COG-UK News and Events

The latest news, blogs, events and videos across the COG-UK consortium

Blog

28 Feb 2023

“Schemes like this are essential in helping future bioinformaticians enter the field”: reflections from recipients of the COG-UK Early Career Funding Scheme

Our Early Career Funding Scheme provides support to early career scientists who contributed towards the work of COG-UK. Our collective efforts, output and impact were a direct result of the...

[Image credit: Bethany Lavin Photography – www.bethanylavinphotography.com ]

Blog

9 Feb 2023

Using genomics to track hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections

Dr Sam Robson is a Reader in Genomics and Bioinformatics, and the Bioinformatics Lead at the Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI) at the University of Portsmouth. During the COVID-19 pandemic,...

Blog

7 Feb 2023

The integration of genomic sequencing into public health practice in Northern Ireland

In recent months – reflecting on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic – the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency (PHA) has been working to understand how the science of pathogen...

Blog / News / Women in COG

24 Jan 2023

Snapshots of Women in COG: Scientific Excellence During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Book

This book showcases the experiences not just of those interviewed for the monthly Women in COG interview series but also those that have helped to deliver the COG-Train global genomic...

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Blog

16 Jan 2023

The use of whole genome sequencing for SARS-CoV-2 variant monitoring

Between 2020 and 2022, over 50,000 COVID-19 samples were collected for sequencing from the population of Northern Ireland through national swab tests. To avoid becoming overwhelmed by the large number...

Blog

16 Dec 2022

A detailed look at the benefits of rapid SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing to inform infection control decisions

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for large-scale genomic sequencing that can be delivered at a pace to inform public health and infection control decisions. We spoke to Dr...

Blog / Events / Women in COG

7 Dec 2022

“I want to be able to push the boundaries all the time”: In conversation with Dr Sam Barrell, CBE

For the last edition of Women in COG, our Associate Director, Dr Katerina Galai, spoke to Dr Sam Barrell about her career as an accomplished healthcare leader, including her leadership...

Blog / COG Train

19 Nov 2022

“It was a great way to share my knowledge to something that could contribute to a better world”: speaking with COG-Train course’s Organisers

COG-Train delivered the Viral Genomics and Bioinformatics Virtual Course for scientists based in Asia, between 22-26 August 2022, in collaboration with the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Savitribai...

Blog / COG Train / Events / Women in COG

17 Nov 2022

“The pandemic allowed me to build a network that I had always dreamed of”: In conversation with Professor Mariana Viegas

During the peak of the pandemic Professor Mariana Viegas (Professor of Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina), saw an opportunity...

Blog / Events / Women in COG

7 Nov 2022

“You don’t have to be a Professor at a top university to contribute”: In conversation with Dame Kate Bingham

Professor Sharon Peacock was in conversation with Dame Kate Bingham for our October Women in COG edition, where they discussed her experiences of leading the UK Vaccine Taskforce, the importance...

Picture of set of 7 hands in spoon position to form a shape of a lamp bulb

Blog / COG Train

4 Nov 2022

“There are so many lessons from the pandemic”: Hear from global experts on why strengthening genomic surveillance approaches is critical for the future

A key lesson resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is the importance of strong and agile genomic surveillance capabilities globally, to be able to react at pace to public health threats....

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Blog

13 Oct 2022

How the COVID-19 pandemic and viral genomic sequencing could change the UK’s approach to infection control

Throughout the pandemic, genome sequencing has identified SARS-COV-2 Variants of Concern that can evade our immune system. We spoke to Professor Emma Thomson, Clinical Professor of Infectious Diseases at the...