The IEM includes multiple main research units: The Palaeogenetics Group, the Evolutionary Morphology and Adaption Group, and the Paleopathology and Mummy Studies Group. A state-of-the-art aDNA clean Lab, multiple imaging facilities, and an “Anthropometry and Scan Lab” for transitional clinical research are part of the IEM.
At the IEM researchers from fields as varied as medicine, anthropology, paleopathology, ancient DNA and proteomics research, egyptology, history, epidemiology, human morphology, and imaging work together on interdisciplinary research questions in the field of Evolutionary Medicine, such as:
- How does the past (for example, the evolutionary origins of diseases) inform the present and the future?
- How does clinical medicine benefit from studying the evolutionary perspectives of health and diseases?
- How does modern medical data contribute to understand the evolution of human health and diseases?
- How do evolutionary vulnerabilities of human anatomy/physiology contribute to disease susceptibility and progression?
- How effectively do ancient samples, such as skeletal and mummified remains, act as a major source for the study of the evolution of disease?
As one of the institute’s main areas of interest is the study of historical human remains. The IEM favours a continuous reflection on ethical standards (see the IEM Code of Ethics).