Tamás Hajdu, PhD

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Academic and Scientific Degrees:

  • 2006 MSc in Biology, Faculty of Science at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
  • 2012 PhD title in Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest
  • 2021 Habilitation – Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Work experience:

  • 2009 Teacher assistant, Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University
  • 2015 Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University
  • 2019–2021 Curator, museologist, Department of Anthropology of the Hungarian Natural History Museum
  • 2021 Associate Professor, Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University
  • 2022 Head of the Department, Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University
  • 2024 Scientific associate, Centre for Applied Bioanthropology, Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia.

Scientific projects, fundings and fellowships:

  • participant in: Occurrence and evolution of malignant tumors in historic populations of Hungary, PI: Molnár, E. (NN-OTKA: 78696), Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), 2010-2014;
  • senior researcher in: Changing populations or changing identities in the Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin, PI: Kiss, V. (K-OTKA: 108597), OTKA 2014-2017;
  • senior researcher in: Mobility and Population Transformation in the Carpathian Basin during the 5th to 7th Centuries A.D.: Changing Societies and Identities, PI: Vida, T. (NN OTKA – 113157) OTKA 2014-2017.
  • participant in: From bones, bronzes and sites to society: Multidisciplinary analysis of human mobility and social changes in Bronze Age Hungary (2500–1500 BC), Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), Momentum research project, PI: Kiss, V. 2015-2020;
  • Erdős Pál Young Research Fellowship 2014 (A1-EPFK-14-0014); title: Történeti népességek daganatos megbetegedései – Valóban modern, civilizációs betegség-e a rák? (Cancers of historical populations – Is cancer really a modern, civilizational disease?)
  • Directorate of the National Cultural Fund of Hungary, 2014 (NKA project no. 3802/05335 together with Gyula Gyenis CSc, Manuscript writing fellowship). The authors and title of the manuscript: „Ködbe vesző múlt – Az ember biológiai és kulturális evolúciója”.
  • Bolyai János research fellowship, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2015-2018. Title: A tuberkulózis csonttani tünetei és evolúciós változásai a történeti embertani leletek tükrében (Osteological evidences and evolutionary changes of tuberculosis based on ancient human remains)
  • supervisor in: Multidisciplinary Research Project, ELTE Talent Management Council, 2016-2018. Title: Történeti korú malignus csont tumorok multidiszciplináris kutatása (Multidisciplinary research on ancient malignant bone tumors)
  • supervisor in: Croatian-Hungarian bilateral research cooperation (TÉT 16), 2017-2019. Title of the research project: Population changes and coexistence in the Middle and Southwestern part of the Carpathian Basin in the Avar Period (6-9th centuries AD). Croatian PI: Novak, M. (Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb).
  • participant in: 2017-2020 Reconstructing prehistoric (Neolithic to Bronze Age) lifestyles on the territory of Croatia – a multidisciplinary approach (PASTLIVES) supervisor: Novak, M. (Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb).
  • supervisor in: Cultural or demic diffusion? Transformations of population and subsistence strategies in the 2nd millennium B.C. in the Carpathian Basin. (FK OTKA 128013). OTKA; 2018-2022.
  • senior researcher in: Subsistence strategies in the Hun and Gepidic period Carpathian Basin. (NN OTKA: 128035). OTKA; PI: Rácz, Zs. 2018-2024.
  • senior researcher in: ERC Synergy Grant: “Integrating genetic, archaeological and historical perspectives on Eastern Central Europe, 400–900 AD (HistoGenes).” (856453), PIs: Pohl, W., Krause, J., Geary, P., Vida, T.
  • participant in: 2020-2024 Integrating Neandertal Legacy: From Past to Present project id.: CA19141, MoU – 044/20) – COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology. PI: Ivor Janković.
  • Bolyai János research fellowship, Hungarian Academy of Sciences 2022-2025; Title of the research project: „A Kárpátoktól a Tiszáig – Migráció, életmód és betegségek a kora és középső bronzkori Kárpát-medence északkeleti részén”. (From the Carpathians to the Tisza river – Migration, lifestyle and diseases in the northeastern part of the Early and Middle Bronze Age Carpathian basin).
  • Bolyai+ Scholarship; 2022-2023; title: „Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom újratöltve – Mobilitás, étrend és betegségek egy középső bronzkori tell-településen a Közép-Tisza vidéken”. (Tiszafüred-Majoroshalom reloaded – Mobility, diet and diseases in a Middle Bronze Age tell settlement in the Central Tisza region).
  • Bolyai+ Scholarship; 2023-2024; Title: „Életmód és betegségek az Alföld északi peremén a Krisztus előtti 2. évezredben” (A bronzkori Vatta lelőhely embertani leleteinek antropológiai elemzése. Lifestyle and diseases on the northern edge of the Great Hungarian Plain in the 2nd millennium BC – Anthropological analysis of the human remains of the Bronze Age Vatta archaeological site)
  • Hungarian Academy of Sciences MTA Distinguished Guest Scientist Fellowship Programme. Hungarian Host Principal Investigator: Hajdu T.; Name of the Distinguished Guest Scientist (hereinafter Guest Scientist) to be invited: Novak, Mario. 2024
  • participant in: ERC Synergy Grant: “Last Neanderthals. The physical, cultural, and biogenetic landscape of the last Neanderthals.” (2024-2029), PIs: Benazzi, S., Berna, F., Barzilai, O.

