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Chaoran Chen

@chaoranchen.de
459 followers 108 following 23 posts

Scientific software engineer at ETH Zurich, founder of GenSpectrum.org, co-founder of Pathoplexus.org, always looking for recommendations for board games 🎲 and books 📚

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Reposted by Chaoran Chen
Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 01/07/2026
Our first Annual Report is here! 📊 Covering Aug 2024 (our founding) through 2025: new viruses added, global submissions, software upgrades, & community & governance milestones. True to our values, it includes a full financial report + an audit 🔗 pathoplexus.org/about/govern...
Screenshot of the first page of the pathoplexus annual report 2024-2025, which includes the first few lines of the report, describing the founding of Pathoplexus in August 2024
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Reposted by Chaoran Chen
Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 30/06/2026
1/ 🌍 Our June update is here! Two new pathogens added in response to active outbreaks, over 5,700 new sequences, and a growing community of labs from around the world. Here's what's new in #Pathoplexus 👇 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-06... 📰
A screenshot of all supported viruses on the Pathoplexus front page, with ANDV and BDBV highlighted.
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 15/05/2026
1/ 🚀 Pathoplexus now supports Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), a species of Ebolavirus. BDBV has been associated with past outbreaks of Ebola in the DR Congo and Uganda, & a case has been reported today during response to the current Ebola outbreak. pathoplexus.org/ebola-bdbv #ebola #bdbv #ebolaoutbreak
Image of some of the available pathogens on Pathoplexus, with a red rectangle outlining the new tile for Ebola Bundibugyo virus, with 44 sequences.
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 09/05/2026
1/ 🚀 Pathoplexus now supports the Andes variant of Hantavirus (ANDV). ANDV is the variant identified in the recent MV Hondius cases, & the Hantavirus variant previously identified as having occasional human-to-human transmission. pathoplexus.org/andv #hantavirus #hondius
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 12/03/2026
1/ 🦟 Big news: #Pathoplexus now supports Dengue virus & Yellow Fever virus - two arboviruses responsible for over 400 million infections and up to 94,000 deaths per year. Here's what’s new in our latest update 👇🏻 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-03... 📰
A screenshot of the new Pathoplexus homepage showing all viruses now supported, including Dengue and Yellow Fever, which are circled in red
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Lee Katz @lskatz.github.io · 07/01/2026
> An alternative to GISAID has been gaining ground. In 2024, Chen, Stadler, and others launched Pathoplexus, a platform that also seeks to protect the interests of those uploading sequences but aims to allow data to be shared more freely. And if you love podcasts: open.spotify.com/episode/0wrp...
open.spotify.com
144 - micro binfie Pathoplexus part 1
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Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
“[P]utting data into GISAID is like dropping it in a mail slot in an unmarked building,” says @colincarlson.bsky.social. “It’s wonderful that there’s so much cool stuff in that building. It would be great if we knew who owned it, or who paid for it, or what they plan to do with it.” #IDsky 🧪
science.org
Fresh conflicts erupt around giant database for flu and COVID-19 sequences
Critics say “autocratic” behavior by GISAID could hamper response to a future pandemic
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 28/11/2025
1/ 🚀 Pathoplexus now supports Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVN) (sister viruses in the same genus). MARV has two main clades and causes severe disease with reported fatality rates of 24–88%. You can read more detail about adding Marburg here: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-11...
A screenshot of the front page of Pathoplexus' website, showing the addition of a tile for Marburg Virus.
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Nextstrain @nextstrain.org · 06/11/2025
On Oct 1, 2025, GISAID informed us that they had ended updates to the flat file of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences and associated metadata that we had used to update Nextstrain analyses since Feb 2020. GISAID's stated rationale was that their "resources are limited". 1/5
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Dr Emma Hodcroft @firefoxx66.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Thrilled & honoured to have run the first @pathoplexus.org workshop with @chaoranchen.de @pagasi.bsky.social @kanyerezi30.bsky.social & Arthur Shem Kasambula at @pha4ge.bsky.social on Saturday! 🎉🤝 A fantastic turnout & wonderful time spent with curious users!
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Reposted by Chaoran Chen
Mike Morrison @mikemorrison.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
PI's of BSky: If you had to guess, What percentage of 2nd+ year PhD students in your lab have an @orcid.org?
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
And now NextStrain as well. Next up, will GISAID start charging open-source community tools to have access? That would completely shaft users who contributed to GISAID, where we never agreed to that and assumed GISAID would be good custodians of the data we contributed. They're not.
