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Biology and Biochemistry
Estonia
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Genetics

D-Index
65
Citations
22262
World Ranking
2663
National Ranking
7

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
65
Citations
22351
World Ranking
8980
National Ranking
2

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Estonia Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Estonia Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Estonia Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Estonia Leader Award

Overview

Mait Metspalu is affiliated with the University of Tartu in Estonia and has contributed extensively to the fields of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. Their research spans several related subfields including genetics, molecular biology, archaeology, paleontology, and infectious diseases.

Metspalu's work covers a wide range of specialized topics. These include forensic and genetic research, genetic associations and epidemiology, forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology studies, research on Yersinia bacterium and related plague investigations, genetic diversity and population structure, archaeology and ancient environmental studies, as well as Pacific and Southeast Asian studies.

The scientist has published numerous papers in reputable journals. Some recent publications include:

  • "Ancestry deconvolution and partial polygenic score can improve susceptibility predictions in recently admixed individuals" (2020, Nature Communications)
  • "Genetic ancestry changes in Stone to Bronze Age transition in the East European plain" (2021, Science Advances)
  • "Archaeogenomic distinctiveness of the Isthmo-Colombian area" (2021, Cell)
  • "Papuan mitochondrial genomes and the settlement of Sahul" (2020, Journal of Human Genetics)
  • "Differences in local population history at the finest level: the case of the Estonian population" (2020, European Journal of Human Genetics)

Frequent publication venues for Metspalu's work include these journals and platforms:

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • European Journal of Human Genetics
  • Nature Communications
  • Molecular Biology and Evolution
  • Scientific Reports

Collaborative efforts are an important component of their research, as evidenced by frequent co-authors such as:

  • Francesco Montinaro
  • Luca Pagani
  • Christiana L. Scheib
  • Toomas Kivisild
  • Kristiina Tambets

Their publication record comprises more than 110 works within the broader domain of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, with a significant focus on genetics and molecular biology specifically. Archaeology and related disciplines also constitute a notable portion of their output.

Best Publications

  • Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia

    Morten E. Allentoft;Martin Sikora;Karl-Göran Sjögren;Simon Rasmussen

  • Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans

    Iosif Lazaridis;Iosif Lazaridis;Nick Patterson;Alissa Mittnik;Gabriel Renaud

  • The Simons Genome Diversity Project: 300 genomes from 142 diverse populations

    Swapan Mallick;Swapan Mallick;Swapan Mallick;Heng Li;Mark Lipson;Iain Mathieson

  • Upper Palaeolithic Siberian genome reveals dual ancestry of Native Americans

    Maanasa Raghavan;Pontus Skoglund;Kelly E. Graf;Mait Metspalu

  • Ancient human genome sequence of an extinct Palaeo-Eskimo

    Morten Rasmussen;Yingrui Li;Stinus Lindgreen;Jakob Skou Pedersen

  • An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia

    Morten Rasmussen;Xiaosen Guo;Yong Wang;Kirk E. Lohmueller

  • A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia

    Anna Sapfo Malaspinas;Anna Sapfo Malaspinas;Anna Sapfo Malaspinas;Michael C. Westaway;Craig Muller;Vitor C. Sousa;Vitor C. Sousa

  • The genome of a Late Pleistocene human from a Clovis burial site in western Montana

    Morten Arendt Rendt Rasmussen;Sarah L. Anzick;Michael R. Waters;Pontus Skoglund

  • Early divergent strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 years ago.

    Simon Rasmussen;Morten Erik Allentoft;Kasper Nielsen;Ludovic Orlando

  • Genomic evidence for the Pleistocene and recent population history of Native Americans

    Maanasa Raghavan;Matthias Steinrücken;Matthias Steinrücken;Kelley Harris;Stephan Schiffels

  • A "copernican" reassessment of the human mitochondrial DNA tree from its root

    Doron M. Behar;Doron M. Behar;Mannis Van Oven;Saharon Rosset;Mait Metspalu

  • Genomic analyses inform on migration events during the peopling of Eurasia

    Luca Pagani;Luca Pagani;Luca Pagani;Daniel John Lawson;Evelyn Jagoda;Evelyn Jagoda;Alexander Mörseburg

  • The genome-wide structure of the Jewish people

    Doron M. Behar;Bayazit Yunusbayev;Bayazit Yunusbayev;Mait Metspalu;Ene Metspalu

  • A recent bottleneck of Y chromosome diversity coincides with a global change in culture

    Monika Karmin;Monika Karmin;Lauri Saag;Lauri Saag;Mário Vicente;Melissa A. Wilson Sayres;Melissa A. Wilson Sayres

  • The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations

    T. Kivisild;T. Kivisild;S. Rootsi;M. Metspalu;S. Mastana

  • Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans

    Mait Metspalu;Toomas Kivisild;Ene Metspalu;Juri Parik

  • The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic

    Maanasa Raghavan;Michael DeGiorgio;Anders Albrechtsen;Ida Moltke;Ida Moltke

  • Deep common ancestry of Indian and western-Eurasian mitochondrial DNA lineages

    T. Kivisild;M.J. Bamshad;K. Kaldma;M. Metspalu

  • Global diversity, population stratification, and selection of human copy-number variation

    Peter H. Sudmant;Swapan Mallick;Swapan Mallick;Bradley J. Nelson;Fereydoun Hormozdiari

  • Multiple Deeply Divergent Denisovan Ancestries in Papuans.

    Guy Sherwin Jacobs;Georgi Hudjashov;Georgi Hudjashov;Lauri Saag;Pradiptajati Kusuma;Pradiptajati Kusuma

Frequent Co-Authors

Richard Villems
Richard Villems University of Tartu
Ene Metspalu
Ene Metspalu University of Tartu
E. K. Khusnutdinova
E. K. Khusnutdinova Russian Academy of Sciences
Doron M. Behar
Doron M. Behar University of Tartu
Kumarasamy Thangaraj
Kumarasamy Thangaraj Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics
Eske Willerslev
Eske Willerslev University of Copenhagen
Lalji Singh
Lalji Singh Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology
David Reich
David Reich Harvard Medical School
Reedik Mägi
Reedik Mägi University of Tartu

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