead Scientist for NGS’ Genographic Project, a multi-year anthropology study that aims to map human migration patterns by collecting and analyzing DNA samples from hundreds of thousands of people from around the world.
Vilar earned his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Haverford College and Master of Arts in Journalism from Columbia University. After a few years of science writing for Popular Science, Science World, and the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, he returned to school to earn his Master of Arts in Anthropology, and Doctorate in Anthropology from Binghamton University, in 2007 and 2010, respectively. After earning his doctorate, Vilar completed a three-year Post-Doc at the University of Pennsylvania, leading field projects across Latin America for the Genographic Project’s North America Research Center.
Today, his fieldwork takes him to Micronesia, Melanesia, South and Central America, and the Caribbean; and in the laboratory he studies the modern and ancient genetic diversity of human populations from Micronesia, Melanesia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. He also researches the genetics of domestic animals (pigs, chickens, dogs and horses) and the cultural implications of animal domestication on human evolution, population history and migration.
Vilar publishes in both anthropology and genetics academic journals, as well as in popular science print and online magazines and online media. Vilar is also a public speaker, and a genetics and anthropology consultant for Family Tree DNA, and National Geographic Society.