Nuno Faria

My research programme is focused on studying the evolution and epidemiology of rapidly evolving viruses that circulate in human and animal populations, such as SARS-CoV-2, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika and dengue. Current research topics include: epidemiology, evolution and phylodynamics of viral epidemics; local and regional genomic capacity and outbreak preparedness; and implementation of One Health approaches in hotspots of emerging infectious diseases.

Current Initiatives

I coordinate the Brazil-UK CADDE Centre (Centre for Arbovirus Discovery, Diagnostics, Genomics and Epidemiology) with Prof. Ester Sabino from the University of São Paulo. In February 2020, CADDE led the initiative that resulted in the generation, analysis and report of the first SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Latin America in <48 hours. Our team then provided early insights into the epidemiology and genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil and uncovered a three-quarters attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 in the Amazon region by October 2020. In January 2021, our team discovered the first cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Gamma variant of concern in Manaus. I also lead the ArboSPREAD project, a network for surveillance of arbovirus spread and persistence across corridors of ecological suitability between Angola and Brazil that characterised a Zika outbreak caused by Asian genotype lineage in Angola. I have previously co-led the ZiBRA project in northeast Brazil for real-time genome sequencing of Zika virus in Brazil.

Affiliations

I am currently a Reader in Virus Evolution at the Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Imperial College, and I hold a Wellcome Trust and Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship. I am also an Associate Professor at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford since 2019, an Associate of the Oxford Martin School Programme on Pandemic Genomics and an invited Professor in Infectious Diseases at the Institute Tropical Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil. In December 2021 I became part of the World Health Organization Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Arboviruses. Between 2013 and 2017 I was a Research Lecturer in Infectious Disease Control in University of Oxford. My research is currently funded by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society, Medical Research Council, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the John Fell Fund from Oxford University.

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

• Faria NR, Mellan TA, Whittaker C, et al., 2021, Genomics and epidemiology of the P.1 SARS-CoV-2 lineage in Manaus, Brazil, Science, Vol:372, ISSN:0036-8075, Pages:815-821
• du Plessis L, McCrone JT, Zarebski AE, et al., 2021, Establishment and lineage dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in the UK, Science, Vol:371, ISSN:0036-8075, Pages:708-+
• Sabino EC, Buss LF, Carvalho MPS, et al., 2021, Resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus, Brazil, despite high seroprevalence, The Lancet, Vol:397, ISSN:0140-6736, Pages:452-455
• Buss LF, Prete CA, Abrahim CMM, et al., 2021, Three-quarters attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 in the Brazilian Amazon during a largely unmitigated epidemic., Science, Vol:371, ISSN:1095-9203, Pages:288-292
• de Souza WM, Buss LF, Candido DDS, et al., 2020, Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil, Nature Human Behaviour, Vol:4, ISSN:2397-3374, Pages:856-+
• Candido DDS, Claro IM, de Jesus JG, et al., 2020, Evolution and epidemic spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil, Science, Vol:369, ISSN:0036-8075, Pages:1255-1260