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Project

Inter- and intra-community dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 spread by whole-genome sequencing and phylodynamic analysis (Analysis)

Since the introduction of SARS-CoV-2, the virus has been spreading
very rapidly and has caused severe respiratory pathology around the world. A pandemie ensued within 
a short time. The virus originated from a zoonotic event, where likely a bat or even a pangolin was 
carrying the virus and infected a human by animal-to-human transmission. This means that the virus 
is still seeking an optimal fit with its new host, the human. This is, for example, illustrated by 
a still suboptimal binding between the human ACE2-receptor and the receptor-binding domain of the 
viral spike protein. This evolutionary pressure drives mutations that allows us to closely follow 
the evolution of the virus. Our research question in this project proposal is how does this new 
coronavirus spread among the population bath at micro level (e.g. in a school, or hospita!) and at 
macro level (nationwide)? We propose to study the spatial distribution of Belgian SARS-CoV-2 
clusters by a combination of full-length sequencing and phylodynamic analysis to assess how the 
spatio-temporal distribution of Belgian clusters evolved during the lockdown in March and April, 
during the release of these measures in May and June, and trom the past summer period (June to 
August). Furthermore, we aim to investigate new positive cases during the next 12 months in a near 
real-time fashion to describe the evolution of the circulation dynamics
through time and assess the impact of COVID19 measures on spatial transmission over time.
 

Date:1 Nov 2020 →  31 Oct 2021
Keywords:Full length sequencing, phylogeography, dynamics of infection transmission
Disciplines:Computational evolutionary biology, comparative genomics and population genomics, Epidemiology