Principal Participants and Roles
Department of Biology, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Florence (Florence, Italy)
Members: David Caramelli, Martina Lari, Elena Pilli, Stefania Vai
Primary Responsibilities:
- DNA extraction, sequencing and analysis of e.g., hairs from old paintings
- Sampling of biological material from living relatives
- Exhumation procedures and sampling of deceased relatives
- Participate in synthesis of overall information
- Help coordinate team activities
J. Craig Venter Institute (La Jolla, CA, and Rockville, MD)
Members: Craig Venter, Norberto Gonzalez-Juarbe, Karen Nelson*, Amalio Telenti** and Manolito Torralba*
Primary Responsibilities:
- Development of forensic and other techniques for understanding of old and damaged DNA
- Exploration of the microbiome of works of art
- Development of techniques for reconstruction of physical features based on DNA sequences
(now at *Thermo Fisher Scientific and **Scripps Research Institute)
Department of Legal Medicine, University of Granada (Granada, Spain)
Members: José A. Lorente
Primary Responsibilities:
- Analytic and comparative studies of old DNA (15th-16th centuries)
- Forensic DNA studies
Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci & Leonardo da Vinci Heritage (Vinci, Italy)
Members: Alessandro Vezzosi, Agnese Sabato
Primary Responsibilities:
- Genealogical and archival research on the Da Vinci family, leading to reconstruction of Leonardo’s family tree
- Relationships with possible living descendants
- Liaison with municipalities and ecclesiastical authorities about permission to exhume bones for examination
- Exploration of possible additional relics of Leonardo da Vinci, verification of provenance and facilitation of access
Institute of Human Paleontology (Paris, France)
Members: Henry de Lumley, Marie-Antoinette de Lumley, Anna Echassoux
Primary Responsibilities:
- Leadership of Leonardo DNA Project coordination for Phase 1
- Exploration of access to relics in France
- Research on Leonardo as anatomist and other dimensions related to physical anthropology
- Definition what might be learned from bones and other relics if confirmed
- Organization of colloquia with the French community of experts
The Rockefeller University (New York)
Program for the Human Environment
Members: Jesse H. Ausubel
Primary Responsibilities:
- Synthesis of overall information
- Liaison with restoration laboratories of museums
- Leonardo DNA Project Phase 2 coordination, maintenance of project website
The Rockefeller University (New York)
Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Signal Transduction
Members: Thomas P. Sakmar, Rhonda K. Roby, Thomas Huber, Manija A. Kazmi, Karina Åberg
Primary Responsibilities:
- Develop methods to extract DNA from Renaissance works made with silverpoint technique
- Conduct IRB-approved clinical research protocol
- Genetics of color vision and visual disorders
- Exploration of medical conditions relevant to Leonardo
Institute of Natural Sciences and Technology in the Arts (INTK)
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (Vienna, Austria)
Members: Katja Sterflinger, Guadalupe Piñar
Primary Responsibilities:
- microbial communities inhabiting cultural heritage monuments and objects
- next generation omics and sequencing technologies, including WGS
- aging of materials in museum collections
GEDEON Programmes (Paris, France) with RAI UNO (Italy)
Members: Stéphane Millière, Mina Cuche, Duilio Giammaria
Primary Responsibility: Visual documentation of the project, preparation and distribution of videos
Independent scholars (alphabetical):
Terry Collins (Toronto, Canada)
Primary Responsibility: public engagement
Francesco Galassi (FAPAB Italy and Poland)
Primary Responsibility: paleopathology, medical history
Christian Gálvez (Spain)
Primary Responsibility: historical context, access to LdV works in Spanish National Library
Massimo Guerrero (University of Bologna, Italy), Rui Aleixo (Gdansk, Poland)
Primary Responsibility: forensic flow analysis
Louis Herlands (USA/Quatar)
Primary Responsibility: molecular biology as related to art conservation
Ross King (Canada/UK)
Primary Responsibility: Renaissance history, biography
Anne Leader (Alabama USA and Florence IT)
Primary Responsibility: Art history, history of Florentine monuments, Renaissance studies
Rossella Lorenzi (Italy)
Primary Responsibility: public engagement
Marguerite Mangin (New York)
Primary Responsibility: project coordinator, The Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project
Eric Rayman (New York)
Primary Responsibility: legal advisor
Rhonda K. Roby (California)
Primary Responsibility: forensic DNA expert
David Thaler (Biozentrum Basel, Switzerland)
Primary Responsibility: scientific advisor on genetics