Janet Kelso

Janet Kelso
Born	1975 South Africa
Occupation(s)	Computational biologist, bioinformatician
Years active	2004–present
Known for	Research on ancient human genomes, including Neanderthals; leadership of the Minerva Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Janet Kelso (born 1975) is a South African expert in computational biology who leads the Minerva Research Group specializing in Bioinformatics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. She is renowned for her groundbreaking research comparing the genomes of ancient human species, including Neanderthals, with those of contemporary Homo sapiens.

One of the significant obstacles in computational biology involved the challenges related to the preservation and analysis of ancient human nuclear DNA. This limitation directed Kelso’s efforts toward bioinformatics, where she utilized reference-based analytical techniques to address these difficulties. Her research group has made substantial progress in ancient DNA studies, contributing to a deeper comprehension of human evolutionary history through genomic analysis.

Education

Kelso obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Natal in 1995. She then pursued Honours and a Master of Science in medical biochemistry and chemical pathology at the University of Cape Town, completing these qualifications in 1997 and 2000, respectively. In 2003, she earned her PhD in bioinformatics under the supervision of Winston Hide at the University of the Western Cape.

Research and career

Kelso has played a pivotal role in several prominent genome sequencing projects, including those involving Neanderthals, bonobos, and orangutans. Since 2004, she has headed the Minerva Research Group for Bioinformatics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology located in Leipzig, Germany. Her work there encompasses collaboration with the UK Biobank (UKB), an extensive repository of genetic and health-related information. Through this partnership, Kelso’s team discovered links between Neanderthal-derived genetic variants and phenotypic traits such as chronotype preferences (morningness or eveningness).

Beginning in 2013, Kelso has held the position of co-Executive Editor for the journal Bioinformatics, reinforcing her leadership role within the fields of computational biology and bioinformatics publishing.

Awards and honors

In 2004, Kelso was honored with a L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science Fellowship. She shared the Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 2010 with co-authors for producing the most exceptional article published in Science, which detailed the draft sequence of the Neanderthal genome. She served as Vice President of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) from 2011 to 2013 and was reappointed for a subsequent three-year term starting in 2017. In 2016, Kelso was named an ISCB Fellow by the International Society for Computational Biology.