Jemma Geoghegan
@jemmageoghegan.bsky.social
Professor at University of Otago, NZ; Webster Chair in Virology; Rutherford Discovery Fellow. I like viruses and evolution.
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Sad day for the folks who staked their reputations on lab leak conspiracy theories.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
October 31, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Sad day for the folks who staked their reputations on lab leak conspiracy theories.
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
🐧We researched one of the world’s rarest #penguins. The yellow‑eyed penguin (aka hoiho/takaraka) isn’t one homogeneous species after all!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#hoiho #conservation #genomics #birds #nzwildlife #endangered #wildlife #nature
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#hoiho #conservation #genomics #birds #nzwildlife #endangered #wildlife #nature
October 28, 2025 at 8:08 PM
🐧We researched one of the world’s rarest #penguins. The yellow‑eyed penguin (aka hoiho/takaraka) isn’t one homogeneous species after all!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#hoiho #conservation #genomics #birds #nzwildlife #endangered #wildlife #nature
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#hoiho #conservation #genomics #birds #nzwildlife #endangered #wildlife #nature
We did a penguin GWAS! Turns out that yellow-eyed penguins (or hoiho) are actually three very divergent groups, which we are calling subspecies www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @josephguhlin.bsky.social @peterkdearden.bsky.social @annasanture.bsky.social @cegrueber.bsky.social
Population genomics of yellow-eyed penguins uncovers subspecies divergence and candidate genes linked to respiratory distress syndrome
Yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho/takaraka, Megadyptes antipodes ) are among the world’s rarest penguins and are regarded as a taonga (treasured) species in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 2019, chicks on the N...
www.biorxiv.org
October 27, 2025 at 9:18 PM
We did a penguin GWAS! Turns out that yellow-eyed penguins (or hoiho) are actually three very divergent groups, which we are calling subspecies www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @josephguhlin.bsky.social @peterkdearden.bsky.social @annasanture.bsky.social @cegrueber.bsky.social
Our latest preprint evaluates sampling strategies for the detection of avian influenza virus from the environment @profgemmell.bsky.social @dwinter.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Evaluating sampling strategies for the detection of avian influenza viruses in the environment
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses threaten humans, livestock and wildlife, highlighting the urgent need for early warning surveillance. Environmental RNA (eRNA) monitoring provides a sa...
www.biorxiv.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Our latest preprint evaluates sampling strategies for the detection of avian influenza virus from the environment @profgemmell.bsky.social @dwinter.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our latest preprint on the genomic epidemiology of flu over 10 years in NZ www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...
A decade of genomic surveillance tracks the disappearance and reintroduction of seasonal influenza virus in Aotearoa New Zealand
Seasonal influenza virus circulation was eliminated in Aotearoa (New Zealand) from 2020 to 2022, following the nation's stringent public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we generate nea...
www.researchsquare.com
September 3, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Our latest preprint on the genomic epidemiology of flu over 10 years in NZ www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
New publication from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology:
A Novel Crustavirus as a Candidate Aetiology of Tail Fan Necrosis in New Zealand Red Rock Lobsters, Jasus edwardsii
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jfd....
#Microbiology #Virology #AquaticHealth #CrustaceanResearch #MarineBiology #Otago
A Novel Crustavirus as a Candidate Aetiology of Tail Fan Necrosis in New Zealand Red Rock Lobsters, Jasus edwardsii
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jfd....
#Microbiology #Virology #AquaticHealth #CrustaceanResearch #MarineBiology #Otago
A Novel Crustavirus as a Candidate Aetiology of Tail Fan Necrosis in New Zealand Red Rock Lobsters, Jasus edwardsii
Tail fan necrosis (TFN) is a shell disease affecting spiny lobsters' outer integument, with significant implications for the health and commercial viability of red rock lobsters (Jasus edwardsii) in ...
doi.org
August 7, 2025 at 11:54 PM
New publication from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology:
A Novel Crustavirus as a Candidate Aetiology of Tail Fan Necrosis in New Zealand Red Rock Lobsters, Jasus edwardsii
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jfd....
