Mapping the Global Virome

Making the

“Unknown Known”….

And the World Safe From a Future of Viral Threats

If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; …..if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle. Sun Tzu

The Problem

Each year, approx. 3 new Viral Diseases emerge

Driven by • Population expansion (1.6 billion

in 1900 to 11.5 billion people in 2100)

• Increased encroachment into wildlife habitat accelerates the spillover of “unknown” viruses from wildlife to humans

Increasing risk from accidental and/or intentional release of “laboratory enhanced” viruses

Source: Jones et al. (2008) Nature

The threat from “novel” viruses is increasing

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

19

45

19

55

19

65

19

75

19

85

19

95

20

05

20

15

20

25

20

35

20

45

20

55

Actual

Projected

Decades

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HIV

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H1

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We are not prepared!

The Need

We need to reimagine HOW we

understand and prepare for future

threats

To Move From “Reactive to Proactive”

To regard old problems from a new angle requires creative

imagination. Albert Einstein

The Opportunity

• There are approximately 1.5 million viruses circulating in wildlife that are “unknown” – a finite universe

• We can capture and characterize the vast majority of these viruses - turning the “unknown” into the “known”

• We have the ability to use this “knowledge” convert the sciences of viral diseases into a big data science – being transformative and disruptive

• We can use this “information” to convert our response to viral threats from reactive to proactive – protecting the world from future viral diseases

We Know

The Solution

The Global Virome Project

The Global Virome Project (GVP) is a global partnership to transform the sciences of emerging viral diseases by:

• Developing a global database of virtually all of the planet’s naturally- occurring viral threats

• Making the world of emerging diseases a data-rich field – driving the advanced development of countermeasures, against all future threats

GVP Builds a Comprehensive Viral Database

GVP viral surveillance and collection

Genomic sequence generation

Sequence database

Metadata on “viral ecology” – host

range, geographic distribution,

epidemiology

Enabling A “Transformative and Disruptive” Public Health Tool Box

Viral Atlas Database A comprehensive ecologic and

genetic database on all naturally- occurring viruses

Turning the Sciences of Emerging Viral Disease into “Big Data” sciences

Being Transformative and Disruptive

The Approach

GVP: Getting to the Source

Mammals and water fowl are viral reservoirs

Mammalian Habitat ranges Waterfowl breeding hotspots

GVP: Mammalian Virome

Phase 1: 10 countries, 1,562 mammals, $366.4 M

Phase 2: 16 countries, 970 mammals, $258 M

Phase 3 23 countries, 447 mammals, $132.9 M

Over 10 years, will target: 68.5% of global mammalian viruses, by sampling 63.5% of global mammalian diversity, to find 71% of mammalian virome

108 Global Sampling Sites

GVP: Making the Unknown KnownGVP

Phase 2: 21%

Phase 1: 41%

Phase 3: 9%

85% of Global Virome

Water fowl: 14%

The Impact

Impact 1: Development of Broad Countermeasures

GVP will enable the comparative

analysis of thousands of members of each viral family

and the advanced development of next

generation countermeasures that are broadly effective –

rather than against individual viruses (e.g. MERS, SARS)

MERS SARS

Converting Virology into a data-rich field

Thousands of other Corona Viruses

Universal Corona Virus Vaccine

Impact 2: Pandemic/Epidemic Prevention

GVP will enable through detailed

characterization of every virus's ecologic profile –

spanning host range, geographic distribution, and

epidemiology – the identification of viruses that pose the greatest potential threat and the targeting of

measures to prevent spillover

Minimizing the Risk of Spillover

Drive Targeted, High-Impact Risk Mitigation

• An audacious but doable visionary project

• Clear metrics and goals

• Disruptive and transformative

• Can be done in phases where each phase itself generates useful information

• The potential to change the way we do science and engage global health

Parallels to the Human Genome Project

GVP Organizational Partners include: