Eddie Holmes

My research integrates ideas from a number of different fields, most notably evolutionary genetics, virology and the ecology of infectious disease. I am currently concentrating on three main areas, using RNA virus study systems.

Evolutionary genetics

• I am investigating questions such as:
• How adaptable are RNA viruses, what role do recombination and epistasis play in their evolution, and what factors affect their mutation rates?
• What are the fitness trade-offs when viruses infect multiple host species, and what roles do these play in viral emergence?

Comparative genomics

My work in this area includes:

• Large-scale comparative analyses of viral genomes to measure the relative importance of gene duplication, gene loss and lateral gene transfer.
• Modelling genome evolution to learn more about evolutionary mechanisms, and to reconstruct evolutionary history (e.g. are RNA viruses descended from escaped cellular genes?)

Molecular epidemiology

Much of my research in this area fits within the emerging discipline of phylodynamics.

• I am characterizing dengue virus genetic diversity and exploring the evolutionary forces that give rise to it.
• I plan to study the basis of cross-species transmission, and evolutionary basis to persistence, using lyssaviruses (e.g. bat rabies).