Most viruses remain undiscovered.

We develop and apply genomic approaches for detecting viruses without requiring prior knowledge of what is present. These include metatranscriptomic sequencing, hybridisation capture and computational approaches for recognising highly divergent viral sequences.

Our work spans wildlife, clinical and environmental samples and aims not simply to catalogue viral diversity, but to determine which discoveries matter for human and animal health. We are currently extending this work to important invasive and free-ranging animal populations, including feral pigs, to investigate the viruses they carry and their potential role in the emergence and movement of infectious diseases across Australia.

Why can some viruses cross species barriers while closely related viruses cannot?

We use comparative genomics, phylogenetics and protein structure to investigate the evolutionary constraints shaping viral host range, transmission and emergence.

By combining the rapidly expanding catalogue of viral genomes with structural and evolutionary information, we aim to identify the biological features that distinguish established pathogens from their less understood relatives.

We are particularly interested in how these tools can move viral genomics beyond description towards prediction: helping determine which viral discoveries warrant closer attention.

When viruses emerge, their genomes provide a record of where they have come from and how they are spreading.

We use genomic epidemiology and phylogenetics to investigate emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in Australia. Our work has contributed to understanding the emergence and transmission of viruses including Japanese encephalitis virus, respiratory syncytial virus, SARS-CoV-2 and Hendra virus.

We work closely with public health, diagnostic, veterinary and research partners to translate genomic data into information that can support outbreak response and surveillance.

Australian flying foxes harbour an extraordinary diversity of viruses, including members of viral families containing some of the world’s most important emerging pathogens.

In collaboration with Dr Alison Peel, we use longitudinal field surveillance, metatranscriptomic sequencing and targeted viral enrichment to characterise this largely unexplored virome. A major focus is understanding the diversity and evolution of henipaviruses, coronaviruses and paramyxoviruses, including their relationships to recognised zoonotic pathogens such as Hendra virus.

By placing known pathogens within their broader evolutionary context, we aim to understand what distinguishes viruses capable of disease emergence from the much larger diversity circulating naturally in wildlife.