MJH | JewishGen Talks: We Were Together at Sinai — A Genetic Census of the Jewish People

Introduction:

Join Adam Brown and Michael Waas, administrators of the Avotaynu DNA Project, for a comprehensive 2026 annual update on the world’s largest academic collaboration solely devoted to the genetic history of the Jewish people. With a database now exceeding 12,000 participants, the project has moved beyond simple haplogroup identification to high-resolution “migration narratives.” In this talk, Brown and Waas will detail the project’s most significant recent findings and explain how they illuminate the resilience and connectivity of the global Diaspora.

Adam Brown is a founder and director of the decade-old Avotaynu DNA Project—a multidisciplinary academic study with over 12,000 participants that utilizes high-resolution genetic testing to trace 3,000 years of Jewish origins and migrations. As an avid genealogist for more than three decades, Brown frequently speaks at international forums on the intersection of human genetics, Jewish history, and the application of technology to genealogical research. He held a prominent leadership role in the field as the National Co-Chair of the 2017 International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) international summer conference in Orlando. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.

Michael Waas is a professional genealogist and historian, specializing in Sephardic Jewry. He received his Master’s Degree from the Department of Jewish History at the University of Haifa. The subject of his MA thesis was “Istorya i oy: A comparative study on the Development of Jewish Heritage of the former Ottoman Empire.” He received the Gaon Prize for Outstanding M.A. Thesis research from the Moshe David Gaon Center for Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) Culture, as well as the Prize for Research into the Heritage of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewry, awarded by the Ben Zvi Institute and the Israeli Ministry of Education. He has lectured globally on Jewish genealogy and Sephardic history, in Portugal, Israel, the UK, in the US, and virtually for several organizations. Waas is the co-administrator of Avotaynu DNA’s ongoing Genetic Census of the Jewish People as well as Associate Director of the Sephardic Researcher Division of JewishGen.

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