The articles on this page bring together news, stories, and updates from the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE). They highlight our projects, collaborations, events, and milestones as we work with partners around the world to strengthen genomic epidemiology and public health practice.
Browse the posts below to explore what PHA4GE has been doing, learn about new resources and initiatives, and follow how our community is growing and evolving over time.
In Buenos Aires, researcher Dr Barbara Ghiglione has applied the PHA4GE Wastewater Contextual Data Specification to an antimicrobial resistance surveillance project, showing how shared standards can strengthen research, shape data collection and connect local work with a global community.
At GMI16, researchers and public health experts turned their attention to the less glamorous but increasingly urgent questions around genomic surveillance: how data is shared, how systems connect, and how trust is built.
September saw continued progress across PHA4GE’s Working Groups, with updates spanning data standards, AI, infrastructure, wastewater surveillance, repositories and workforce development.
From a self-described “quiet and nerdy” school student in Sahiwal, Pakistan, to a computational biologist working across microbiome research, pathogen genomics and bioinformatics, Iqra Saleh has built a career around curiosity. In this Member Spotlight, she reflects on her journey into bioinformatics, her work at Aga Khan University, her ambitions for the future, and the interests that keep her curious beyond the lab.
Dr Shurendar Selva Kumar has joined PHA4GE as a postdoctoral research fellow to lead the development of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis standard specification. Based at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, he discusses his journey from clinical medicine and public health to pathogen genomics, the challenges facing genomic implementation across Asia, and how greater metadata standardisation can support more comparable and interoperable TB genomic data across countries.
Meet Khaleila Flisher, an early-career scientist exploring human genetics, bioinformatics and disease research. She shares her journey into genomics, her work on kidney and Parkinson’s disease and why greater African representation in genomics research matters.
The PHA4GE Data Structures Working Group is advancing pathogen genomics data standards and interoperability, from an upcoming IPSN workshop in Nepal to new metadata and genotyping specifications and work integrating PHA4GE standards with HL7 FHIR.
Dr Stephanie van Wyk, a malaria researcher and bioinformatician at the University of Cape Town, leads PHA4GE’s new funding committee as it explores collaborative and innovative approaches to public health research funding.
PHA4GE postdoctoral research fellow Dr Rekha Sathyan discusses her journey into bioinformatics, her work across scientific, training and project initiatives, and her ambition to use genomics, research and international collaboration to strengthen global public health.