Putting genomic surveillance at the heart of viral epidemic response. (360G-Wellcome-206298_Z_17_Z)

£1,721,712

This proposal is to develop an end-to-end system for processing samples from viral outbreaks to generate real-time epidemiological information that is interpretable and actionable by public health bodies. Fast evolving RNA viruses (such as Ebola, MERS, SARS, influenza etc) continually accumulate changes in their genomes that can be used to reconstruct the epidemiological processes that drive the epidemic. Based around a recently developed, single-molecule portable sequencing instrument, the MinION, we will create a 'lab-in-a-suitcase' that will be deployed to remote and resource-limited locations. These will be used to sequence viral genomes from infected patients which will then be uploaded to a central database for rapid analysis. We will develop methods for a wide-range of emerging viral diseases. Novel molecular biology methods will allow us to sequence individual viruses within a patient. Bioinformatics tools will be developed simple enough for non-bioinformaticians to use, without reliance on Internet connectivity. We will develop software to integrate these data and associated epidemiological knowledge to reveal the processes of transmission, virus evolution and epidemiological linkage. Finally we will develop a web-based visualization platform where the outputs of the statistical analyses can be interrogated for epidemiological insights within days of samples being taken from patients.

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Grant Details

Amount Awarded 1721712
Applicant Surname Rambaut
Approval Committee Science Interview Panel
Award Date 2017-04-05T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2016/17
Grant Programme: Title Collaborative Award in Science
Internal ID 206298/Z/17/Z
Lead Applicant Prof Andrew Rambaut
Other Applicant(s) Dr Joshua Quick, Dr Trevor Bedford, Prof Christophe Fraser, Prof Ian Goodfellow, Prof Marc Suchard, Prof Nicholas Loman, Prof Philippe Lemey
Partnership Value 1721712
Planned Dates: End Date 2024-07-31T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2017-08-01T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country United Kingdom
Region Scotland