Unlocking the Genomic History of Pathogens Through Pathology Archives
About the Project
Pathogen genomics provides a powerful framework for studying evolutionary processes through time. Yet for many pathogens that have profoundly influenced human and animal health, genomic data remain largely confined to contemporary isolates, limiting our ability to understand how present-day populations emerged and responded to past selective pressures. Medical collections, public health archives, and museum specimens preserve an underexplored record of historical infections spanning periods before the widespread introduction of antibiotics, vaccines, and modern disease control measures.
This PhD project will apply ancient DNA approaches to recover pathogen genomes from clinical and veterinary specimens spanning the past two centuries. By generating genomic data from archived slides, biopsies, and other historical specimens, the project will establish temporal genomic datasets that bridge critical transitions in the history of infectious disease control.
Objectives
- Recover and sequence historical pathogen genomes.
- Reconstruct evolutionary histories.
- Investigate long-term evolutionary change.
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