Maria Lopopolo

Maria Lopopolo is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in microbial paleogenomics with a focus on the evolutionary dynamics of ancient and re-emerging pathogens. Her work integrates ancient DNA analysis, metagenomics, and archaeological data to reconstruct the deep-time evolution of infectious diseases. During her PhD at Institut Pasteur, she produced the first genomic evidence of Mycobacterium lepromatosis in pre-Columbian Americas—reshaping our understanding of leprosy’s history and challenging long-standing assumptions about its introduction to the Americas. With expertise spanning ancient pathogen discovery, dietary reconstruction, and trait-based evolutionary modelling, Maria is advancing innovative approaches to understand why neglected diseases persist and resurge.