Melissa A. Ilardo

Melissa A. Ilardo, PhD

Languages spoken: Danish, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Spanish

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Biomedical Informatics , Adjunct - Human Genetics

Lab

Research Interests

  • Human Evolution
  • Exercise Physiology
  • Quantitative Genetics
  • Genetics and Aging
  • Genetics
  • Human Population Genetics
  • Evolutionary Medicine & Biology

Dr. Melissa Ilardo lives in Salt Lake City with her husband and their two dogs. Following her PhD in evolutionary genomics at the University of Copenhagen, Melissa completed two postdocs simultaneously: at the University of Utah and UC Berkeley. Melissa then spent 3 years working in industry with large-scale health genomics cohorts at genomics-based drug discovery startups before returning to academia at the University of Utah as an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Informatics.

Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of health phenotypes by exploring human evolution and adaptation in populations that have previously been overlooked or excluded from biological research. Thus far, she has partnered with two populations who engage in the practice of breath-hold diving. Melissa uses computational genomics paired with health data to translate discoveries made in these unique populations into medically relevant insights. When not working, Melissa enjoys trail running, mountain biking, and backcountry skiing in the beautiful Wasatch mountains.

Research Statement

Most medical genetics research has focused on disease and ‘fixing what is wrong. It has also focused almost exclusively on European ancestry individuals. Our lab asks: what if we celebrate what makes people unique and resilient, instead of what makes them ill?

