Howdy, Ebel Lab Fans!
Xenosurveillance has been an ongoing project in the lab for many years. The goal has been to bring low-cost, noninvasive surveillance into resource-poor and vulnerable settings, including Senegal, Liberia and most recently Guatemala. The effort has involved several trainees including Doug Brackney, Nathan Grubaugh, Joseph Fauver, James Weger-Lucarelli, Claudia Ruckert, Bekah McMinn, Delaney Worthington, Emma Harris, and a range of collaborators including Brian Foy, Dan Olson and Valeria Scorza. The project has been funded by the US Department of Defense, the CSU Office of the Vice President for Research and One Health Institute and the US National Institutes of Health.
It’s great to see xenosurveillance and community efforts around disease-monitoring getting attention on a large platform, and a pleasant reminder that science need not happen within a vacuum. Viruses don’t care about borders, and nor should our efforts at disease monitoring and prevention.
The article (also available in audio format on the same page):