Welcome to Chen Lab at the University of Rochester! We seek to understand the evolutionary processes that shape patterns of genetic variation over contemporary timescales. Much of our work combines genomics with extensive pedigree data from long-term demographic studies to answer questions in evolutionary biology and conservation genomics.

The Chen lab is recruiting motivated students and postdocs. Please get in touch if you’d like to join the team!

We acknowledge that the Chen lab operates on the colonized land of the Onöndowa’ga:’, or “Great Hill People”. In English, the Onöndowa’ga:’ are known as the Seneca Nation of Indians, which is the largest of the six nations in the sovereign Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The people of the Seneca Nation continue to practice and celebrate their vibrant culture and traditions. To learn more, visit the official websites of the Seneca Nation and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

To be mindful of our complicity in historic and ongoing colonialism, we commit to dedicating time each year to learn more about the Indigenous communities and the history of the lands we live and work in.

We thank Native Land Digital and the Native Governance Center for guidance on the thoughtful construction of Indigenous land acknowledgements and information on their importance.

We thank the Indigenous stewards of these lands for their contribution to the natural world we study.