The Promise and Challenges of Using Viral Protein Structural Information Across Deep Time
Title: The Promise and Challenges of Using Viral Protein Structural Information Across Deep Time
Speaker: Dr Jon Mifsud (KU Leuven, Belgium)
Abstract: The rapid evolutionary rate of viruses erodes genomic signal over deep timescales, complicating reconstruction of ancient viral history. At the same time, this challenge makes viruses an ideal system to test emerging advances in protein structure prediction and phylogenetics. In this seminar, Dr Mifsud will discuss both the promise and limitations of integrating protein structural prediction with phylogenetic approaches to study viral evolution. He will present recent work on the Flaviviridae, demonstrating how structure-informed phylogenetics reveals previously unrecognized evolutionary relationships underlying viral membrane fusion mechanisms and virus–host evolution.
Bio: Dr Jon Mifsud is a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven in the laboratory of Professor Philippe Lemey. He completed his PhD at the University of Sydney in 2025 under the supervision of Professor Edward Holmes. His research focuses on viral evolution and diversity using phylogenetics and large-scale data mining, with a particular interest in integr7ating protein structural information to resolve deep evolutionary relationships and underlying molecular mechanisms.
About School research seminars
Seminars cover all aspects of chemistry and molecular biosciences and are delivered by visiting national and international academics. PhD completion seminars are also incorporated into the program.
Seminars are usually held in person and occasionally via zoom. All are welcome to attend.
Contacts
- Chemistry: Dr Rowan Young, Dr David Cantillo
- Molecular Biosciences: Dr Mathew Jones