Virus Evolution
Virus evolution, transmission, and pathogenesis in populations at risk
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have expanded our research program to include SARS-CoV-2 to pursue questions on transmission, factors associated with disease severity, and host selection pressure on the evolution of the virus. Our goal is to integrate systems-wide data and map molecular interaction networks to build predictive models of COVID19 severity.
Objectives
- To determine how the microbiome of the airways impacts disease severity.
- To characterize the intra-host diversity of SARS-CoV-2.
- To quantify the impact of host factors, such as obesity and immunocompromise, on virus diversity, transmission, and pathogenesis.
- To use genomic epidemiology to track the emergence of novel variants and identify transmission clusters.