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 28/08/2025
Finally, CoV-Spectrum is meeting trees 🌳 – this week, we released a new feature to browse the SARS-CoV-2 UShER tree on CoV-Spectrum. With the new feature, you can see a subtree of your variant of interest. 1/4
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 27/08/2025
🗓 Pathoplexus turns ONE! 🎂🎉 In the past year we’ve grown from 4 pathogens to a truly global, community-driven platform for transparent, equitable & impactful pathogen sequence sharing. 📰 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-08... 1/10
An image of a birthday cake with scientific doodles around it, 9 colourful candles, and the Pathoplexus logo in the middle, with the words 'Happy 1 year'
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 11/08/2025
If you would like to find out more about Loculus, you can still register for the Loculus tutorial at the [BC]2 Basel Computational Biology Conference 2025 on 8 September! Registration closes on 1 September. www.bc2.ch/tutorials-wo...
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SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics @sib.swiss · 11/08/2025
“Loculus is remarkable for enabling efficient and secure sharing of pathogen genomic data, which is crucial for public health responses to infectious diseases." 🥁That’s what the committee said about this #SIBRemarkableOutputs 2024 👉Discover the output: tinyurl.com/53arz2rz
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Dr Emma Hodcroft @firefoxx66.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Interested to learn about how to run your own Loculus (the database code behind @pathoplexus.org)? 🤔🖥️ Sign up for the Loculus Tutorial on Mon 8 Sept at BC2 Conference (@sib.swiss‬) in Basel, run by @chaoranchen.de & Anya Parker! 🧬 Register: www.bc2.ch/registration... #bioinformatics #openScience
Image showing information on the BC2 (Basel Computational Biology Conference) from 8-10 Sept 2025. Says: "Tutorial: build a microbial genomic sequence database with Loculus - Register now. 8 Sept 2025 - Biozentrum, Basel. Early bird until 30 June 2025"
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Biozentrum, University of Basel @biozentrum.unibas.ch · 04/08/2025
Loculus, an open-source software for building pathogen sequencing databases, is on the shortlist for #SIBRemarkableOutputs 2024. It’s a joint project by the teams of @neher.io, @tanjastadler.bsky.social and @firefoxx66.bsky.social xx66.bsky.social. Congratulations!
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Dr Emma Hodcroft @firefoxx66.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
📢New job posting!📢 Are you excited by the idea of building global infrastructure to make pathogen sequencing more accessible, interpretable, and equitable? 🧑🏻‍💻🧬 My group at @swisstph.ch has an opening working with ARTIC2, @pathoplexus.org, & Loculus - read on! 1/5
An image showing the ARTIC and Pathoplexus logos connected by blue lines, with the text "Hiring: post-doc/software engineer" and "Global open-source pathogen tools" and "Join Swiss TPH, Work on ARTIC2 and Pathoplexus, Basel, Switzerland"
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 15/07/2025
🗓️As we close in on 11 months of Pathoplexus, we’re pleased to announce many new direct sequence uploads and some exciting new features that expand Pathoplexus’ utility! 📰 You can see our full News Item here: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-07-14-july-update 1/9
Screenshot of the July Update News article on the Pathoplexus website
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
You might be wondering why we haven't updated outbreak.info for months. Well, the reason is that GISAID cut our access in January - as they did others. Without telling us. After a ♾️ back and forth, that is now permanent. More on that soon - and why GISAID should not be trusted with critical data.
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 22/05/2025
📢Today Pathoplexus announces the inclusion of 2 new viral pathogens: RSV (A & B) and HMPV. These respiratory viruses cause a serious health burden, particularly in infants & the vulnerable, & Pathoplexus aims to support sequence sharing to improve understanding & response. 1/4
Screenshot of the homepage of Pathoplexus, showing tiles to navigate to the supported pathogens CCHF, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, HMPV, Mpox, RSV-A, RSV-B, and West Nile virus.
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SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics @sib.swiss · 13/05/2025
🤔Interested in building and managing microbial genomic databases? Join the hands-on tutorial on #Loculus & learn how to set up, customize & deploy Loculus for your projects. 🔹 Tutorial organized by @chaoranchen.de & Anna Parker, from @ethz.ch 📆8 sept at #BC2Basel 👉 Register: tinyurl.com/5n8w3pwb
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Lee Katz @lskatz.github.io · 28/04/2025
🚀 New proof-of-principle: An interactive, searchable MLST hash database... all in your browser! 🔥 Live demo ➡️ lskatz.github.io/mlst-hash-te... A natural extension of the hash database spec I developed last year: lskatz.github.io/mlst-hash-te... 🧵
lskatz.github.io
Home
Using the MLST hash template as an example genomic epi database
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Sophie Seidel @seidels.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Interested in #Bayesian #phylogenetics? 🧬 Join the Taming the BEAST workshop — theory + hands-on tutorials incl. #singleCell, #devBio & #lineageTracing! 📍Beijing, July 14–18, 2025 📅 Apply by April 25 I'll teach on TiDeTree & cell trees 🔗 taming-the-beast.org/news/Deadlin...
taming-the-beast.org
Application deadline extended for Taming the BEAST in Beijing!
