The CREID Network and Capacity Strengthening 

Center for Infection and Immunity and the Global Alliance for Preventing Pandemics at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
 

A recent A2CARES workshop, hosted and led by Drs. Ian Lipkin and Thomas Briese at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, provided an invaluable opportunity for A2CARES researchers to gain hands-on experience with the VirCapSeq-VERT technique—an advanced metagenomics-based viral discovery platform. Participants from Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Sri Lanka engaged in a comprehensive training program that covered every step of the sequencing workflow, from nucleic acid extraction and sequencing using Illumina’s NextSeq 2000 platform to data analysis. The workshop not only deepened our understanding of viral genomics but also demonstrated the technique’s high sensitivity, successfully detecting a wide range of viruses in samples previously testing negative for common pathogens. This experience reinforced the importance of next-generation sequencing in uncovering hidden viral threats, shaping future surveillance efforts in regions heavily impacted by emerging infectious diseases.
 
Notably, the workshop identified the Itaya bunyavirus (related to Oropouche) in samples from Putumayo, Ecuador, as well as circulation of Parvovirus B19 in Nicaragua. This training initiative underscores A2CARES’ commitment to strengthening regional genomic surveillance and fostering collaborative research to address global public health challenges.

Award Number U01 AI151788

CREATE-NEO has substantially strengthened capacity by encouraging and supporting CREID Pilot Research Program awardees to transition into Research Center investigators. This includes Dr. Betânia Drumond at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil) who now leads an interdisciplinary team of virologists, wildlife biologists, and ecologists investigating transmission dynamics and the evolution and pathogenesis of re-emerging arboviruses, with an emphasis on yellow fever virus. Dr. Drumond’s team also created science-community outreach programs to increase awareness of arboviruses in the region.

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In November 2024, NIAID leaders joined Dr. Drumond’s team for community outreach to raise awareness of arboviruses in at-risk areas (left to right: Betânia Drumond, UFMG; Jeanne Marrazzo, NIAID; Gabriela Garcia Oliveira, UFMG; Lucy Ruderman, NIAID; Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.

Dr. Eans Tuladhar, first author of the Gemykibivirus manuscript, during a training session at Washington University in St. Louis.

A CREID-ESP team led by Dr. Krishna Manandhar (Tribhuvan University) identified human Gemykibivirus, a small circular DNA virus, in CSF of patients in Nepal with unexplained encephalitis. Whole genome sequencing demonstrated these viruses are closely related to Gemykibiviruses previously reported in CSF of encephalitis patients in Sri Lanka. Together, these observations raise a question as to whether Gemykibivirus might be an etiologic agent of human encephalitis.

Award Number U01 AI151810

Over the past few months, UWARN partners Marta Giovanetti, PhD, and Luiz Carlos Junior Alcantara, PhD, from the Instituto Rene Rachou at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil, in collaboration with Public Health laboratories across Brazil, described the first expansion of Oropouche virus (OROV) beyond the Amazon Basin.  More recently, in partnership with the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation group, they combined phylogeographic analyses and eco-epidemiological data to identify the environmental and human-driven factors facilitating this spread, with a particular focus on its emergence in urbanized areas and its potential expansion across borders.

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Dr. Marta Giovanetti, Faculty and Researcher at Instituto Rene Rachou  at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), in Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil.

Faith Olapido, graduate student, at the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID).

WARN-ID teams in the US and Nigeria continue to make significant strides in expanding the capabilities of wastewater-based pathogen surveillance. After initial deployment on the Redeemers’ University campus and surrounding areas, WARN-ID researchers have begun sampling and sequencing wastewater and environmental samples from Lagos. While in the US, data workflows, visualization tools, and dissemination platforms are being developed for global use.

Award Number U01 AI151812