Skip to main content

Background on research

nature

The Next Chapter for African Genomics
Nature, February, 2020

How Zika Conquered The Americas
The Atlantic, May 2017

How Ebola Adapted To Us
The Atlantic, November 2016

nature

Viral Evolution – The History Of Lassa virus
Nature Reviews Genetics, September 2015

Opinions and Commentaries

Science-Friday

How To Track And Stop The Spread Of The Coronavirus Outbreak
NPR Science Friday (podcast), January 2020

nature

HIV’s Patient Zero Exonerated
Nature News, October 2016

nature

The Ebola Questions
Nature News, October 2014

lancet

Obituary – Sheik Humarr Khan
The Lancet, August 2014

Videos

Arming the outposts in the war against Ebola
Part of the “Adventures in Genomics” series from Illumina. Described how staff from the Broad and KGH sequenced Ebola virus during the 2013-2016 epidemic.

WASH Facility – Lassa Fever Prevention
An informational video by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Network on Lassa Fever prevention filmed in part the Kenema Government Hospital’s Lassa Fever laboratory.

Future of Genomic Medicine, 2017
VHFC researcher, Dr. Kristian Andersen talks at the Future of Genomic Medicine conference about how the consortium is using genomic technologies to track the spread of viruses such as Zika, Ebola, and Lassa.

The 2014 Ebola Outbreak & The Risk Of Future Pandemics
The 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic ravaging West Africa was by far the largest outbreak of Ebola virus ever recorded. In this passionate talk at the EMBL “Science and Society 2015” lecture series, Dr. Kristian Andersen talks about the work VHFC researchers performed during the epidemic.

ACEGID: Foundational Training in Genomics and Molecular Biology
Students in the 2015 ACEGID summer training workshop with the Sabeti lab at Harvard University and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT share their experiences.

ACEGID: Donning and Doffing of Personal Protective Equipment
Part of the ACEGID educational series.

ACEGID: Lab Role in 2014 Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone
Part of the ACEGID educational series.

ACEGID: DNA Cloning and Its Applications
Part of the ACEGID educational series.

Rapid Ebola Test
Infectious disease specialist Dr. John Schieffelin and Robert Garry, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Tulane University, explain how a rapid Ebola test co-developed by Corgenix Medical Corporation works and why it’s a potential game-changer.

To crack Ebola’s code, scientists search for animal host
PBS Science correspondent Miles O’Brien follows epidemiologists in Sierra Leone on their hunt for deadly diseases.

Can Math Beat Disease?
National Geographic Emerging Explorer and VHFC researcher Pardis Sabeti is on a mission to combat infectious disease. Her weapon of choice? Complex algorithms.

Emerging Diseases or Emerging Diagnoses?
Harvard Research Scientist Stephen Gire created this video describing the Sabeti Lab work on “Emerging” diseases for the NIH Common Fund video competition.

DIY SCIENCE: Hunting for valuable data in rural Africa
VHFC researchers Ridhi Tariyal and Stephen Gire describe their efforts to collect data in rural Sierra Leone.

Pardis Sabeti at PopTech
Dr. Pardis Sabeti describes her efforts to understand the mechanisms behind evolutionary adaptation in humans and pathogens. The talk was presented at the annual PopTech conference in Camden, ME.

Cell Video Abstract
VHFC research generated a sequencing catalog of 200 Lassa virus genomes. Unlike the latest Ebola virus outbreak that is fueled by human-to-human transmissions, Lassa virus infection mainly results from reservoir-to-human infections.

Cell Video Abstract
Erica Saphire and colleagues describe the remarkable plasticity demonstrated by the Ebola virus protein VP40, which undergoes at least three distinct structural conformations to carry out different functions in the life cycle of the virus.

Interviews at Kenema Government Hospital
Dr. Donald S. Grant, Richard Fonnie and James Bangura, talk about their work in the Lassa Fever Program at the Kenema Government Hospital, and about the impact the disease has on communities in Sierra Leone.

Tour of the Lassa facilities at Kenema Government Hospital
Richard Fonnie gives a tour of the facilities at Kenema Government Hospital.