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 16/04/2025
The time is flying by.. Hard to believe that it has already been 7 months since we started Pathoplexus!
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 16/04/2025
🗓️ Pathoplexus has now been around for 7 months! And both we and our users have been busy - so we wanted to share some updates & highlights! 📰 You can see our full News Item here: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-04-16-spring-update 1/9
pathoplexus.org
Pathoplexus | Pathoplexus Spring Update
Pathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.
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Duncan MacCannell @drm.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
I think I may buy a few dozen copies of this book and just hand them out to strangers. bookshop.org/p/books/who-...
bookshop.org
Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service
The Untold Story of Public Service
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SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics @sib.swiss · 04/02/2025
The SIB Swiss Institute of #Bioinformatics is on Bluesky! We’re a non-profit organization dedicated to biological & biomedical #dataScience, supporting research & innovation. Follow us for updates on personalized health, biodiversity, pathogens, open science and more. Visit us at sib.swiss
sib.swiss
SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics | Data scientists for life
As a leading organization in biological and biomedical data science, SIB maximizes scientific impact through FAIR data, biodata resources, and innovation.
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Dr. Bethany Allen @bethanyjallen.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Today I have resigned from my position as a Data Editor at Proceedings B. I believe the journal does great work, but it feels wrong to voluntarily spend my time holding authors to account on behalf of the Royal Society, while the Society refuses to hold its own Fellows to account.
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Tanja Stadler @tanjastadler.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Major cuts planned in SRF science journalism in Switzerland - the public service media. Scientists today launched a petition ‘Facts Instead of Misinformation: For Strong Science Journalism!’ Become one of over 1,800 signatories www.openpetition.eu/ch/petition/...
openpetition.eu
Facts Instead of Misinformation: For Strong Science Journalism! - Online-Petition
Open Letter from the Scientific Community to SRF Dear Management of SRG, Dear Executive Board of SRF, Dear Media and Science Policy Makers, We are deeply concerned about SRF’s plans to make significan...
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 05/02/2025
Thanks to huge efforts by Uganda’s Central Public Health Laboratory, Uganda Ministry of Health, UVRI, Africa CDC, & SANBI, UWC the sequence from the Ebola Sudan case in Kampala is now available on Pathoplexus pathoplexus.org/seq/PP_0011C... w full analysis here: virological.org/t/near-real-...
Screenshot of the virological post on the Ebolavirus sequenceScreenshot of the sequence on pathoplexus
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Andrew Rambaut (🐏🎀) @arambaut.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
First genome sequence from the Ugandan Ebolavirus outbreak with analysis: virological.org/t/990 and first filovirus genome submitted to Pathoplexus database: pathoplexus.org/seq/PP_0011C.... Great (and rapid) work from the National Health Laboratory, UVRI and partners.
virological.org
Near Real-Time Genomic Characterization of the 2025 Sudan Ebolavirus Outbreak in Uganda’s Index Case: Insights into Evolutionary Origins
Introduction Case History: On January 30, 2025, the Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus (SUDV) Disease in Kampala, Uganda, following the death of a healthcare worker at Mula...
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 21/01/2025
Interested in finding out more about @pathoplexus.org? We're running two Information/Q&A sessions! 22 Jan 15-17.00 CET 4 Feb 16-18.00 CET Come join us & bring your questions, to find out more about using & sharing data with Pathoplexus! 😁 Sign up here: forms.gle/YRRZA1rRtgYy...
forms.gle
Pathoplexus Online Introduction and Q&A
Thank you for your interest in Pathoplexus! Are you interested in using Pathoplexus to upload your own sequences, either as Open or Restricted-Use? Do you have questions about how submission works, ...
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 14/01/2025
We have just received an updated dataset from GISAID for cov-spectrum.org. Many thanks to the GISAID team for fixing the data feed!
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 10/01/2025
Information for CoV-Spectrum users: The GISAID data on CoV-Spectrum has not been updated since 23 December due to an interruption in the data feed. We have contacted GISAID regarding this issue and are hopeful for a resolution soon.
