Since 2019, Lluis Quintana-Murci has held the Chairin Human Genomics and Evolution. His research focuses on the study of human genome diversity, both from a fundamental perspective and as applied to the understanding of certain pathologies. His work has led him to address numerous questions relating to (I) the demographic history of human populations, with a particular interest in the history of populations in Central Africa and the Pacific, (II) the mechanisms by which our species adapts to environmental changes, in particular to the pressures exerted by infectious agents, and (III) the contribution of genetic and epigenetic variability in the human host to differences in immune responses.

His work has contributed to the development of a new way of studying host defense mechanisms against pathogens, using approaches based on evolutionary biology and population genetics. One of his major contributions has been to elucidate how natural selection has targeted innate immunity genes, enabling them to be classified according to their biological importance. His work has also shown the adaptive nature of interbreeding between different human populations, as well as between our species and other now extinct hominins, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans. For example, by interbreeding with Neanderthals, the first Europeansapiens may have acquired genetic variants that were beneficial for better survival in the face of infectious diseases, particularly those of viral origin.

The fundamental knowledge gained from this work has important implications for medical studies, which aim to identify the factors (genetic or environmental) shaping our differences in immune response, paving the way for precision medicine. All this work is carried out in close collaboration with geneticists and evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, statisticians, microbiologists, immunologists and epidemiologists.