SFB 1310 | November 20, 17:00
Understanding the evolution and epidemiology of modern and ancient infectious disease agents using phylogenomics and machine learning
Comprehending the evolution and epidemiology of infectious diseases is of vital importance to public health. In this talk I delve into the evolution and epidemiology of infectious diseases over vast timeframes - encompassing months, years, and even millennia. I examine the relatively short-term evolutionary developments and dispersion patterns of prevalent diseases, with an emphasis on concerns such as variant-driven transmission advantages. I further discuss the evolution and geographic dispersal of Lassa virus, and demonstrate our use of machine learning in rapid categorization of viral lineages that identifies important lineage- specific virus substitutions in the Lassa virus genome. Lastly, we trace the evolutionary history of the Hepatitis B virus across thousands of years. This talk emphasizes the benefit of computational methods to enhance our understanding of infectious diseases.
MPI of Geoanthropology
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Contact: Viera Kovacova