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Andrew Page @andrewjpage.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
I'm putting together a Microbial Bioinformatics starter pack to help get everyone connected in our community. Let me know if there are any bluesky users to be added and share so that twitter refugees can tune back in to the fantastic world microbes go.bsky.app/3ezLo7e
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Noémie Lefrancq @noemielefrancq.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Incredibly excited to share that our manuscript was just published in @nature.com ! What a way to start the new year! 🎉 buff.ly/4gyYCzx We present phylowave, a framework that enables to learn the fitness dynamics of pathogens from phylogenies. 🧵 A thread... 1/n #IDSky #IDModelling
buff.ly
Learning the fitness dynamics of pathogens from phylogenies - Nature
Phylowave, an innovative phylogenetic approach, can identify the main circulating pathogen lineages with increased fitness and the associated genetic changes, enabling the timely identification of…
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DrYak @dryak.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy · 20/12/2024
Our group CBG at ETHZ: We are excited to share that our new tool VILOCA has been published! VILOCA is a novel method for mutation calling and local haplotype reconstruction from diverse viral short-read and long-read sequencing data. It has already proven to be useful in various settings […]
mstdn.science
Original post on mstdn.science
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 16/12/2024
GenSpectrum just added a mpox dashboard using data from @pathoplexus.org – see genspectrum.org
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Áine O'Toole @aineotoole.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
@pathoplexus.org now accepting MPXV genomes. I've played around with it's upload interface and it's genuinely so intuitive to use and has a lot of great error catching functionality!
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 09/12/2024
Our Executive Board decided to prioritize adding mpox to Pathoplexus based on feedback from the community. This included a letter from those working on mpox & in areas affected by mpox, asking that the virus be added. Community involvement is a key part of Pathoplexus. 2/7
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 09/12/2024
Today Pathoplexus announces the inclusion of a new viral pathogen: mpox (previously known as monkeypox). Within the context of the current mpox outbreaks and ongoing health concerns, Pathoplexus aims to support sequence sharing to improve both understanding and response. 1/7
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Tanja Stadler @tanjastadler.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
The life of cells, recorded www.nature.com/articles/s41.... We dive into the opportunities of DNA recording for understanding single cell dynamics. Fantastic collaboration with @shendure.bsky.social, @elowitzlab.bsky.social, @james-gagnon.bsky.social, and @schierlab.bsky.social labs.
nature.com
The lives of cells, recorded - Nature Reviews Genetics
Recent advances in genome engineering are enabling the recording of cellular histories into genomes, with single-cell and spatial omics technologies enabling their reconstruction into cellular lineage...
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Tanja Stadler @tanjastadler.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
We are excited to share our new preprint „Bayesian phylodynamic inference of multi-type population trajectories using genomic data“ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Using BEAST2, you can estimate past population sizes and spillover events between populations based on genetic sequencing data. 1/2
biorxiv.org
Bayesian phylodynamic inference of multi-type population trajectories using genomic data
Phylodynamic methods provide a coherent framework for the inference of population parameters directly from genetic data. They are an important tool for understanding both the spread of epidemics as we...
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Chaoran Chen @chaoranchen.de · 30/11/2024
Thank you, Swiss Academies, for awarding @pathoplexus.org with the National ORD prize! To summarize our lightning talk and our fundamental beliefs: (1) It is crucial to make it easy to share and use data which includes having a user-friendly interface, a simple API and good documentation. 1/3
Our foundation for open data:
- Easy to share and use
- Allows time-limited protection
- Gives credit to data submitters
- Transparent and democratic governance
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 28/11/2024
It's wonderful to have initiatives like this to support, recognise, and reward #OpenData work. Congratulations to the other 3 fantastic winners, and to the whole Pathoplexus team, who couldn't all be with us last night! 2/2
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 28/11/2024
We're incredibly honoured to be winners of the Swiss Academies of Arts & Sciences National Prize for Open Research Data 2024! 🎉🎊 "Pathoplexus ensures open access and provides a cutting-edge infrastructure for interactive and programmable data exploration" akademien-schweiz.ch/en/medien/pr... 1/2
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Tanja Stadler @tanjastadler.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Do you want to track virus variants for H5N1, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and the West Nile Virus? Check out our new genspectrum.org @GenSpectrum dashboard - building upon the successful features of cov-spectrum.org!
genspectrum.org
GenSpectrum Dashboards
GenSpectrum is an interactive dashboard to query and analyze pathogen sequences, currently available for Influenza H5N1, RSV, SARS-CoV-2 and the West Nile virus.
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