#Microbiology #Virology #AquaticHealth #CrustaceanResearch #MarineBiology #Otago
A Novel Crustavirus as a Candidate Aetiology of Tail Fan Necrosis in New Zealand Red Rock Lobsters, Jasus edwardsii
🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jfd....
#Microbiology #Virology #AquaticHealth #CrustaceanResearch #MarineBiology #Otago
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
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🧵
July 17, 2025 at 8:44 AM
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🧵
We found RHDV2 in gulls! While the virus is likely to be dietary in origin, this suggests that birds may act as mechanical vectors for virus spread. Work by Steph Waller, @dwinter.bsky.social @eddieholmes.bsky.social @mongoosekiwi.bsky.social et al. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Metatranscriptomic detection of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 in karoro (southern black-backed gulls) | Journal of Virology
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2; species Lagovirus europaeus) is a highly pathogenic lagovirus (Caliciviridae) responsible for a lethal disease in rabbits and hares (1). First identified in ...
journals.asm.org
July 3, 2025 at 10:37 PM
We found RHDV2 in gulls! While the virus is likely to be dietary in origin, this suggests that birds may act as mechanical vectors for virus spread. Work by Steph Waller, @dwinter.bsky.social @eddieholmes.bsky.social @mongoosekiwi.bsky.social et al. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Phylogenetic insights into the transmission dynamics of arthropod-borne viruses
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great work by Verity Hill and team
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great work by Verity Hill and team
Phylogenetic insights into the transmission dynamics of arthropod-borne viruses - Nature Reviews Genetics
Arthropod-borne viruses have a substantial impact on global health, with climate change and urbanization exacerbating their emergence. Integrating genomic surveillance and phylogenetic models with eco...
www.nature.com
June 10, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Phylogenetic insights into the transmission dynamics of arthropod-borne viruses
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great work by Verity Hill and team
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great work by Verity Hill and team
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Rhys and I found some weird influenza B viruses in fish a few years ago. For 2, the HA's bind a2,3 sialic acid ("bird type receptor"). The Siamese algae eater virus NA has a highly conserved structure and active site. No cross-reactive antibodies in human sera.
👉 biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
👉 biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 12, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Rhys and I found some weird influenza B viruses in fish a few years ago. For 2, the HA's bind a2,3 sialic acid ("bird type receptor"). The Siamese algae eater virus NA has a highly conserved structure and active site. No cross-reactive antibodies in human sera.
👉 biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
👉 biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Sooo happy to finally have this one published!! (3 years in the making… 👀) A comprehensive investigation into the recency and geographical origins of both SARS-CoVs that spilled to humans in the past few decades, now in @cp-cell.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The recency and geographical origins of the bat viruses ancestral to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2
Recombination-aware evolutionary analyses of the entire genomes of SARS-CoV-1-like
and SARS-CoV-2-like viruses indicate that SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 descend from bat
coronaviruses that circulated as...
www.cell.com
May 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Sooo happy to finally have this one published!! (3 years in the making… 👀) A comprehensive investigation into the recency and geographical origins of both SARS-CoVs that spilled to humans in the past few decades, now in @cp-cell.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Two Otago academics, Dr Olivia Harrison and Professor Jemma Geoghegan, have been awarded Prime Minister's Science Prizes for their outstanding work on managing viruses and managing anxiety. Ngā mihi nui! 👏
Read more here:
Read more here:
Prime Minister’s prizes awarded to two Otago academics
Work on managing anxiety and managing viruses has resulted in two Otago academics receiving Prime Minister’s Science Prizes.
www.otago.ac.nz
May 7, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Two Otago academics, Dr Olivia Harrison and Professor Jemma Geoghegan, have been awarded Prime Minister's Science Prizes for their outstanding work on managing viruses and managing anxiety. Ngā mihi nui! 👏
Read more here:
Read more here:
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Recombination between positive-sense and negative-sense RNA viruses: journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
A positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus acquired a negative-sense open reading frame through recombination
Author summary The discovery of brine shrimp virga-like virus 1 (BSVV1) challenges the conventional view that positive- and negative-sense RNA viruses are evolutionarily independent. Through genomic a...
journals.plos.org
April 8, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Recombination between positive-sense and negative-sense RNA viruses: journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
We're looking for a PhD student to join us at Vilnius University in Lithuania. We work on RNA virus evolution computationally but we'd like to generate more mosquito RNA virus sequence data. Official ad: www.gmc.vu.lt/en/doctoral-.... Please share & continue reading if interested.
