Overview
This seminar will discuss the analysis of 2 sets of SARS-CoV-2 sequences which include imported and circulating viruses at the inception of Ghana’s outbreak, and circulating viruses 2-3 months after Ghana’s first reported cases. We will present on the adaptations on the ARCTIC protocols we carried out in sequencing batch, discuss the benefits inured by the ARCTIC V3 primers and relative ease of sequencing on the MiSeq and Nanopore platforms. We will also analyse the Ghanaian viruses, describe their evolution relative to other SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks and the observed transmission patterns in Southern Ghana.
Speakers
Joyce Ngoi
Mrs. Joyce Ngoi is the manager of the Next Generation Sequencing core facility at the University of Ghana based at the West African Centre for Cell biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) and at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research (NMIMR). She helps to facilitate genomics research at the university by providing NGS services as well as consultation and expert assistance in strategic planning and development of projects that require sequencing.
Peter Quashie
Dr. Peter Quashie is a Senior Research Fellow at WACCBIP-UG. He holds a PhD from McGill University where he specialised in drug resistance mechanisms of HIV. He followed this up with postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto. Peter Joined WACCBIP in 2019 funded by a Crick African Network- African Career Accelerator Award. Prior to Ghana’s COVID-19 outbreak, he was studying the impact the high HIV diversity in Ghana and West Africa on the potential success of newer antiretroviral regimens if introduced in West Africa. Having a keen interest in viruses of pandemic concern, Peter currently leads WACCBIP’s SARS-CoV-2 research initiatives spanning molecular and seroepidemiology studies, host:virus interactions and drug discovery
Gordon A. Awandare
Webinar Details
Categories: COVID-19
