Prof. Bernardo
Lemos

Bernardo Lemos earned a PhD in 2007 from Harvard University studying evolutionary and population genomics of the Y-chromosome and the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) arrays. He now leads the laboratory of environmental epigenetics at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. His lab currently collaborates in projects examining human populations in China, Bangladesh, and the USA, as well as experimental studies in model organisms. He focuses on the rDNA and the impact of dietary interventions and exposure to environmental toxicants on the genome and epigenome. He has recently developed the first long-range interaction map of the rDNA using Hi-C technology as well as developed the rDNA aging clock, an evolutionarily conserved marker of ageing that is applicable to humans, mice, and other mammals. The rDNA clock can address chronological age in individuals of unknown age as well as biological age in response to interventions and toxicants. His lab also addresses novel pathways of response to injury from environmental exposure (metals, microplastics). He has been awarded an Ellison Foundation New Scholars in Ageing Award and a Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research. Research in his laboratory is supported by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).