April 3, 2025 at 5:46 AM
We're looking for a PhD student to join us at Vilnius University in Lithuania. We work on RNA virus evolution computationally but we'd like to generate more mosquito RNA virus sequence data. Official ad: www.gmc.vu.lt/en/doctoral-.... Please share & continue reading if interested.
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Just out "Making sense of the virome in light of evolution and ecology" doi.org/10.1098/rspb... from super ⭐ team @meganawallace.bsky.social @duckswabber.bsky.social @jemmageoghegan.bsky.social @ryanmimrie.bsky.social @eddieholmes.bsky.social @xavh.bsky.social in Proc B @royalsocietypublishing.org
April 2, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Just out "Making sense of the virome in light of evolution and ecology" doi.org/10.1098/rspb... from super ⭐ team @meganawallace.bsky.social @duckswabber.bsky.social @jemmageoghegan.bsky.social @ryanmimrie.bsky.social @eddieholmes.bsky.social @xavh.bsky.social in Proc B @royalsocietypublishing.org
One for the hepaci fans. We found a cool new hepacivirus (along with some other things) in kiwi with dermatitis meridian.allenpress.com/jwd/article/...
A Metagenomic Investigation into Apteryx rowi Dermatosis Identifies Multiple Novel Viruses and a Highly Abundant Nematode
Abstract. Sporadic cases of dermatosis have been reported in wild Ōkārito Rowi (Apteryx rowi), a species of brown kiwi, for over a decade. The disease exhibits distinctive features, including lesions,...
meridian.allenpress.com
March 30, 2025 at 10:31 PM
One for the hepaci fans. We found a cool new hepacivirus (along with some other things) in kiwi with dermatitis meridian.allenpress.com/jwd/article/...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
I spent about 30 hours over four weeks reading all 716 pages of the report of the Royal Commission into the Covid-19 response, then wrote two articles detailing its findings and recommendations.
With the paywall now lifted on both of those pieces, here's what I found. 🧵
With the paywall now lifted on both of those pieces, here's what I found. 🧵
The next pandemic is coming. NZ isn't ready
Special report: The island nation is less prepared for a pandemic than it was five years ago, even as new threats emerge overseas.
newsroom.co.nz
March 25, 2025 at 11:56 PM
I spent about 30 hours over four weeks reading all 716 pages of the report of the Royal Commission into the Covid-19 response, then wrote two articles detailing its findings and recommendations.
With the paywall now lifted on both of those pieces, here's what I found. 🧵
With the paywall now lifted on both of those pieces, here's what I found. 🧵
Preparing for the next pandemic: insights from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Covid-19 response www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Preparing for the next pandemic: insights from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Covid-19 response
In 2020 Aotearoa New Zealand, like many other countries, faced the coronavirus pandemic armed with an influenza-based pandemic plan. The country adapt…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 21, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Preparing for the next pandemic: insights from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Covid-19 response www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We found a crustavirus that may or may not have something to do with tail fan necrosis in lobsters www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A novel crustavirus associated with tail fan necrosis in New Zealand red rock lobsters, Jasus edwardsii
Tail fan necrosis (TFN) is a shell disease affecting spiny lobsters' outer integument, with significant implications for the health and commercial viability of red rock lobsters (Jasus edwardsii) in N...
www.biorxiv.org
March 18, 2025 at 12:46 AM
We found a crustavirus that may or may not have something to do with tail fan necrosis in lobsters www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Great walk through of all the knowns and unknowns of the current HPAI outbreak in US dairy cattle with a focus on both the cattle, but also human pandemic risk.
