Sharon Browning

Photo of Sharon Browning
Research Professor
Biostatistics
206-616-5037
Magnuson Health Sciences Center - F Wing
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Education

Bio

Affiliations

Research

News
PhD
Statistics
University of Washington
1999
BScHons
Mathematics
University of Auckland (New Zealand)
1995

I work on developing stochastic models for correlations between genetic variants along chromosomes, and on computationally-efficient statistical methods utilizing these models. Applications of my work include haplotype phasing, genotype imputation and detection of segments of identity by descent.

Research Professor
Genetic Analysis Center
Member of population genetics working group
Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed)
Faculty Research Interests: 
Statistical Genetics and Genomics
Population genetics
Modern Humans Inherited Even More DNA from Neanderthals and Denisovans Than We Thought
Gizmodo - Thu Oct 17
UW Research Professor of Biostatistics Sharon Browning comments on new work from the lab of UW professor of Genome Sciences Evan Eichler....
A Genetic Ghost Hunt: What Ancient Humans Live On in Our DNA?
Discover - Tue Jun 25
The article quotes UW Research Professor Sharon Browning: “The reality of human history is pretty complex,” she says....
Tooth analysis suggests Neanderthals and modern humans split apart far earlier than we thought
Gizmodo - Mon May 20
A new study of dental evidence suggests Neanderthals and humans diverged around 800,000 years ago—hundreds of thousands of years earlier than standard estimates....
The Denisovans may have been more than a single species
Discover Magazine - Thu Apr 11
A new study using genetic data is offering an intriguing new look into the history of the Denisovans, revealing them as a people of far greater diversity, and reach, than ever before....
Multiple lines of mysterious ancient humans interbred with us
National Geographic - Thu Apr 11
DNA from a large sampling of living southeast Asians suggests that the ghostly Denisovans may be not one, but three distinct kinds of human, one of which is almost as different from other Denisovans as they are from Neanderthals....
Our mysterious cousins—the Denisovans—may have mated with modern humans as recently as 15,000 years ago
Science - Fri Mar 29
New study adds to findings published last year by UW Biostatistics Research Professor Sharon Browning....
Visitor Log Chronicled for the Denisovan Family Home
Sapiens - Wed Jan 30
“You could say it was a Denisovan cave, and the Neanderthals just visited for a while,” says Sharon Browning, a biostatistician at the University of Washington, Seattle, who has worked on Denisovan remains but wasn’t involved with either new study....
Neanderthals and Denisovans Shared a Siberian Cave for Thousands of Years, New Research Suggests
Gizmodo - Wed Jan 30
UW Biostatistics Research Professor Sharon Browning is quoted in reference to two papers published today that present an updated timeline for the occupation of Denisova cave by Neanderthals and Denisovans....
Five Amazing Things We Learned About History From Ancient DNA In 2018
Forbes - Fri Dec 28
Biostatistics professor Sharon Browning’s study is listed as one of the findings that contributed to “a major theme of human evolutionary studies this year: an emphasis on understanding the biological consequences of genetic variants that we inherite...
Ancient Bone Reveals Surprising Sex Lives Of Neanderthals
NPR - Thu Aug 23
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, recently announced that they’d found something quite surprising: the bones of a child who had a Neanderthal for a mother and a Denisovan for a father....
New Discovery Adds to Denisovan Story
Scientific American - Wed Aug 22
Earlier this year, UW Biostatistics professor Sharon Browning published research showing that two distinct populations of Denisovans mixed with modern humans....
A Blended Family: Her Mother Was Neanderthal, Her Father Something Else Entirely
The New York Times - Wed Aug 22
Genetic analysis of bones discovered in a Siberian cave hints that the prehistoric world may have been filled with “hybrid” humans.“They managed to catch it in the act — it’s an amazing discovery,” said Sharon Browning, a statistical geneticist at th...
Offspring of Neanderthal and Denisovan identified for first time
The Guardian - Wed Aug 22
“Finding remains from a first generation admixed individual should be a very small probability occurrence, unless perhaps interbreeding between Neanderthals and Denisovans was not uncommon at a small number of locations, such as the Denisova cave, wh...
Modern humans interbred with Denisovans more than once
ars TECHNICA - Mon Mar 19
Humans in Asia and Oceania met, mingled, and bred with Denisovans at least twice....
Mysterious Denisovans interbred with modern humans more than once
CNN - Mon Mar 19
Neanderthals, Denisovans and our ancestors were mixing and mingling a long time ago -- and some of our genetics can be traced back to these archaic humans....
Move over, Neanderthals: Our ancestors mated with Denisovans not once but twice, scientists say
The Los Angeles Times - Mon Mar 19
Humans weren't just making babies with Neanderthals back in the day. A new study that compares the genomes of different groups of modern humans has found that our ancestors interbred with another close relative, the Denisovans, more than once....
Interbreeding Surprise! More Denisovans in Our Family Tree
Discover Magazine - Mon Mar 19
Hey, sex happens. And apparently, whenever our ancestors met up with other members of the genus Homo, it happened a lot....
Our ancestors mated with the mystery ‘Denisovan’ people – twice
New Scientist - Mon Mar 19
Our ancestors mated with another species of ancient hominins, the Denisovans, on at least two occasions....
Humans bred with this mysterious species more than once, new study shows
The Washington Post - Mon Mar 19
Homo sapiens had lots of sex with Homo neanderthalensis....
New analysis of genetic data finds two pulses of Denisovan populations contributed to ancestry of modern humans in East Asia
Dept. of Biostatistics - Thu Mar 15

Education
PhD
Statistics
University of Washington
1999
BScHons
Mathematics
University of Auckland (New Zealand)
1995

Bio

I work on developing stochastic models for correlations between genetic variants along chromosomes, and on computationally-efficient statistical methods utilizing these models. Applications of my work include haplotype phasing, genotype imputation and detection of segments of identity by descent.

