Jemma Geoghegan

Biography

Jemma is a lecturer (continuing academic) in the Department of Biological Sciences. From 2018, she will convene BIOL345 Human Genetics and Evolutionary Medicine. Jemma obtained her PhD from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and has undertaken postdoctoral research at New York University’s School of Medicine and at the University of Sydney.

Research Interest

Jemma’s research uses evolutionary analysis, statistical models and phylodynamic methods in order to infer the dynamics of key viral infections affecting human and animal health. Jemma’s work largely concentrates on infectious disease dynamics, revealing important insights into new and emerging infections. Her research has led to some major findings: for example she: (i) found that biological features of viruses could predict human-to-human transmissibility, (ii) revealed that while many viruses seem to co-diverge with their host species over evolutionary timescales, overall ‘host jumping’ plays a much greater role in shaping virus evolution than previously thought, and (iii) applied new phylodynamic approaches that combine genetic and epidemiological data to uncover important insights into the dynamics and spread of infectious disease within populations.