Virus Genomic Epidemiology Group
Rapidly evolving viruses frequently threaten global public health, however, uneven surveillance efforts can obfuscate predictions of virus dynamics across local, regional and global scales. The Virus Genomic Epidemiology (VGE) group is interested in genomic capacity building, and in combining real-time genomic sequencing with metrics of population immunity and human mobility to study the impact of ecological and epidemiological factors on the spread of rapidly evolving viruses.
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Dr Nuno Faria
Research interests
My research programme is focused on the evolution and epidemiology of rapidly evolving viruses that circulate in human, vector and animal populations, such as SARS-CoV-2, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika and dengue. Current research topics include: epidemiology, evolution and phylodynamics of viral epidemics; local and regional genomic capacity and outbreak preparedness; and one health approaches for anticipating viral emergence in hotspots of emerging infectious diseases.
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Dr Jaqueline Goes
Research interests
Dr Jaqueline Goes de Jesus completed a BSc in Biomedicine at the Bahia School of Medicine and Public Health, followed by an MSc in Biotechnology in Health and Research Medicine from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, and PhD in Human Experimental Pathology. Jaqueline was part of the ZiBRA project team mapping the Zika virus, and the team that sequenced the first genome of SARS-CoV-2 virus in Brazil, overseeing SARS-CoV-2 sequencing activities in São Paulo as part of the CADDE Project. Jaqueline is a postdoctoral researcher with Professor Ester Sabino at IMT-USP and is currently a visiting postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College. Jaqueline’s research interests are focussed on emerging arboviruses. She has been recognised for her scientific communication as a voice for encouraging students and scientists to pursue a career in academia and empowering disadvantaged groups.
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Mr Darlan Candido
Research interests
After graduating with a masters in Allergy and Immunopathology from the University of São Paulo, Darlan studied for a PhD in Zoology focusing on the genomics and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil and is part of the CADDE project; he was involved in sequencing the first cases of COVID-19 in Brazil, and large studies on genomic sequencing in the region. His research focuses on recent arboviral outbreaks in Latin America (Zika, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever viruses), combining genetic, spatial and ecological information. His interests lie in phylogenetics and phylogeography as tools to recreate and understand the determinants of viral outbreaks and how this information can be translated into public policy recommendations.
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Ms Mayara Bertanhe
Research interests
Mayara received a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the University of São Paulo in 200). She has worked on different university extension and epidemiological surveillance projects, focusing on the fields of Public Health, One Health and Infectious Diseases Surveillance. She has contributed to the One Health Network of the University of São Paulo (2019-2021), Rondon Project of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense (2019), Scientific Team (“Bandeira Científica") of the University of São Paulo (2016-2017) and West Nile Virus Surveillance in Teresina, Piauí of the Federal University of Piauí, Brazil (2019). AShe is now focused on uncovering the molecular epidemiology of viral agents at the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Sao Paulo (IMT USP), and is a fellow in the "Unifying COVID-19 Serology, Genomics and Epidemiology in Brazil'' (COSERGE) Project at DIDE-SHP and IMT-USP (2021-2022). She is currently a PhD student at the Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FM USP, Brazil). She studies the virome of wild animals from the Western Amazon, using viral metagenomic approaches. The main objective of her research is characterizing zoonotic viruses, investigating their pathogenic potential, as well as understanding intra and interspecific relationships of hosts of the viral agents.
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Dr Lewis Buss
Research interests
Dr Lewis Buss completed a masters in Epidemiology in São Paulo, and an MBBS from UCL. Lewis is a medical doctor and researcher, interested in applying standard and novel statistical methodologies to epidemiological studies to provide further understanding of the heterogeneity of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to improve surveillance and ultimately to optimize vaccination strategies.