Affiliations
Research Professor
Genetic Analysis Center
Member of population genetics working group
Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed)

Research
Faculty Research Interests: 
Statistical Genetics and Genomics
Population genetics

News
Modern Humans Inherited Even More DNA from Neanderthals and Denisovans Than We Thought
Gizmodo - Thu Oct 17
UW Research Professor of Biostatistics Sharon Browning comments on new work from the lab of UW professor of Genome Sciences Evan Eichler....
A Genetic Ghost Hunt: What Ancient Humans Live On in Our DNA?
Discover - Tue Jun 25
The article quotes UW Research Professor Sharon Browning: “The reality of human history is pretty complex,” she says....
Tooth analysis suggests Neanderthals and modern humans split apart far earlier than we thought
Gizmodo - Mon May 20
A new study of dental evidence suggests Neanderthals and humans diverged around 800,000 years ago—hundreds of thousands of years earlier than standard estimates....
The Denisovans may have been more than a single species
Discover Magazine - Thu Apr 11
A new study using genetic data is offering an intriguing new look into the history of the Denisovans, revealing them as a people of far greater diversity, and reach, than ever before....
Multiple lines of mysterious ancient humans interbred with us
National Geographic - Thu Apr 11
DNA from a large sampling of living southeast Asians suggests that the ghostly Denisovans may be not one, but three distinct kinds of human, one of which is almost as different from other Denisovans as they are from Neanderthals....
Our mysterious cousins—the Denisovans—may have mated with modern humans as recently as 15,000 years ago
Science - Fri Mar 29
New study adds to findings published last year by UW Biostatistics Research Professor Sharon Browning....
Visitor Log Chronicled for the Denisovan Family Home
Sapiens - Wed Jan 30
“You could say it was a Denisovan cave, and the Neanderthals just visited for a while,” says Sharon Browning, a biostatistician at the University of Washington, Seattle, who has worked on Denisovan remains but wasn’t involved with either new study....
Neanderthals and Denisovans Shared a Siberian Cave for Thousands of Years, New Research Suggests
Gizmodo - Wed Jan 30
UW Biostatistics Research Professor Sharon Browning is quoted in reference to two papers published today that present an updated timeline for the occupation of Denisova cave by Neanderthals and Denisovans....
Five Amazing Things We Learned About History From Ancient DNA In 2018
Forbes - Fri Dec 28
Biostatistics professor Sharon Browning’s study is listed as one of the findings that contributed to “a major theme of human evolutionary studies this year: an emphasis on understanding the biological consequences of genetic variants that we inherite...
Ancient Bone Reveals Surprising Sex Lives Of Neanderthals
NPR - Thu Aug 23
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, recently announced that they’d found something quite surprising: the bones of a child who had a Neanderthal for a mother and a Denisovan for a father....
New Discovery Adds to Denisovan Story
Scientific American - Wed Aug 22
Earlier this year, UW Biostatistics professor Sharon Browning published research showing that two distinct populations of Denisovans mixed with modern humans....
A Blended Family: Her Mother Was Neanderthal, Her Father Something Else Entirely
The New York Times - Wed Aug 22
Genetic analysis of bones discovered in a Siberian cave hints that the prehistoric world may have been filled with “hybrid” humans.“They managed to catch it in the act — it’s an amazing discovery,” said Sharon Browning, a statistical geneticist at th...
Offspring of Neanderthal and Denisovan identified for first time
The Guardian - Wed Aug 22
“Finding remains from a first generation admixed individual should be a very small probability occurrence, unless perhaps interbreeding between Neanderthals and Denisovans was not uncommon at a small number of locations, such as the Denisova cave, wh...
Modern humans interbred with Denisovans more than once
ars TECHNICA - Mon Mar 19
Humans in Asia and Oceania met, mingled, and bred with Denisovans at least twice....
Mysterious Denisovans interbred with modern humans more than once
CNN - Mon Mar 19
Neanderthals, Denisovans and our ancestors were mixing and mingling a long time ago -- and some of our genetics can be traced back to these archaic humans....
Move over, Neanderthals: Our ancestors mated with Denisovans not once but twice, scientists say
The Los Angeles Times - Mon Mar 19
Humans weren't just making babies with Neanderthals back in the day. A new study that compares the genomes of different groups of modern humans has found that our ancestors interbred with another close relative, the Denisovans, more than once....
Interbreeding Surprise! More Denisovans in Our Family Tree
Discover Magazine - Mon Mar 19
Hey, sex happens. And apparently, whenever our ancestors met up with other members of the genus Homo, it happened a lot....
Our ancestors mated with the mystery ‘Denisovan’ people – twice
New Scientist - Mon Mar 19
Our ancestors mated with another species of ancient hominins, the Denisovans, on at least two occasions....
Humans bred with this mysterious species more than once, new study shows
The Washington Post - Mon Mar 19
Homo sapiens had lots of sex with Homo neanderthalensis....
New analysis of genetic data finds two pulses of Denisovan populations contributed to ancestry of modern humans in East Asia
Dept. of Biostatistics - Thu Mar 15