Gytis Dudas
@evogytis.bsky.social
PI @ Vilnius University Life Sciences Center 🦠🧬🌳🌍🐾📈.
Enthusiast of orthomyxos (& other (-)ssRNA viruses), RNA virus discovery, evolution & ecology, genomic epidemiology, data-vis, matplotlib.
EMBO installation grantee.
evogytis.github.io
Enthusiast of orthomyxos (& other (-)ssRNA viruses), RNA virus discovery, evolution & ecology, genomic epidemiology, data-vis, matplotlib.
EMBO installation grantee.
evogytis.github.io
Pinned
Gytis Dudas
@evogytis.bsky.social
· Jul 17
This is quite late but our lab has a preprint out about a SARS-CoV-2 situation we had in mink in Lithuania back in 2021. It's a doozy with re-emergence of extinct lineages, a country-wide test of all mink farms in Lithuania & some interesting dynamics in mink. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/5🧵
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
SFI’s Santiago Elena has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
He joins 62 fellows in the 2026 class. His work explores how RNA viruses adapt to hosts and manipulate cellular resources. Since joining SFI in 2008, he has organized several working groups on virus evolution.
He joins 62 fellows in the 2026 class. His work explores how RNA viruses adapt to hosts and manipulate cellular resources. Since joining SFI in 2008, he has organized several working groups on virus evolution.
SFI External Professor Santiago Elena elected to the American Academy of Microbiology
SFI External Professor Santiago Elena has been elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, joining 62 other fellows in the class of 2026, each selected for their contributions in the ...
santafe.edu
February 17, 2026 at 9:25 PM
SFI’s Santiago Elena has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
He joins 62 fellows in the 2026 class. His work explores how RNA viruses adapt to hosts and manipulate cellular resources. Since joining SFI in 2008, he has organized several working groups on virus evolution.
He joins 62 fellows in the 2026 class. His work explores how RNA viruses adapt to hosts and manipulate cellular resources. Since joining SFI in 2008, he has organized several working groups on virus evolution.
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
The return of measles will mean the return of SSPE.
If you don't know what that is, read this. www.voicesforvaccines.org/what-measles...
If you don't know what that is, read this. www.voicesforvaccines.org/what-measles...
What Measles Did to My Family
My mom always told me that measles was what made my sister sick. I was 8 when she finally explained the whole thing.
www.voicesforvaccines.org
December 14, 2025 at 7:46 PM
The return of measles will mean the return of SSPE.
If you don't know what that is, read this. www.voicesforvaccines.org/what-measles...
If you don't know what that is, read this. www.voicesforvaccines.org/what-measles...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
How did life arise from simple chemical building blocks?
New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer.
Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer.
Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
February 13, 2026 at 10:20 AM
How did life arise from simple chemical building blocks?
New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer.
Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer.
Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Have I ever mentioned how surreal it is to be an Editor-in-Chief of a journal called Vaccine right now?
www.science.org/content/arti...
It’s pretty wild, at least by typical academic journal editorial office standards.
www.science.org/content/arti...
It’s pretty wild, at least by typical academic journal editorial office standards.
Controversial Danish vaccine research group faces new allegations
Researchers say they couldn’t find complete data for 10 trials that together enrolled tens of thousands of children in Guinea-Bissau
www.science.org
February 6, 2026 at 6:14 AM
Have I ever mentioned how surreal it is to be an Editor-in-Chief of a journal called Vaccine right now?
www.science.org/content/arti...
It’s pretty wild, at least by typical academic journal editorial office standards.
www.science.org/content/arti...
It’s pretty wild, at least by typical academic journal editorial office standards.
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Take time to focus on your interpersonal skills, discover tools to support your development and tune up your interpersonal and communication skills at the @embo.org Lab Leadership course for #Postdocs: 10 - 12 March 2026. Places still available: www.embolableadership.org/course/embol... #EMBOLabLead
January 30, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Take time to focus on your interpersonal skills, discover tools to support your development and tune up your interpersonal and communication skills at the @embo.org Lab Leadership course for #Postdocs: 10 - 12 March 2026. Places still available: www.embolableadership.org/course/embol... #EMBOLabLead
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
The University of Helsinki is strengthening its research in environmental policy, international law, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and zoonotic virology through new international recruitments.
www.helsinki.fi/en/news/univ...
www.helsinki.fi/en/news/univ...