Indigenous human populations have inhabited nearly every environment on earth, adopting survival strategies that range from desert foraging to deep-sea diving. An extraordinary array of adaptation has arisen from these environments and lifestyles, resulting in physiological advantages. Our research explores evolution in these superhuman populations. Thus far, we have partnered with two populations who engage in the practice of breath-hold diving: The Bajau Sea Nomads of Indonesia and the Haenyeo (all-female) divers of Jeju, Korea. By understanding and replicating the biology of these unique populations, we can leverage the power of natural selection to improve the wellness of all.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. J Chris McKnight, Bateman Solms, Matthew Jensen, Jamie Turnbull, Steve Balfour, Maaike Laagland, Mathijs Bronkhorst, Ho Joon Lee, Gyoungri Kang, Joo Young Lee, Adrian Bell, Gordon Hastie, Melissa Ilardo (2025). Diving behaviour and physiology of the Korean Haenyeo. Curr Biol.
  2. Aguilar-Gmez D, Bejder J, Graae J, Ko Y, Vaughn A, Clement K, Tristani-Firouzi M, Lee JY, Nordsborg NB, Nielsen R, Ilardo M (2025). Genetic and training adaptations in the Haenyeo divers of Jeju, Korea. Cell Rep, 44(5), 115577. (Read full article)
  3. Allentoft ME, Sikora M, Refoyo-Martnez A, Irving-Pease EK, Fischer A, Barrie W, Ingason A, Stenderup J, Sjgren KG, Pearson A, Sousa da Mota B, Schulz Paulsson B, Halgren A, Macleod R, Jrkov MLS, Demeter F, Srensen L, Nielsen PO, Henriksen RA, Vimala T, McColl H, Margaryan A, Ilardo M, Vaughn A, Fischer Mortensen M, Nielsen AB, Ulfeldt Hede M, Johannsen NN, Rasmussen P, Vinner L, Renaud G, Stern A, Jensen TZT, Scorrano G, Schroeder H, Lysdahl P, Ramse AD, Skorobogatov A, Schork AJ, Rosengren A, Ruter A, Outram A, Timoshenko AA, Buzhilova A, Coppa A, Zubova A, Silva AM, Hansen AJ, Gromov A, Logvin A, Gotfredsen AB, Henning Nielsen B, Gonzlez-Rabanal B, Lalueza-Fox C, McKenzie CJ, Gaunitz C, Blasco C, Liesau C, Martinez-Labarga C, Pozdnyakov DV, Cuenca-Solana D, Lordkipanidze DO, Enshin D, Salazar-Garca DC, Price TD, Bori D, Kostyleva E, Veselovskaya EV, Usmanova ER, Cappellini E, Brinch Petersen E, Kannegaard E, Radina F, Eylem Yediay F, Duday H, Gutirrez-Zugasti I, Merts I, Potekhina I, Shevnina I, Altinkaya I, Guilaine J, Hansen J, Aura Tortosa JE, Zilho J, Vega J, Buck Pedersen K, Tunia K, Zhao L, Mylnikova LN, Larsson L, Metz L, Yepiskoposyan L, Pedersen L, Sarti L, Orlando L, Slimak L, Klassen L, Blank M, Gonzlez-Morales M, Silvestrini M, Vretemark M, Nesterova MS, Rykun M, Rolfo MF, Szmyt M, Przybya M, Calattini M, Sablin M, Dobiskov M, Meldgaard M, Johansen M, Berezina N, Card N, Saveliev NA, Poshekhonova O, Rickards O, Lozovskaya OV, Gbor O, Uldum OC, Aurino P, Kosintsev P, Courtaud P, Ros P, Mortensen P, Lotz P, Persson P, Bangsgaard P, de Barros Damgaard P, Vang Petersen P, Martinez PP, Wodarczak P, Smolyaninov RV, Maring R, Menduia R, Badalyan R, Iversen R, Turin R, Vasilyev S, Whlin S, Borutskaya S, Skochina S, Srensen SA, Andersen SH, Jrgensen T, Serikov YB, Molodin VI, Smrcka V, Merts V, Appadurai V, Moiseyev V, Magnusson Y, Kjr KH, Lynnerup N, Lawson DJ, Sudmant PH, Rasmussen S, Korneliussen TS, Durbin R, Nielsen R, Delaneau O, Werge T, Racimo F, Kristiansen K, Willerslev E (2024). Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia. Nature, 625(7994), 301-311. (Read full article)
  4. Allentoft M, Sikora M, Refoyo-Martnez A, Irving-Pease E, Ilardo M, Borutskaya S, et al (2023). Ancient Genomes Show Deeply Divided Stone Age Populations Across Western Eurasia. Nature.
  5. Ilardo M, Dos Santos MCF, Grote Beverborg N, Rajan M, Said MA, Verweij N, Van Der Harst P, Van Der Meer P, Leibold EA (2022). An Erythropoietin-Independent Mechanism of Erythrocytic Precursor Proliferation Underlies Hypoxia Tolerance in Sea Nomads. Front Physiol, 12, 760851. (Read full article)
  6. Ilardo M, Bose R, Meringer M, Rasulev B, Grefenstette N, Stephenson J, Freeland S, Gillams RJ, Butch CJ, Cleaves HJ 2nd (2019). Adaptive Properties of the Genetically Encoded Amino Acid Alphabet Are Inherited from Its Subsets. Sci Rep, 9(1), 12468. (Read full article)
  7. de Barros Damgaard P, Martiniano R, Kamm J, Moreno-Mayar JV, Kroonen G, Peyrot M, Barjamovic G, Rasmussen S, Zacho C, Baimukhanov N, Zaibert V, Merz V, Biddanda A, Merz I, Loman V, Evdokimov V, Usmanova E, Hemphill B, Seguin-Orlando A, Yediay FE, Ullah I, Sjgren KG, Iversen KH, Choin J, de la Fuente C, Ilardo M, Schroeder H, Moiseyev V, Gromov A, Polyakov A, Omura S, Senyurt SY, Ahmad H, McKenzie C, Margaryan A, Hameed A, Samad A, Gul N, Khokhar MH, Goriunova OI, Bazaliiskii VI, Novembre J, Weber AW, Orlando L, Allentoft ME, Nielsen R, Kristiansen K, Sikora M, Outram AK, Durbin R, Willerslev E (2018). The first horse herders and the impact of early Bronze Age steppe expansions into Asia. Science, 360(6396). (Read full article)
  8. Ilardo MA, Moltke I, Korneliussen TS, Cheng J, Stern AJ, Racimo F, de Barros Damgaard P, Sikora M, Seguin-Orlando A, Rasmussen S, van den Munckhof ICL, Ter Horst R, Joosten LAB, Netea MG, Salingkat S, Nielsen R, Willerslev E (2017). Physiological and Genetic Adaptations to Diving in Sea Nomads. Cell, 173(3), 569-580.e15. (Read full article)
  9. Ullah I, Olofsson JK, Margaryan A, Ilardo M, Ahmad H, Sikora M, Hansen AJ, Shahid Nadeem M, Fazal N, Ali M, Buchard A, Hemphill BE, Willerslev E, Allentoft ME (2017). High Y-chromosomal Differentiation Among Ethnic Groups of Dir and Swat Districts, Pakistan. Ann Hum Genet, 81(6), 234-248. (Read full article)
  10. Guttenberg N, Laneuville M, Ilardo M, Aubert-Kato N (2015). Transferable Measurements of Heredity in Models of the Origins of Life. PLoS One, 10(10), e0140663. (Read full article)
  11. Ilardo M, Meringer M, Freeland S, Rasulev B, Cleaves HJ 2nd (2015). Extraordinarily adaptive properties of the genetically encoded amino acids. Sci Rep, 5, 9414. (Read full article)
  12. Ilardo MA, Freeland SJ (2014). Testing for adaptive signatures of amino acid alphabet evolution using chemistry space. J Syst Chem, 5(1).
  13. Gaidos E, Rusch A, Ilardo M (2010). Ribosomal tag pyrosequencing of DNA and RNA from benthic coral reef microbiota: community spatial structure, rare members and nitrogen-cycling guilds. Environ Microbiol, 13(5), 1138-52. (Read full article)

