Liana Kafetzopoulou from KU Leuven (Belgium) is visiting our lab for the first half of next week. Liana Kafetzopoulou works in the field of genomic epidemiology, where sequencing technologies and rapid pathogen evolution are used to understand the main drivers of infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics, and to design more effective public health interventions. Liana has worked on the sequencing and analysis of several well-known (West African Ebola virus epidemic, SARS-CoV-2 pandemic) and perhaps less well-known (Lassa and Dengue fever, Chikungunya) pathogens, and is one of the authors of WHO guidelines for genomic epidemiology.
Liana's seminar is titled "Viral pathogen genomics: From molecular epidemiology to intra-host variants".
Abstract:
Advances in viral pathogen genomics have significantly enhanced our capacity to understand, monitor, and respond to viral infectious disease threats. Genomic approaches are increasingly valuable for understanding viral infections diseases particularly in the context of transmission, spread and pathogenesis. My research focuses on the use of genomic approaches to study human RNA viruses that contribute substantially to the global disease burden, causing illnesses that range from mild febrile syndrome to severe haemorrhagic fevers. I employ a range of next generation sequencing methodologies to recover whole viral genomes and to generate in-depth viral population data directly from clinical samples, with the aim of conducting molecular epidemiology and virus evolution studies. Here, I will take you through some of my work in the field of human viral pathogen surveillance including work on Lassa virus and emergency response work on Ebola virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and Marburg virus. Finally, I will take you through recent work on sequencing for different clinical samples and for intra-host virus evolution studies, where we have an ongoing project on Lassa virus and a more recent project on Dengue virus.
In the evening, Liana and I will go for dinner at San Diego (Antakalnio g. 17, Sapiegos park) at 1800. If you would like to join us, please let us know at ; Communication in an informal setting can be extremely useful for younger colleagues, both to get to know new people and to learn more about how academic life is organised abroad.