Robin M. BushAssociate Professor, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
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Research Interests |
Molecular Evolution of Pathogens | |
| URL | Robin Bush's home page | |
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Research Abstract |
I study the evolution of infectious disease using the techniques of molecular phylogenetics and population genetics. In particular, I develop and apply computational techniques to study how antigenic proteins on the surfaces of pathogens evolve in response to host immune defenses. My research currently focuses on two pathogens: the influenza virus, which with subsequent pneumonia is the sixth leading cause of death in the US, and the bacteria Chlamydia, which is the major cause of human blindness and venereal disease. Most of my efforts constitute basic research: I develop and test hypotheses about evolutionary processes. However, I also collaborate with scientists at public health agencies such as the CDC in applying my results to current efforts in disease surveillance, prediction and vaccine development. I am one of eight principal investigators on the NIH MIDAS (Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study) project of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (http://www.epimodels.org). The goal of MIDAS is to develop computational models of host-pathogen interactions, disease spread, prediction systems, and response strategies. MIDAS's mission is informed by the needs of policymakers and public health officials to have reliable and available computational and mathematical models to prepare for infectious disease outbreaks. My MIDAS efforts combine computational analyses of influenza surface protein evolution with historical, epidemiological and immunological data; my goal is improvement in our ability to predict human influenza evolution. I am also collaborating on a new MIDAS study of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. |
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| Publications | Frank, S. A. and Bush, R.M. 2007. Barriers to antigenic escape by pathogens: trade-off between reproductive rate and antigenic mutability. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7:229. | |
| Bush, R.M. 2007. Influenza Evolution. pp. 199-214 in: Encyclopedic Guide to Infectious Disease Research: Modern Methodologies M. Tibayrenc (ed.). John Wiley and Sons. Hoboken, NJ. | ||
| Bush. R.M. 2004. Influenza as a model system for studying the cross-species transfer and evolution of the SARS coronavirus. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 359:1067-1073. | ||
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Ferguson, N.M., A.P. Galvani and R.M. Bush. 2003. Ecological and immunological determinants of influenza evolution. Nature 422:428-433. |
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| Rodríguez-Marañón, M.J., Bush, R.M. Peterson, E.M. Schirmer, T. and L. de la Maza. 2002. Prediction of the membrane-spanning -strands of the major outer membrane protein of Chlamydia. Protein Science 11:1854-1861. | ||
| Bush, R.M. Predicting adaptive evolution. 2001. Nature Reviews Genetics 2:387-392. | ||
| Bush, R.M., W.M. Fitch, C.B. Smith and N.J. Cox. 2001. Predicting influenza evolution: the impact of terminal and egg-adapted mutations. In: Options for the Control of Influenza IV. Osterhaus, A.D.M.E. (ed.) Elsevier, Amsterdam. | ||
| Bush, R.M. and K.D.E. Everett. 2001 Molecular evolution of the Chlamyidaceae. International Journal of Systematic Evolution and Microbiology 51:203-220. | ||
| Bush, R.M., C.B. Smith, N.J. Cox and W.M. Fitch. 2000. Effects of passage history and sampling bias on phylogenetic reconstruction of human influenza A evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 97: 6974-6980. | ||
| Bush, R. M., C.A. Bender, K. Subbaro, N.J. Cox and W.M. Fitch. 1999. Predicting the Evolution of Influenza A. Science 2861921-1925. | ||
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Bush, R.M., W.M. Fitch, C.A. Bender and N.J. Cox. 1999. Positive Selection on the H3 Hemagglutinin gene of Human Influenza Virus A. Molecular Biology and Evolution 161457-1465 |
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| Link to this profile | http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2718 | |
| Last updated | 12/08/2008 | |