News

New Article Published in Cladistics by Marc W. Allard and Eric W. Brown Abstract What are considered fundamental principles within the Willi Hennig Society and published in their journal are not always fully appreciated by many other biological fields that have not been schooled in these disciplines of systematics principles and the reasons for why […]

New Article Published in Cladistics by John Wenzel Abstract In the rush to understand the coronaviruses that threaten human health, authors of many prominent papers have not performed phylogenetic analyses to the standard of the field today. Errors include faulty placement of the root of the phylogeny, outdated methods of reconstruction, poor taxon sampling, inappropriate […]

Article Published: Four Challenges Associated with Current Mathematical Modeling Paradigm of Infectious Diseases and Call for a Shift Shi Chen, Ph.D , Patrick Robinson, M.D., FIDSA, FACP, Daniel Janies, Ph.D, Michael Dulin, M.D., Ph.D Open Forum Infectious Diseases, ofaa333 Abstract: Mathematical models are critical tools to characterize COVID-19 dynamics and take actions accordingly. We identified […]

Cover Image: Global molecular phylogeny of Escherichia coli isolates from the Pathogen Detection project akin to the data used in Ford et al., in this issue of Cladistics entitled “Genetic capitalism and stabilizing selection of antimicrobial resistance genotypes in Escherichia coli”. (Image Credit Daniel Janies and Zachary Witter, University of North Carolina at Charlotte). Small […]

FLAVi: An Enhanced Annotator for Viral Genomes of Flaviviridae Adriano de Bernadi Schneider, Denis Jacob Machado, Sayal Guirales and Daniel A. Janies Viruses 2020, 12(8), 892 Abstract Responding to the ongoing and severe public health threat of viruses of the family Flaviviridae, including dengue, hepatitis C, West Nile, yellow fever, and Zika, demands a greater […]

This seminar aims to summarise the current state of knowledge on An. stephensi in Africa – including its competence to transmit local malaria parasites, geographical origin and dispersal dynamics, capacity to spread to other regions, control methods and programmatic response needed to tackle this emergent future threat. For more information, visit the LSHTM site here: […]

Dr. Cynthia Gibas, UNC Charlotte professor, Mentioned in NY Times article for COVID-19 wastewater testing. Looking to Reopen, Colleges Become Labs for Coronavirus Tests and Tracking Apps The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is waiting for the delivery of technology that will automatically dip into sewage for samples at roughly 20 residence halls. The […]

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: BIOPHARMACEUTICAL APPLIED STATISTICS SYMPOSIUM (BASS) CENTERED AROUND STATISTICAL ASPECTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC September 9-10 Speakers from industry, FDA, and academia presented ~45-50 minute talks followed by 10-15 minute Q&A sessions on the aforementioned theme. In addition to the FDA’s presentation on regulatory guidance of COVID-19 clinical trials, industry presenters this year represent: […]

September 21 – 23, 2020 T2T / HPRC Towards a Complete Reference of Human Genome Diversity is open for registration. Learn more at: https://www.t2t-hprc-2020conference.com/

Global One Health Day 2020 Conference November 5 – 7 7 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EST Learn More and Submit here: https://oia.osu.edu/units/global-one-health-initiative/outreach-and-extension/ongoing-projects/global-one-health-day-conference/2020/abstract-submissions/ The emergence of COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus illustrates the need for continued and expanded intersectoral collaboration and knowledge to meet emerging threats. With our 2020 biennial conference, we aim to bring […]

UNC Charlotte Will Test Students For Coronavirus Through Sewage UNC Charlotte researcher Kevin Lambirth has been outfitting sewer and wastewater pipes underneath the univerity’s dorms with special sampling equipment. The samples will be tested for the coronavirus. Updated Oct. 2, 10 a.m.: UNC Charlotte reports that evidence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was […]

The Ohio State University – Global One Health Initiative Webinar The topic for this October webinar was “Bioinformatics” and included from speakers George Obiero, PhD and Lunayo Accadius from the University of Nairobi, Kenya presenting “Exploitation of translational bioinformatics in animal health,” and Daniel Janies, PhD from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, USA presenting […]

NATURE Research round-up Ford et al., Featured in the Antimicrobial Research Review Read the full review here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02887-0 Resistance genes show persistence Genes that impart antimicrobial resistance are all but certain to take up permanent residence in a bacterium. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte report that, once antibiotic-resistance genes appear, they […]

BIG Seminar – Nov 20th at 2:30 pm Title: Risk Communication and SARS-CoV-2: a European Perspective Dr. Christophe Boehmert In the field of risk communication, scholars try to find the best way to convey information about risks. In the Sars-Cov 2 pandemic, scientists, politicians, the public and other societal groups are all longing for reliable […]

5 critical things disease experts got right about COVID 1. Masks are essential 2. The coronavirus thrives on people being careless 3. Summer wasn’t ever going to stop the pandemic 4. The Trump White House would likely start spreading the virus 5. Patience Read the full post here: https://mashable.com/article/covid-coronavirus-what-science-got-right/

CHANCELLOR GABER SHARES NEWS ON COVID-19 RESEARCH AT UNC CHARLOTTE From Ideas to Answers: Multidisciplinary COVID-19 research at UNC Charlotte addresses community, regional, national and global human concerns Read the full post here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-ideas-answers-multidisciplinary-covid-19-research-gaber/ Watch the interview with BRC’s Dr. Daniel Janies: https://youtu.be/mbeNhM1xzoo

UNC Charlotte’s Dr. Janies WSOCTV Interview: “Experts emphasize vigilance with COVID-19 variants in community” UNC Charlotte professor Dan Janies said the variants discovered in the U.K. and South Africa could have a major impact on local nursing homes and hospitals. “You’re going to have a chance of more infections,” Janies said. “Some will have comorbidities […]

Dr. Shi Chen has received a grant entitled “Data Mining and Transfer Learning for COVID-19 Modeling” from the MIDAS* network. The goal of Dr. Chen’s project is to develop a data-driven workflow (from data mining of neglected sources to deep learning) to complement the currently used, yet nearly a century old, disease modeling paradigm (i.e., […]