Perturbations, Evolution, Virulence (PEV)

The ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions has lead to great diversity in the natural history of infections. We study these host-parasite interactions and the impact of associated environmental perturbations, with a multi-faceted approach:

1. Molecular/cellular: with which mechanisms do parasites manipulate the flow and precision of intra-host biological information transfer, thus expanding their phenotypic diversity? What are the implications in terms of pathogenicity?
2. Individual/populations: the study of communities and associated perturbations – be they environmental (hydrological cycles, etc.) or anthropogenic (urbanisation, trade, agro-pastoral practices, public health policies) – provides a integrative vision of transmission and the risks of infection.

Monitoring a system’s responses to perturbations often provides a better understanding of it. Predicting the consequences of environmental/anthropogenic changes is also a major societal expectation, both in terms of conservation ecology (epidemics, invasive species), public health (vaccination, treatments, etc.), or veterinary health (replacement of traditional breeds).

Our work is based on the complementarity of biological models (plasmids, viruses, bacteria, macroparasites, vectors), but also on the methods used. We combine mathematical modelling and computational analysis approaches for epidemiology, phylogenomics, and the evolution of virulence; empirical, observational, and interventional approaches for the ecology and genetics of populations and communities; experimental and mechanistic approaches for molecular and cellular biology; as well as bioinformatics analyses of large observational or experimental datasets.