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Jean-Paul Carrera
Research interests
Jean Paul is a researcher at Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Studies in Panama City and a doctoral student in the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. His research focuses on understanding the transmission dynamics of enzootic and epidemic arthropod-borne-zoonotic viruses in Latin America, with the aim of deciphering the factors that lead to their emergence and adaptation in new environments. To solve these questions, he will integrate clinical, virological, molecular, epidemiological, statistical and mathematical approaches along with the understanding of the impact of the ecological and evolutionary process in viral adaptation. For these purposes, he will use the alphavirus equine encephalitis as a model for viral emergence. His goal is to translate this research into public health policy recommendations for prevention and control. Jean Paul is also interested in real-time outbreak response, virus discovery and viral taxonomy.
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Ms Nilani Chandradeva
Research interests
Nilani achieved a BSc in Biology from ICL, and an MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases from the LSHTM. Prior to starting a 4-year PhD programme in Epidemiology, Evolution & Control of Infectious Diseases in the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Diseases Analyses, Nilani was a research assistant in the Malaria Modelling Group at ICL, working on a project to predict the impact of novel vector control tools against malaria in the Asia-Pacific, with a focus on Papua New Guinea. Nilani’s first rotation is with Dr Nuno Faria and Dr Ilaria Dorigatti to characterise the transmission dynamics of arbovirus outbreaks in Brazil by unifying epidemiological, ecological and genomic data. Nilani is especially interested in the behaviour and biology of mosquito vectors, disease ecology surrounding pathogen transmission and how future environmental changes will influence their spatio-temporal spread and affect the risk of infection in humans.
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Dr Ingra Claro
Research interests
Ingra graduated with a degree in Biomedicine and was part of the ZiBRA project which mapped Zika virus in Brazil. Ingra was part of the CADDE project SARS-CoV-2 sequencing team, developing a rapid RNA SMART-Metagenomics and Rapid Arbovirus sequencing panel during her PhD where she graduated from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Sao Paulo. As a postdoctoral research assistant at ICL Ingra will help to coordinate the integration of serological, genomic and epidemiological data from across 8 cities in Brazil, analyse data, and develop statistical approaches to select samples for genomic sequencing.
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Ms Victoria Cox
Research interests
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Ms Lucy Matkin
Research interests
After completing a BSc in Biology, and masters in Genomic Medicine from QMUL, Lucy became a Scientific Program Manager focusing on producing standard sets to capture and measure health outcomes for patients for the International Consortium of Healthcare Outcome Measures (ICHOM). At the Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Lucy coordinates the operational, logistical, financial and administrative aspects of the scientific research projects undertaken by the team as part of the CADDE and ArboSPREAD projects. Her interests are focussed on human and viral genomic research and how it can improve public health and inform policy.
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Mr Ian Nunes
Research interests
Ian received a master’s in Clinical Oncology, Stem Cells and Cell Therapy from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, which involved the development of a bioinformatics pipeline to identify emerging viruses in patients with a chronic transfusion regime, after graduating with a degree in Biotechnology from the Federal University of Ceará. Ian is now focussed on a PhD, and is experienced in bioinformatics, virology, molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology and plant physiology. Ian’s interests are primarily in developing competitive pipelines for virus discovery and microbiome characterization, and applying machine learning and bio-inspired computing techniques in metagenomics.
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Ms Jocelyne Vasconcelos
Research interests
Jocelyne Vasconcelos received a degree in Biotechnology from the University of London South Bank and a Master's in Medical Biotechnology from the University of Westminster. Jocelyne is the Head of the Health Research Centre of Angola (CISA), and prior to that the Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs at the Angola National Institute of Health Research (INIS). During her PhD, Jocelyne will focus on continuing to provide science-driven responses to health authorities and the global scientific community to inform better decision making, policy design and strategic planning. Jocelyne’s research interests are epidemiological surveillanne of arboviruses and emergent infectious diseases in Angola, to provide a basis for informed policies and address outbreaks on a national and international level and build technical capacities for furthering scientific research.
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Mr Charlie Whittaker
Research interests
As a PhD student at the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at ICL, Charlie’s work involves modelling infectious disease transmission dynamics, across a range of different systems that to date have included malaria, loiasis, ebola and COVID-19. Charlie’s research interests include the comparative role of ecological and anthropic factors in driving transmission dynamics, and how environmental change influences the emergence and spread of emerging and zoonotic diseases.