University of Helsinki to recruit top international researchers with €10 million in funding from the Research Council of Finland | University of Helsinki
The University is strengthening its research in environmental policy, international law, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and zoonotic virology through new international recruitments.
www.helsinki.fi
January 9, 2026 at 1:11 PM
The University of Helsinki is strengthening its research in environmental policy, international law, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and zoonotic virology through new international recruitments.
www.helsinki.fi/en/news/univ...
www.helsinki.fi/en/news/univ...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
📢Join us for the next ECR #Viromics Webinar
"How viral evolution is shaped during long-term infections of immune-compromised hosts"
🎙️Jonas Fuchs, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany
🗓️11 Feb 2026, 4 PM CET
📍Online/Zoom (register for login details)
👉 evbc.uni-jena.de/events/ecr-v...
"How viral evolution is shaped during long-term infections of immune-compromised hosts"
🎙️Jonas Fuchs, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany
🗓️11 Feb 2026, 4 PM CET
📍Online/Zoom (register for login details)
👉 evbc.uni-jena.de/events/ecr-v...
January 22, 2026 at 6:58 AM
📢Join us for the next ECR #Viromics Webinar
"How viral evolution is shaped during long-term infections of immune-compromised hosts"
🎙️Jonas Fuchs, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany
🗓️11 Feb 2026, 4 PM CET
📍Online/Zoom (register for login details)
👉 evbc.uni-jena.de/events/ecr-v...
"How viral evolution is shaped during long-term infections of immune-compromised hosts"
🎙️Jonas Fuchs, University Hospital Freiburg, Germany
🗓️11 Feb 2026, 4 PM CET
📍Online/Zoom (register for login details)
👉 evbc.uni-jena.de/events/ecr-v...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Really excited our paper about how H5N1 rapidly adapted to cattle (and how these adaptations also increased its ability to infect cells from the human respiratory tract) is now published! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Polymerase mutations underlie early adaptation of H5N1 influenza virus to dairy cattle and other mammals - Nature Communications
Avian influenza jumped from wild birds into dairy cattle. Here, the authors report that two mutations in the viral polymerase helped the virus to quickly adapt to cattle. Mutations increased the polym...
www.nature.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Really excited our paper about how H5N1 rapidly adapted to cattle (and how these adaptations also increased its ability to infect cells from the human respiratory tract) is now published! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Our paper on the Genomic Epidemiology of DENV2/3 in Colombia and the Americas is finally out @cp-cellreports.bsky.social, check it out: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Big thanks to my collaborators @lambod50.bsky.social, @viralverity.bsky.social, @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social, and many others!
Big thanks to my collaborators @lambod50.bsky.social, @viralverity.bsky.social, @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social, and many others!
January 16, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Our paper on the Genomic Epidemiology of DENV2/3 in Colombia and the Americas is finally out @cp-cellreports.bsky.social, check it out: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Big thanks to my collaborators @lambod50.bsky.social, @viralverity.bsky.social, @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social, and many others!
Big thanks to my collaborators @lambod50.bsky.social, @viralverity.bsky.social, @nathangrubaugh.bsky.social, and many others!
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Global solidarity in genomic surveillance improves early detection of acute respiratory virus threats. "Importantly, these benefits cannot be attained by siloed expansion in countries that already possess strong capacity." Well done to the team! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Global solidarity in genomic surveillance improves early detection of acute respiratory virus threats - Nature Communications
Respiratory virus genomic surveillance output is unevenly distributed globally. Here, the authors show that addressing this imbalance could substantially reduce the time to first detection o...
www.nature.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:29 AM
Global solidarity in genomic surveillance improves early detection of acute respiratory virus threats. "Importantly, these benefits cannot be attained by siloed expansion in countries that already possess strong capacity." Well done to the team! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Terrific origin story, history, and future of bioRxiv and medRxiv by @richardsever.bsky.social in @mbio.bsky.social
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The Story behind the Science: Preprints of pandemic potential—how bioRxiv and medRxiv brought preprints to the life sciences | mBio
When we launched medRxiv in mid-2019, we never could have anticipated that just a
few months later, New York would be at the epicenter of a rapidly escalating global
pandemic, and we would be handling...
journals.asm.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Terrific origin story, history, and future of bioRxiv and medRxiv by @richardsever.bsky.social in @mbio.bsky.social
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
✨Africa CDC shuts down RFK's attempt to conduct a Tuskegee-like vaccine trial on children in Guinea-Bissau.
The study exploited “the scarcity of a proven beneficial vaccine in a context where that vaccine is needed,” said Boghuma Titanji.
@melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
The study exploited “the scarcity of a proven beneficial vaccine in a context where that vaccine is needed,” said Boghuma Titanji.
@melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:56 PM
✨Africa CDC shuts down RFK's attempt to conduct a Tuskegee-like vaccine trial on children in Guinea-Bissau.
The study exploited “the scarcity of a proven beneficial vaccine in a context where that vaccine is needed,” said Boghuma Titanji.
@melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
The study exploited “the scarcity of a proven beneficial vaccine in a context where that vaccine is needed,” said Boghuma Titanji.
@melodyschreiber.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Remember? RNA virus journal club is already this Thursday! 🤩
Join us and join our (RdRp summit) slack (link in the comment):
calendar.app.google/K2fwcsL78K1E...
RNA Virus Journal ClubJoin Zoom Meeting us02web.zoom.us/j/8109697228...
Meeting ID: 810 9697 2281
Passcode: 174610
Join us and join our (RdRp summit) slack (link in the comment):
calendar.app.google/K2fwcsL78K1E...
RNA Virus Journal ClubJoin Zoom Meeting us02web.zoom.us/j/8109697228...
Meeting ID: 810 9697 2281
Passcode: 174610
January 14, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Remember? RNA virus journal club is already this Thursday! 🤩
Join us and join our (RdRp summit) slack (link in the comment):
calendar.app.google/K2fwcsL78K1E...
RNA Virus Journal ClubJoin Zoom Meeting us02web.zoom.us/j/8109697228...
Meeting ID: 810 9697 2281
Passcode: 174610
Join us and join our (RdRp summit) slack (link in the comment):
calendar.app.google/K2fwcsL78K1E...
RNA Virus Journal ClubJoin Zoom Meeting us02web.zoom.us/j/8109697228...
Meeting ID: 810 9697 2281
Passcode: 174610
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Come join my group as a postdoc on a fun wildepi.ca project looking at the evolution of endemic alpha- and betacoronaviruses in Canadian wildlife. Computational work will inform concurrent experimental work in the @banerjeelab.ca and @smubareka.bsky.social groups!
bioinformatics.ca/jobs/postdoc...
bioinformatics.ca/jobs/postdoc...
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Evolution of Wildlife-associated Coronaviridae - Bioinformatics.ca
bioinformatics.ca
January 14, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Come join my group as a postdoc on a fun wildepi.ca project looking at the evolution of endemic alpha- and betacoronaviruses in Canadian wildlife. Computational work will inform concurrent experimental work in the @banerjeelab.ca and @smubareka.bsky.social groups!
bioinformatics.ca/jobs/postdoc...
bioinformatics.ca/jobs/postdoc...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Very much looking forward to my fireside chat with @syramadad.bsky.social next Thursday at 1pm PST at the Belfer Center @harvardkennedy.bsky.social on "Genomic Surveillance & Pathogen Data Sharing: A New Era for Scientific Diplomacy".
Virtual, so come join us!
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Virtual, so come join us!
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Genomic Surveillance & Pathogen Data Sharing: A New Era for Scientific Diplomacy. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Genomic Surveillance & Pathogen Data Sharing: A New Era for Scientific Diplomacy. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the...
harvard.zoom.us
January 14, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Very much looking forward to my fireside chat with @syramadad.bsky.social next Thursday at 1pm PST at the Belfer Center @harvardkennedy.bsky.social on "Genomic Surveillance & Pathogen Data Sharing: A New Era for Scientific Diplomacy".
Virtual, so come join us!
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Virtual, so come join us!
harvard.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
Check out our new print that combines dense sequencing and phylodynamics to uncover a bunch of 😎 things about an understudied virus.
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
January 12, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Check out our new print that combines dense sequencing and phylodynamics to uncover a bunch of 😎 things about an understudied virus.
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
🦟📄 New preprint! Our first large-scale phylodynamic study of Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) reveals how mosquito ecology shapes the evolution, persistence, and spread of this understudied arbovirus in North America.
Read it here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Read it here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Evolutionary history of Jamestown Canyon virus disentangles complex multi-vector ecology
Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne virus of increasing concern in North America. It has been historically understudied, leading to significant gaps in our understanding of it...
www.biorxiv.org
January 12, 2026 at 10:58 AM
🦟📄 New preprint! Our first large-scale phylodynamic study of Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) reveals how mosquito ecology shapes the evolution, persistence, and spread of this understudied arbovirus in North America.
