Nancy Bird

About

I’m a population geneticist interested in how genomic data can help us understand population history, movement and adaptation in both humans and wildlife.

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Dr Anders Bergström’s group at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, where I study genomic data from red foxes sampled across the UK. The project is particularly focused on the impact of urbanisation on gene flow and adaptation in foxes, with the broader aim of understanding how expanding urban environments shape wild populations.

Before joining UEA, I completed my PhD (2019-2023) and subsequent post-doc (2023-2026) with Prof. Garrett Hellenthal at University College London. My work focused on human population genetics, particularly inferring population structure, admixture and archaic ancestry using haplotype-based methods. This included developing several computational methods, for example an approach for admixture dating in ancient DNA. I have also developed a method to identify segments of archaic ancestry introgressed into modern humans. For my PhD, I researched on fine-scale population structure in regions of West and Central Africa, and was interested in correlating genetic signatures with social and historical factors to improve our understanding of human history.

My long-term goal is to bridge methodological population genetics and wildlife/conservation genomics, adapting advances from human and aDNA research to understand the history, connectivity and adaptive potential of wildlife populations.

Software

Methods and tools I've developed, available on GitHub.

Publications

Showing publications from the last 3 years.

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Bluesky

Recent posts from my Bluesky feed.