COG-UK
Thank you to all the speakers, chairs, attendees and organisers of the COG-UK Anniversary Science Showcase Event.
The event was attended by over 500 people and registrations included representatives from 49 different countries.
The afternoon was packed with nine short talks on the themes of massive sequencing, molecular testing, variant distribution/detection/prioritization and the implications for patients and prevention.
If you missed the live event, you can watch the full recording here.
Friday 26th March 2021, 1pm – 3.30pm
| 13.00 – 13.05 | Opening remarks Professor Sharon Peacock, Executive Director and Chair, COG-UK |
| 13.05 – 13.50 | Session 1. SARS-CoV-2: new insights into molecular tests and massive sequencing Chair: Dr Catherine Ludden, University of Cambridge |
| 13.05 – 13.20 | Lessons from large-scale SARS-CoV-2 sequencing – Dr Cordelia Langford, Wellcome Sanger Institute |
| 13.20 – 13.35 | SARS-CoV-2 mutations and diagnostic test accuracy – Dr Kate Templeton, University of Edinburgh |
| 13.35 – 13.50 | Non-sequence based molecular methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants – Dr Leigh Jackson, COG-UK |
| 13.55 – 14.40 | Session 2. SARS-CoV-2 variants: distribution, detection and prioritization Chair: Professor Emma Thomson, University of Glasgow |
| 13.55 – 14.10 | Overview of the global epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 lineages of global concern – Áine O’Toole, University of Edinburgh |
| 14.10 – 14.25 | SARS-CoV-2 mutation and variant surveillance at the Wellcome Sanger Institute – Matt Sinnott, Wellcome Sanger Institute |
| 14.25 – 14.40 | Prioritizing SARS-CoV-2 mutations and variants – Dr Alessandro Carabelli, University of Cambridge |
| 14.45 – 15.30 | Session 3. SARS-CoV-2 variants: patients and prevention – Chair: Dr Sally Corden, Public Health Wales |
| 14.45 – 15.00 | SARS-CoV-2 variants – what we can learn from the HOCI study – Professor Judy Breuer, University College London |
| 15.00 – 15.15 | B.1.1.7 causes more severe disease. True or False? – Dr Nick Davies, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine |
| 15.15 – 15.30 | SARS-CoV-2 Variants, Vaccines and Immune Escape – Professor Wendy Barclay, Imperial College London |
| 15.30 – 15.35 | Thanks and close Professor Sharon Peacock, Executive Director and Chair, COG-UK |
COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK)
The current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, represents a major threat to health. The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium has been created to deliver large-scale and rapid whole-genome virus sequencing to local NHS centres and the UK government.
Led by Professor Sharon Peacock of the University of Cambridge, COG-UK is made up of an innovative partnership of NHS organisations, the four Public Health Agencies of the UK, the Wellcome Sanger Institute and academic partners providing sequencing and analysis capacity. A full list of collaborators can be found here. Professor Peacock is also on a part-time secondment to PHE as Director of Science, where she focuses on the development of pathogen sequencing through COG-UK.
COG-UK was established in April 2020 supported by £20 million funding from the COVID-19 rapid-research-response “fighting fund” from Her Majesty’s Treasury (established by Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance), and administered by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The consortium was also backed by the Department of Health and Social Care’s Testing Innovation Fund on 16 November 2020 to facilitate the genome sequencing capacity needed to meet the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the UK over the winter period.
