EPPIcenter Seminar: Dr. Charles Whittaker - Integrating Epidemiological, Serological, and Genomic Data to Unravel Arboviral Transmission

Dr. Charles Whittaker - "Integrating Epidemiological, Serological, and Genomic Data to Unravel Arboviral Transmission: Insights from Yellow Fever in São Paulo and Dengue in Luanda"

Shifts in arboviral risk are shaped not just by the virus itself, but by the tangled ecology that links humans, wildlife, mosquitoes and our changing environment. This talk will present work harnessing epidemiological, serological, genomic and ecological data(ranging from non-human-primate surveillance in São Paulo to test-negative serosurveys in Luanda) to reconstruct how dengue, yellow fever and other epidemic-prone viruses emerge, spread and evolve; and highlight how integrated, multi-modal surveillance - combining real-time genomics, serology and environmental sensing - can deliver early warnings, map transmission hotspots and steer timely, targeted interventions to pre-empt outbreaks. 

Dr. Charles Whittaker is a Sir Henry Wellcome Research Fellow at Imperial College London and, from July 2025, an Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases & Vaccinology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. His work focuses on the dynamics, detectability and control of pathogens with pandemic potential, and uses state-of-the-art analytical approaches spanning viral phylodynamics, epidemiological modelling and machine learning to enhance preparedness and response strategies for public health emergencies. Central to this work is a focus on equity, addressing how the inequitable distribution of resources hinders effective outbreak response, and developing solutions to ensure everyone is protected from pandemic threats. At Berkeley, he will lead the Pandemic & Epidemic Threat Analysis Lab (PETAL), whose mission is to generate actionable insight - through data integration and open science - to anticipate, detect and curb emerging biological threats.

Join us at the EPPIcenter: 499 Illinois St, Suite 230 or on Zoom