Research interests: Biological anthropological analysis of human remains from the ancient Carpathian Basin; Ancient migrations, Paleopathology, Infectious diseases; Paleooncology;

Publications (selected 10)

  • Hajdu, T., et al. (2012): A case of spinal tuberculosis from the Middle Ages in Transylvania (Romania). Spine 37(25): E1598–E1601.
  • Allentoft, M.E., et al. (2015): Population Genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia. Nature 522 (7555): 162–172.
  • Olalde, I., et al (2018): The Beaker Phenomenon and the Genomic Transformation of Northwest Europe. Nature 555: 190–196.
  • Mathieson, I., et al (2018): The genomic history of southeastern Europe. Nature 555: 197–203.
  • Köhler, K., et al. (2017): Possible cases of leprosy from the Late Copper Age (3780-3650 cal BC) in Hungary. PLoS ONE 12(10): e0185966.
  • Szeniczey, T., et al (2018): Hyperostosis frontalis interna in ancient populations from the Carpathian Basin – a possible relationship between lifestyle and risk of development. International Journal of Paleopathology 24, 108–118.
  • Harney, É. et al. (2021): A minimally destructive protocol for DNA extraction from ancient teeth. Genome Research 31(3): 472–483.
  • Marciniak, S., et al. (2022): An integrative skeletal and paleogenomic analysis of stature variation suggests relatively reduced health for early European farmers. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 119 (15): e2106743119.
  • Trautmann, M, et al. (2023): First bioanthropological evidence for Yamnaya horsemanship. Science Advances 3;9(9): eade2451.
  • Cavazzuti C, et al. (2025): Isotope and archaeobotanical analysis reveal radical changes in mobility, diet and inequalities around 1500 BCE at the core of Europe. Scientific Reports 15, 17494 (2025).

The full publication list is available at:

https://vm.mtmt.hu//search/slist.php?nwi=1&inited=1&ty_on=1&url_on=1&cite_type=2&orderby=3D1a&lang=1&location=mtmt&stn=1&AuthorID=10028165

 Teaching experience:

– Eötvös Loránd University (Faculty of Science; Faculty of Humanities):

  • Lectures: Human Biology (Primatology, Biological anthropology), Paleopathology, Human Geography, Human evolution, Evolutionary Biology;
  • Practicals:       Applied human biology I, Human biology II, Osteology and osteometry, Paleoantropology examinations’ methodology

– Helsinki University:

  • Bioanthropology for archaeologists

Membership and roles in professional organizations:

  • 2003 – Hungarian Biological Society, Section of Anthropology, member
  • 2012 – European Anthropological Association, member
  • 2020 – European Archaeological Association, member
  • 2014 – Hungarian Prehistoric Society, member
  • 2014 – 2018   Hungarian Biological Society, Deputy Secretary-General
  • 2014 – Hungarian Academy of Sciences, VIII. Section of Biological Sciences Complex Committee on Anthropology, member
  • 2021–2023 Hungarian Academy of Sciences, VIII. Section of Biological Sciences Complex Committee on Anthropology, secretary
  • 2023 – Hungarian Academy of Sciences, VIII. Section of Biological Sciences Complex Committee on Anthropology, president
  • 2016 – 2018    International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES), member
  • 2018 – Hungarian Biological Society, Secretary-General
  • 2023 – Young Academy of Europe, member