lungs with virus
February 25, 2023

fiphde: Open Source Flu Forecasting Software

fiphde was originally created to operationally forecast influenza hospitalizations during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons of the FluSight challenge. The package includes functions for data retrieval, modeling, near-term forecasting, and forecast summarization. Functionality from fiphde has been implemented for other infectious disease forecasting, including the 2022-23 DoD COVID-like illness forecasting... MORE
February 21, 2023

SeqScreen-Nano: a computational platform for rapid, in-field characterization of previously unseen pathogens: Preprint Available

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic forever underscored the need for biosurveillance platforms capable of rapid detection of previously unseen pathogens. Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) couples long-read sequencing with in-field capability, opening the door to real-time, in-field biosurveillance. Though a promising technology, streaming assignment of accurate functional and taxonomic labels with nanopore... MORE
Multicolored DNA output forms face
January 31, 2023

Founders Announce Establishment of the National Technology Validation and Implementation Collaborative (NTVIC) and Forensic Investigative...

In a paper published in Forensic Science International: Synergy, founders of the National Technology Validation and Implementation Collaborative (NTVIC) announced the group's formation, in addition to the formation of its first Technology Validation Working Group, the Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Technology Validation Group (FIGG-TVG). Signature Science's Center for Advanced Genomics... MORE
out of focus photo of trade show hall
January 27, 2023

HORIZON Newsletter – January 2023

Join the CAG in celebrating with AAFS in Orlando (Feb 13-18)! Stop by our Booth 401 - our CAG stainless steel pint glass giveaway will help you raise a toast to 75 years of The American Academy of Forensic Sciences! Fear of Missing Out? Arrange a meetup before you go. We face... MORE
internal validation of the forenseq kintelligence kit for application to forensic genetic genealogy
January 11, 2023

Published in “Forensic Genomics”: Internal Validation of the ForenSeq® Kintelligence Kit for Application to Forensic...

Abstract Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) requires high-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles to infer distant relationships. The ForenSeq Kintelligence kit is a recently developed method targeting 10,230 SNPs that were selected to be compatible with genetic genealogy databases, whereas avoiding medically relevant SNPs. The targeted polymerase chain reaction method is... MORE
bronchial pathways and covid molecule illustration
December 7, 2022

Analysis of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Metatranscriptomes Among Patients with COVID-19 Disease

Abstract To better understand the potential relationship between COVID-19 disease and hologenome microbial community dynamics and functional profiles, we conducted a multivariate taxonomic and functional microbiome comparison of publicly available human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) metatranscriptome samples amongst COVID-19 (n = 32), community acquired pneumonia (CAP) (n = 25), and uninfected samples (n = 29). We... MORE
December 1, 2022

k2v: A Containerized Workflow for Creating VCF Files from Kintelligence Targeted Sequencing Data

Abstract The ForenSeq Kintelligence kit developed by Verogen is a targeted Illumina sequencing assay that genotypes 10,230 single nucleotide polymorphisms designed for forensic genetic genealogy, forensic DNA phenotyping, and ancestry inference. We developed k2v, a containerized workflow for creating standard specification-compliant variant call format (VCF) files from the custom output... MORE
November 25, 2022

Forecasting Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Near-term probabilistic forecasts for infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza play an important role in public health communication and policymaking. From 2013-2019, the FluSight challenge run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invited researchers to develop and submit forecasts using influenza-like illness (ILI) as a measure... MORE
November 2, 2022

Forecasting Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Near-term probabilistic forecasts for infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza play an important role in public health communication and policymaking. From 2013-2019, the FluSight challenge run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invited researchers to develop and submit forecasts using influenza-like illness (ILI) as a measure... MORE