Alyssa Bader

Assistant Professor

Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019

I am a Tsimshian anthropologist whose community-based, collaborative research program draws from a range of archaeological sciences, including paleogenomics, bioarchaeology, and stable isotope analysis. My current research is concentrated in the Northwest Coast of North America, where I am investigating relationships between diet, health, and socio-political dynamics in both ancestral and contemporary Indigenous communities. My research program is guided by a commitment to ethical, community-based research in partnership with Indigenous nations. I maintain a research affiliation with the Sealaska Heritage Institute and am an alum and faculty member of the Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics USA program.

I am currently in the process of developing an anthropological genomics lab suite at McGill with dedicated space for paleogenomic, contemporary genomic, and bioarchaeological research.

Representative Publications

Fleskes RE*, Bader AC*, Tsosie KS, Wagner JK, Claw KG, Garrison NA. 2022. Ethical guidance in human paleogenomics: New and ongoing perspectives. Ann Rev Genomics Hum Genet 23:627-652. *co-first authors

Tsosie KS, Bader AC, Fox K, Bolnick DA, Garrison NA, Smith RWA. 2021. Correspondence: Ancient-DNA researchers write their own rules. Nature 600(2):37.

Bader AC, Carbaugh AE, Bardill J, Malhi RS, Petzelt B, Mitchell J. 2021. Building relationships to shift accountability: Doing paleogenomic research with Indigenous nations and Ancestors. In Meloche C, Spake L, Nichols K (eds). Working with and for Ancestors. London: Routledge, 166-177.

Malhi RS, Bader AC. 2019. Human paleogenomic research in the Americas: A look at current data and vision for more inclusive practices now and into the future. SAA Arch Record 19(3):16-20.

Bader AC, Malhi RS. 2019. Vital Topics Forum: How subjectivity strengthens research: Developing an integrative approach to investigating human diet in the Pacific Northwest Coast. Am Anthropol 121(2):476-478.

Bardill J, Bader AC, Garrison NA, Bolnick DA, Raff JA, Walker A, Malhi RS, Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics (SING) Consortium. 2018. Policy Forum: Advancing the ethics of paleogenomics: Shifting the status quo on community consultation. Science 360(6387):384-385.

Claw KG, Anderson MZ, Begay RL, Tsosie KS, Fox K, Garrison NA, Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics (SING) Consortium. 2018. A framework for enhancing ethical genomic research with Indigenous communities. Nat Comm 9(2957).

Claw KG, Lippert D, Bardill J, Cordova A, Fox K, Yracheta JM, Bader AC, Bolnick DA, Malhi RS, TallBear K, Garrison NA. 2017. Invited commentary: Chaco Canyon dig unearths ethical concerns. Hum Biol 89(3):177-180.

Malhi RS, Bader AC. 2015. Engaging Native Americans in genomics research. Am Anthropol 117(4):743-744.