Read it here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Read it here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
I am very glad to share the preprint for our latest study on the 2024-2025 chikungunya virus outbreak on Réunion island, with primary data produced thanks to the massive efforts performed by Marie-C Jaffar and Etienne Frumence and analyses led by Simon Dellicour. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Unravelling the epidemiological and dispersal dynamics of the 2024-2025 chikungunya virus outbreak on Reunion island
Reunion island just experienced a massive chikungunya virus outbreak in 2024-2025, with more than 54,000 confirmed cases. This is the second major chikungunya outbreak on the island, following the fir...
www.medrxiv.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:54 AM
I am very glad to share the preprint for our latest study on the 2024-2025 chikungunya virus outbreak on Réunion island, with primary data produced thanks to the massive efforts performed by Marie-C Jaffar and Etienne Frumence and analyses led by Simon Dellicour. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
'But what if IAVs could use a different receptor? Our previous work revealed that the IAV subtypes H17N10 and H18N11, which have so far been detected exclusively in bats, use MHC-II molecules as entry receptors instead of the conventional sialic acid receptors'
A new path to spillover: MHC-II entry of influenza A viruses
Spillover of influenza A viruses from animals to humans represents a threat to our health. This Perspective discusses emerging research that suggests some influenza A viruses can enter host cells via ...
journals.plos.org
January 10, 2026 at 1:34 AM
'But what if IAVs could use a different receptor? Our previous work revealed that the IAV subtypes H17N10 and H18N11, which have so far been detected exclusively in bats, use MHC-II molecules as entry receptors instead of the conventional sialic acid receptors'
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
We've a computational PhD project available AI-DRIVEN DISCOVERY OF VIRUS–HOST MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl... as part of the University of Glasgow's MVLS Futures Themes PhD Programme. Deadline for applications is this Monday, 12th Jan 2026. Please apply!
University of Glasgow - Colleges - College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences - MVLS Graduate School - PhD Research Opportunities - College Futures Themes PhD Programme - Projects - Fundamentals o...
www.gla.ac.uk
January 7, 2026 at 11:08 PM
We've a computational PhD project available AI-DRIVEN DISCOVERY OF VIRUS–HOST MOLECULAR INTERACTIONS www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl... as part of the University of Glasgow's MVLS Futures Themes PhD Programme. Deadline for applications is this Monday, 12th Jan 2026. Please apply!
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
I wrote about this claim forever ago when he made it on Joe Rogan's show:
December 28, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I wrote about this claim forever ago when he made it on Joe Rogan's show:
This isn't in international media yet but Lithuania is in crisis. The ruling coalition is trying to seize control of our public broadcaster LRT using expedited parliamentary procedures. European & Venice Commissions are aware & we've been protesting for the last two weeks. Things are looking grim.
December 18, 2025 at 6:57 AM
This isn't in international media yet but Lithuania is in crisis. The ruling coalition is trying to seize control of our public broadcaster LRT using expedited parliamentary procedures. European & Venice Commissions are aware & we've been protesting for the last two weeks. Things are looking grim.
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
I rarely ask for things, but I will make an exception for my colleague and friend, Augustine Goba, who dedicated his life to saving others.
Augustine was Director of the hemorrhagic fever lab in Kenema, Salone, and is struggling with PSP.
Please consider donating.
www.gofundme.com/f/augustine-...
Augustine was Director of the hemorrhagic fever lab in Kenema, Salone, and is struggling with PSP.
Please consider donating.
www.gofundme.com/f/augustine-...
Donate to Help Augustine Goba battle Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, organized by Michelle McGraw
Mr. Augustine Goba is the Emeritus Director of the Kenema Gov… Michelle McGraw needs your support for Help Augustine Goba battle Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
www.gofundme.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:29 AM
I rarely ask for things, but I will make an exception for my colleague and friend, Augustine Goba, who dedicated his life to saving others.
Augustine was Director of the hemorrhagic fever lab in Kenema, Salone, and is struggling with PSP.
Please consider donating.
www.gofundme.com/f/augustine-...
Augustine was Director of the hemorrhagic fever lab in Kenema, Salone, and is struggling with PSP.
Please consider donating.
www.gofundme.com/f/augustine-...
Reposted by Gytis Dudas
François Blanquart et al. dive into the genetic basis of HIV virulence with very cool statistical methods. They show that viral load is shaped by host-dependent HLA escape variants with large effects, alongside many additional variants whose effects are too subtle to reach genome-wide significance.
The genetic architecture of HIV-1 virulence
Abstract. The virulence of HIV-1 is partly determined by viral genetic variation. Finding individual genetic variants affecting virulence is important for
academic.oup.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
François Blanquart et al. dive into the genetic basis of HIV virulence with very cool statistical methods. They show that viral load is shaped by host-dependent HLA escape variants with large effects, alongside many additional variants whose effects are too subtle to reach genome-wide significance.