By partnering with West Nile virus surveillance labs across the country, the WestNile 4K Project is planning to sequence more than 4,000 virus genomes to reconstruct a high definition picture of West Nile virus spread and evolution during the last 20 years in the United States. The data that they generate will be immediately released and, along with other entomological data, will be used to uncover local transmission dynamics. As little progress has been made in effectively controlling West Nile virus outbreaks since its emergence, their goal is to use fine-scale transmission networks revealed through virus genomics to better design targeted control measures
Overview
649
Genomes
1
Countries
32
States
42
Institutions
80
Collaborators
Leadership
Nathan D. Grubaugh, M.S., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Public Health in the department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. He spent ~7 years working in the biotech sector before earning a M.S. in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University in 2011 and a Ph.D. in microbiology from Colorado State University in 2016. Nate did his postdoctoral training in pathogen genomics under the guidance of Kristian Andersen at Scripps Research before joining the faculty at Yale in 2018.
Nate is trained as an arbovirologist, and has used his diverse background in private, government, and academic research to develop molecular strategies to detect, track, and understand mosquito-borne virus outbreaks. Having studied the ecology and evolution of West Nile virus during his Ph.D., a primary objective in his lab is to expand this work into using genomic epidemiology to inform targeted control measures.
Nate Grubaugh
Assistant Professor
Yale School of Public Health
Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Ryan C. Smith, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University. He earned his degree in molecular biology at the University of California Riverside working on mosquito genetics, then did his post-doctoral training at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health focusing on mosquito host-pathogen interactions. Ryan joined the faculty at Iowa State in 2015 establishing a research program with both lab- and field-based components to better understand mosquito-borne disease transmission.
These experiences have led Ryan to explore how mosquitoes transmit diseases like malaria and Zika virus. Ryan also oversees mosquito and West Nile virus surveillance in the state of Iowa, working closely with local and state public health partners to monitor potential disease outbreaks and to investigate the epidemiological factors that contribute to West Nile virus transmission. Ryan is a member of the Midwest Regional Center for Vector-borne disease, leading efforts to enhance the capacity to anticipate, prevent, and control vector-borne diseases.
Ryan Smith
Assistant Professor
Iowa State University
Department of Entomology
Kristian Andersen, PhD is an associate professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, with joint appointments in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, and at the Scripps Research Translational Institute. Over the past decade, his research has focused on the complex relationship between host and pathogen. Using a combination of next-generation sequencing, field work, experimentation, and computational biology he has spearheaded large international collaborations investigating the spread and evolution of deadly pathogens, including Zika virus, Ebola virus, West Nile virus, and Lassa virus. His work is highly cross-disciplinary and exceptionally collaborative.
Kristian earned his doctoral degree from the University of Cambridge in immunology and performed postdoctoral work in Pardis Sabeti's group at Harvard University and the Broad Institute. He has received several awards, including the Max Perutz Prize in 2008, a Carlsberg Foundation Fellowship in 2009, and was chosen as a PEW Biomedical Scholar in 2016.
Kristian Andersen
Associate Professor
Scripps Research
Department of Immunology and Microbiology
Team
Karthik Gangavarapu
Graduate Student
Scripps Research
Nate Matteson
Graduate Student
Scripps Research
Refugio Robles
Lab Manager
Scripps Research
Chantal Vogels
Postdoc
Yale School of Public Health
Anderson Brito
Postdoc
Yale School of Public Health
Mary Petrone
Graduate Student
Yale School of Public Health
Partners
City of Sioux Falls
Denise Patton
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
Jeff Blackford
Colorado State University
Greg Ebel
Reyes Murrieta
Joseph Fauver
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Phil Armstrong
John Shepard
Ted Andreadis
John Anderson
Eastern Washington University
Krisztian Magori
Florida Department of Health
Andrea Morrison
Grand Forks Health Department
Todd Hanson
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
Vonnita Barton
Illinois Natural History Survey
Chris Stone
Indiana Department of Health
Bryan Price
Iowa Department of Public Health
Ann Garvey
Julie Coughlin
Kansas Biological Survey / The University of Kansas
Christopher Rogers
Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory / Louisiana State University
Udeni Balasuriya
Rebecca Christofferson
Tarra Harden
Zelalem Mekuria
Laura Peak
Alma Roy
Keith Strother
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Ingrid Garrison
Amie Cook
Maine Medical Center Research Institute
Chuck Lubelczyk
Metropolitan Mosquito Control District
Kirk Johnson
Michigan State University
Michael Kaufman
Ned Walker
Trisha Dubie
Minnesota Department of Health
Dave Nietzel
Mississippi Department of Health
Wendy Varnado
Nebraska Department of Health
Jeff Hamik
Nebraska Public Health Laboratory
Pete Iwen
Vicki Herrera
New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services
Denise Bolton
Abigail Mathewson
North Shore Mosquito Abatement District
Mark Clifton
Ohio Department of Health
Leeanne Garrett
Kevin Sohner
Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory / Oregon State University
Donna Mulrooney
Manoj Pastey
Justin Sanders
Andree Hunkapiller
Noah Lawler
Sarah Greene
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Michael Hutchinson
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Keith Price
San Diego Vector Control
Nikos Gurfield
Saran Grewal
South Dakota Department of Public Health
Chris Carlson
Southern Nazarene University
Caio França
St. Louis County Vector Control
Tony Patullo
Texas Department of State Health Services
Bethany Bolling
University of California, Davis
Chris Barker
Sarah Wheeler
Ying Fang
Lark Coffey
William Reisen
University of Georgia
Daniel Mead
Isabel Ott
University of Iowa / State Hygeinic Lab
Lucy Desjardin
Jeff Benfer
University of South Alabama
Jonathan Rayner
Ryan Wood
John McCreadie
Vermont Department of Health Laboratory
Christine Matusevich
Patti Casey
Eliza Doncaster
Washington Department of Health
Amy Salamone
Elizabeth Dykstra
Erin Knutson
Anne Duffy
Washington State University
Dan Bradway
Becca Wolking
Marla Francis
