ARMENIAN
GENEALOGICAL
SOCIETY
MHER ISHKHANYAN
We are happy to introduce to you the individual who carries out one of the most demanding lines of work in Armenia - DNA testing and their interpretation. He was the first person in Armenia to take this on.
Mher Ishkhanyan was born in Armenia in the historical village of Khndzoresk. When he was 5 years old, he moved with his family to Yerevan. In 2013, he became interested in genealogical genetics, now called DNA genealogy.
Mher started doing DNA tests for his relatives at FTDNA first. Over time, he has delved further into the field and was one of the first Armenians to get involved in the practicalities of DNA genealogy.
In 2016, Mher created the Syunik DNA Project and the Hndzoresk DNA Project and was engaged in the genetic study of Khndzoresk families. His interest and knowledge of this topic was noticed by the administrators of the Armenian DNA Project at FTDNA where the genetic results of thousands of Armenians (Armenian DNA Project) are collected and kept.
The project was created in 2008 by Mark Arslan, then its new administrators Peter Hrechdakian and Hovan Simonian began to develop it by sponsoring tests. In 2017, Mher was asked to become co-administrator of grouping and data interpretation.
In 2015, Mher and Aram Palyan created the "Ethnogenetics" community on Facebook. The purpose of this community is to popularize DNA tests and increase knowledge in this field among Armenians and others.
If you haven't done anything like this yet or have already experienced it in your life but still have questions, Mher will be happy to assist.