| Feb 01, 2025 | I have been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowships - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions ! 
Project abstract Rinderpest virus (RPV) was historically one of the most devastating pathogens affecting cattle, with a global impact unmatched by any other livestock disease. Although largely eradicated in Europe by the late 19th century, RPV continued causing catastrophic outbreaks in Africa and Asia, leading to severe economic and agricultural consequences. The introduction of a vaccine in the 1960s marked a turning point, ultimately leading to the official eradication of RPV in 2011, a landmark achievement in veterinary and human medicine. However, the effects of vaccination on the evolutionary dynamics of RPV remain unexplored. My MSCA proposal aims to investigate how vaccination efforts influenced the evolution of RPV. The main hypothesize is that widespread vaccine use exerted selective pressures on the virus, leading to genetic bottlenecks and reduced genomic diversity over time and across regions. We also suspect that the staggered rollout of vaccination programs worldwide resulted in the emergence of distinct regional RPV lineages. |