👉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
👉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
March 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Great walk through of all the knowns and unknowns of the current HPAI outbreak in US dairy cattle with a focus on both the cattle, but also human pandemic risk.
👉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
👉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
📰 DEFRA avian Influenza update on 04 Mar 2025 #IDSky #IDEpi
🐔 Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 confirmed in a commercial poultry premises near Kington, Herefordshire.
📊 25 cases of HPAI H5N1 in England in 2025
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation in England 👇
🐔 Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 confirmed in a commercial poultry premises near Kington, Herefordshire.
📊 25 cases of HPAI H5N1 in England in 2025
🔗 Avian influenza: latest situation in England 👇
Bird flu (avian influenza): latest situation in England
Find out about the latest bird flu situation in England and guidance for bird keepers and the public.
www.gov.uk
March 4, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Couldn't ask for a better first Bluesky post! Our new paper, "Pathogens and planetary change," is out now in @natrevbiodiv.bsky.social. We discuss the linkages between biodiversity loss + pandemics and how we can address these interconnected crises 🧪😷
Give it a read: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Give it a read: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Pathogens and planetary change - Nature Reviews Biodiversity
This Review explores the relationship between emerging infectious diseases and biodiversity loss, and how both are connected to global environmental changes in the Anthropocene.
www.nature.com
January 16, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Couldn't ask for a better first Bluesky post! Our new paper, "Pathogens and planetary change," is out now in @natrevbiodiv.bsky.social. We discuss the linkages between biodiversity loss + pandemics and how we can address these interconnected crises 🧪😷
Give it a read: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Give it a read: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Essential reading from @katherinejwu.com @theatlantic.com.
For months, we've passively watched H5N1 tear through animals. A year into the cattle outbreak & it remains out of control. H5N1 is everywhere.
If H5N1 causes a pandemic, it will be because we let it.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
For months, we've passively watched H5N1 tear through animals. A year into the cattle outbreak & it remains out of control. H5N1 is everywhere.
If H5N1 causes a pandemic, it will be because we let it.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Bird Flu Is a National Embarrassment
America should have more aggressively intervened almost a year ago.
www.theatlantic.com
January 13, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Essential reading from @katherinejwu.com @theatlantic.com.
For months, we've passively watched H5N1 tear through animals. A year into the cattle outbreak & it remains out of control. H5N1 is everywhere.
If H5N1 causes a pandemic, it will be because we let it.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
For months, we've passively watched H5N1 tear through animals. A year into the cattle outbreak & it remains out of control. H5N1 is everywhere.
If H5N1 causes a pandemic, it will be because we let it.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Lots of new viruses (and other known pathogens) here, especially in carnivores and rodents. Of most interest, a bi-segmented coronavirus sampled from diseased red (lesser) pandas (Ailurus fulgens) and that represents a new genus. Work led my Mang Shi and Shuo Su. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
January 11, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Lots of new viruses (and other known pathogens) here, especially in carnivores and rodents. Of most interest, a bi-segmented coronavirus sampled from diseased red (lesser) pandas (Ailurus fulgens) and that represents a new genus. Work led my Mang Shi and Shuo Su. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jemma Geoghegan
Thrilled to be co-leading these efforts with our colleagues at Scripps Research and UCSD.
In a new $5.7M partnership with @ucsandiego.bsky.social, Scripps Research joins the CDC's CHARM Network as the central data hub. This 5-year initiative will bolster national preparedness for respiratory viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2. More:
Scripps Research to lead data analytics in CDC-funded pandemic preparedness initiative with UC San Diego - Scripps Research Magazine
Under the leadership of UC San Diego, Scripps Research is partnering with several institutions to bolster national preparedness for respiratory viruses. UC San Diego (the primary award recipient) has ...
magazine.scripps.edu
January 9, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Thrilled to be co-leading these efforts with our colleagues at Scripps Research and UCSD.