COVID-19 is a life-threatening disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that has become a major global public health problem. To date, more than 25 million people around the world have been infected, causing more than 800 thousand deaths, almost a third of which corresponds to Latin American countries.
The genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 of patients allows tracking the epidemiology and evolution of the virus to inform management options and policies and different countries are making efforts towards this under their own conditions on a national level. Given that there are opportunities to learn from experiences in different countries that may lead to new possibilities for collaboration to accelerate research in this field, we are organizing an international symposium focused on SARS-CoV2 sequencing and bioinformatics analysis that may result in a better understanding of epidemiology and make recommendations for managing the pandemic at the national and regional levels.
This initiative is of part of the CABANA project that seeks to increase capacities and promote collaboration in bio-informatics in Latin America to face the challenges of food, human health and biodiversity conservation.
The event will be broadcast with simultaneous translation.
- To share experiences in coordinating research and results of SARS-CoV2 sequencing projects for the management of the pandemic in Latin America. Progress achieved, approaches taken and challenges encountered in different countries will be presented for different countries and will culminate in an open discussion with panelists to stimulate interaction and follow-up topics, all with the aim of increasing bio-informatics capacity and collaboration in Latin America. The symposium will be bilingual in English/Spanish with simultaneous translation over zoom.
October 1 – National initiatives
Welcome and introduction
Jan Kreuze
Integrating the research community in studies of the new coronavirus genome
Guilherme Oliveira, ITV, Brasil
Genomic and Surveillance of SARS-COV-2 in Argentina
Darío Fernández, UBA, Argentina
Molecular Surveillance of SARS-COV-2 in Peru
Omar Cáceres Rey, INS, Perú
Diego A. Álvarez-Díaz, INS – Colombia
Genomics and Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Costa Rica.
Francisco Duarte, jefe del laboratorio de secuenciación del INCIENSA, Costa Rica
Closing Session 1
October 2 – Regional initiatives
Welcome and introduction
Cath Brooksbank
Coordinating SARS-CoV2 sequencing efforts in Latin America
Juliana Leite
Public health response to COVID-19 epidemics using real-time genomic epidemiology and science communication
Anderson Brito
Coordinating SARS-CoV-2 sequencing research in Europe
Guy Cochrane
Panel discussion: What are common challenges and what mechanism can we find for support and collaboration at national and international levels?
PANELISTS SESSION 1
Guilherme Oliveira
Investigador. Instituto Tecnológico Vale (ITV), Brasil
Darío Augusto Fernández Do Porto
Bioinformático, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jan F. Kreuze
Jefe de las unidades de virología y de cuarentena, CIP, Perú
Omar Cáceres Rey
INS, Perú
Diego A. Álvarez-Díaz
INS, Colombia
Francisco Duarte
Jefe del laboratorio de secuenciación del INCIENSA, Costa Rica
PANELISTS SESSION 2
Cath Brooksbank
Head of the EMBL-EBI Training Programme
Dr Anderson Brito is a virologist and bioinformatician. He holds a BSc degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Brasília (UnB), a MSc degree in Microbiology from the University of São Paulo (USP), and a PhD in Computational Biology from Imperial College London. Currently, he is a postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Public Health, based at Grubaugh Lab, investigating the emergence, transmission, and evolution of viruses. In his research he applies multidisciplinary approaches to study the epidemiology of viruses, investigating their spatiotemporal spread using computational tools.
Anderson Brito
Yale School of Public Health, CT, USA
Guy Cochrane
Jefe de European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), EMBL-EBI, UK