Broad researchers are systematically defining the components in both pathogens and their hosts that enable pathogens to cause disease, knowledge that will bolster efforts to develop effective vaccines, rapid diagnostics, and new kinds of therapeutics. They apply next generation, high-throughput sequencing technologies to the creation of tailored sequencing pipelines for some of the world’s most deadly viruses, including Lassa fever and Ebola virus.

Much of the Broad’s research in viral genomics is conducted in conjunction with Harvard University’s FAS Center for Systems Biology, in the lab of Broad Institute Member Pardis Sabeti. The goals of the Sabeti lab are to use computational methods and genomics to understand mechanisms of evolutionary adaptation in humans and pathogens by:

• optimizing sequencing for clinical viral samples
• developing experimental and computational methods for rapid pathogen detection and diagnosis from genome data
• translating our research into real-world deployable tools around the world

Research aims include:

• Developing enhanced genomic tools for clinical diagnosis of microbial disease.
• Studying host and viral genomics of infectious disease.
• Enhancing education and diagnostic capacity.
• Establishing a West African viral diagnosis and surveillance network.