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Verena

@viralemergence.org

🦠 Yale-based, NSF-funded Institute for pandemic prediction. 💻 How we do it: data, biology, AI, and team science. ⚖️ Why we do it: scientific discoveries and global health security. ➡️ See more at viralemergence.org.

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Verena @viralemergence.org · 02/06/2025

An update from the team on the uncertain future of our program and the impact of NSF budget cuts. Please share and reach out 🦠

Some difficult news from the team:

In NSF's FY25-26 Budget Request to Congress, we learned that our program will take a whopping 50% cut - meaning that in September, we'll be $1.25m short of an operating budget that currently supports a cohort of seven PhD students, four postdocs, and three full-time staff.

Verena is one of the largest and last pandemic prevention-focused programs in the United States: since 2020, we've supported the training of over 60 postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. Our researchers have established unique laboratory resources for studying animal immune systems, and discovered new antiviral immune adaptations in bats; developed risk assessment algorithms for wildlife and livestock viruses, and diagnostic algorithms for viruses like dengue, Ebola, and Zika; and quantified the effects of climate change, deforestation, and factory farming on spillover risk. Everything we develop is 100% open source, and our data has supported the research of nearly 150 external researchers in 21 countries to date.

We have three months to make up our budget shortfall. Every dollar spent on Verena supports not just our team, but the community of researchers who use our data, code, and resources. You can help us by sharing this post, and reaching out if you're able to support a unique and vulnerable program. Or just head over to viralemergence.org, and take a look at what we do. 🦟 🦇 🦠

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Verena @viralemergence.org · 01/01/2025

Kicking off 2025 with some exciting news: we're delighted to welcome two new full-time staff data scientists, Dr. Cecilia Sánchez and Collin Schwantes, to our team! Stay tuned for related (and exciting!) updates on database improvements, scientific resources, and new research initiatives.

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Verena @viralemergence.org · 18/12/2024

This week we're in Denver, CO at the cross-Biology Integration Institute meeting, talking about how to foster interdisciplinary team science and make the most of five years of collaboration 💫

A person standing in front of a screen presenting a graphical abstract for Verena

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Verena @viralemergence.org · 01/04/2024

Want to join #TeamEmergence? The call is once again open for postdocs or late-stage PhD students to join our team as Fellows in Residence: a 6- or 12-month virtual collaborator status with a $5k stipend and tons of professional development opportunities! viralemergence.org/grants

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Verena @viralemergence.org · 05/12/2023

So how does Bluesky feel about open science?

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