SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Informatics:

EMBL Knowledge-Exchange Workshop

Bridging Research into Healthcare

Overview

This special knowledge-exchange event provides an opportunity for key research and healthcare scientists in the EMBL Member States to discuss challenges, opportunities and best practice in managing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic using genomics and informatics-based approaches.

We will convene experts in high-throughput sequencing and data processing, in sequence-data analysis and sharing, and in phylogenetics and epidemiological analysis. Our goal is to ensure that all EMBL member states have access to the expertise to deploy sequence-based approaches to national management of the pandemic.

Programme

Monday 22 March 2021

This programme may be subject to change.

Time (CET)SubjectSpeaker
09:30-09:45Welcome and opening remarksEwan Birney – EMBL-EBI, UK
09:45-11:10Session 1: Sequencing and processing
Chair – Ewan Birney
 
09:50-10:10The COG-UK project and COVID-19 sequencing in the UKSharon Peacock – University of Cambridge, UK
10:10-10:30The Danish experienceMads Albertsen – Aalborg University, Denmark
10:30-10:50The Dutch Experience Bas Oude Munnink – Erasmus MC, The Netherlands
10:50-11:10The French EMERGEN SARS-CoV-2 surveillance programmeBruno Coignard – Santé publique France 
11:10-11:30Discussion panel:
Sequencing challenges and how might we address them?
 
11:30-11:50Short break 
11:50-13:15Session 2: Analysis and data sharing
Chair – Rolf Apweiler
 
11:55-12:15The European COVID-19 data platformGuy Cochrane – EMBL-EBI, UK
12:15-12:35Tracking the emergence and spread of new SARS-CoV-2 strains through EuropeEmma Hodcroft – University of Bern, Switzerland
12:35-12:55The Austrian experienceAndreas Bergthaler – Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria
12:55-13:15Discussion panel:
Data sharing challenges and how to address them?
 
13:15-14:00Lunch break 
14:00-15:25Session 3: Phylogenetics and epidemiology
Chair Emma Hodcroft
 
14:05-14:25Integrating genomics and epidemiologyMoritz Gerstung – EMBL-EBI, UK
14:25-14:45Viral phylogenomics at scaleNick Goldman – EMBL-EBI, UK
14:45-15:05COVID-19 phylodynamics and application to public healthOliver Pybus – University of Oxford, UK
15:05-15:25Discussion panel:
Challenges bridging genomics and epidemiology into healthcare
 
15:25-15:40Short break 
15:40-16:25Round table:
How do we distill current experience and share best practice across member states?
How can EMBL best support these efforts?
 
16:25-16:40Concluding remarks and next steps,
Rolf Apweiler
 

Date: 22 March 2021

Location: virtual

Contact: iva.gavran@embl.de


Scientific organisation

Ewan Birney – EMBL-EBI, UK

Cath Brooksbank – EMBL-EBI, UK

Juergen Deka – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

Event organisation

Iva Gavran, Elisabeth Wintersteller – EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

Sam Hester – EMBL-EBI, UK

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