Review

  1. Prohaska A, Racimo F, Schork AJ, Sikora M, Stern AJ, Ilardo M, Allentoft ME, Folkersen L, Buil A, Moreno-Mayar JV, Korneliussen T, Geschwind D, Ingason A, Werge T, Nielsen R, Willerslev E (2018). Human Disease Variation in the Light of Population Genomics. [Review]. Cell, 177(1), 115-131. (Read full article)
  2. Ilardo M, Nielsen R (2018). Human adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. [Review]. Curr Opin Genet Dev, 53, 77-82. (Read full article)
  3. Cappellini E, Prohaska A, Racimo F, Welker F, Pedersen MW, Allentoft ME, de Barros Damgaard P, Gutenbrunner P, Dunne J, Hammann S, Roffet-Salque M, Ilardo M, Moreno-Mayar JV, Wang Y, Sikora M, Vinner L, Cox J, Evershed RP, Willerslev E (2018). Ancient Biomolecules and Evolutionary Inference. [Review]. Annu Rev Biochem, 87, 1029-1060. (Read full article)

Video/Film/CD/Web/Podcast

  1. Emily Kwong, Ari Daniel, Melissa Ilardo (2025). The genetic adaptations that make South Korea's 'super divers' so special [Podcast]. NPR Short Wave. Available: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1254460259.
  2. Andrew Huberman, Melissa Ilardo (2025). Behaviors That Alter Your Genes to Improve Your Health & Performance [Podcast]. Huberman Lab Podcast. Available: https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/behaviors-that-alter-your-genes-to-improve-your-health-performance-dr-melissa-ilardo.
  3. Anand Jagatia, Melissa Ilardo (2024). Were humans ever semi-aquatic? [Podcast]. BBC CrowdScience. Available: https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct4y58.
  4. Neil Delamere, Dave Moore, Melissa Ilardo (2022). Sea Nomads, Dave's weird World Record & the worst ending to a podcast episode ever [Podcast]. Why would you tell me that?. Available: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sea-nomads-daves-weird-world-record-the-worst-ending/id1616532092?i=1000558809838.
  5. Georgia Mills, Melissa Ilardo (2018). The tell-tale spleen [Podcast]. The Naked Scientists.