Overview
The Tracking Resistance and Coronavirus Evolution (TRACE) team are developing processes and infrastructure for monitoring and testing emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants as well as for gathering and sharing variant sequencing and phenotypic data. This work is being done in collaboration with other U.S. government agencies (e.g., CDC, BARDA, FDA, DoD), academic experts and private partners. The team is following a five-step approach to variant monitoring and data sharing:
- Monitor global emergence and circulation of SARS-CoV-2 mutations
- Cross-reference initial sequence data against database of experimentally or clinically phenotyped mutants
- Characterize prioritized mutants in vitro through critical-path assays
- Characterize prioritized mutants in vivo through critical-path assays
- Rapidly share activity data with ACTIV and scientific community
Currently available information on viral variant surveillance can be found on the NCBI FTP site. Information on viral variant phenotypic characteristics and overviews of preclinical assays used to test them can be found on the Variant Therapeutic Data Summary within the NCATS OpenData Portal.
Resources
- Information on viral variant surveillance can be found on the NCBI FTP site
- NIH National Library of Medicine new variant data visualization website
- Information on viral variant phenotypic characteristics and overviews of preclinical assays used to test them can be found on the Variant Therapeutic Data Summary within the NCATS OpenData Portal.
Goals
- TRACE Report—Publish a weekly report that summarizes shifting trends in emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants based on sequence data deposition to GenBank/SRA. The complete record of TRACE Reports can be found here.
- Data Collection and Curation—Leverage the private-public partnership framework of ACTIV to facilitate rapid data sharing from industry and government agencies to characterize the impact of variants on vaccines and therapeutics. This data is collated and shared publicly on the OpenData Portal and actively managed by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
- In Vitro Assessments of Therapeutic Efficacy—Generate datasets using standardized protocols and common reference reagents to better understand the impact of variants on the efficacy of vaccines and therapeutics. These data sets will be generated in close collaboration with industry partners, and all data will be made publicly available.
Contact
Joe Menetski, Ph.D, Vice President, Research Partnerships, [email protected]
TRACE Working Group Members
Michael Abram, Ph.D.
Translational Medicine Lead, Infectious Diseases & Head, Clinical Virology
AstraZeneca
Andrew Charles Adams, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Eli Lilly and Company
James Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, NIH
Matthew Arnegard, Ph.D.
Health Scientist Administrator
Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, NIH
Ralph Baric, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dipanwita Basu, Ph.D.
Program Manager
Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, NIH
Lisa Bentley, M.S.
Data Scientist, Statistician
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, HHS
David Blazes, M.D., M.P.H.
Senior Program Officer, Surveillance and Epidemiology
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Kyle Brimacombe, M.S.
Biochemist, NIH Chemical Genomics Center
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Rodney Brister, Ph.D.
Coordinator, National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
Liliana Brown, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Genomics and Advanced Technologies
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Patricia Brown-Augsburger, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
Eli Lilly and Company
Paula Bryant, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Office of Biodefense, Research Resources, and Translational Resources
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Rhonda Cardin, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Anti-infectives
Pfizer
Kara Carter, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President Discovery Biology
Dewpoint Therapeutics
Cristina Cassetti, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Division of Microbiology and Infectious
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Patrick Chain, Ph.D.
Lead, Metagenomics Applications, Bioinformatics and Analytics Team, Genome Programs
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Marc Charette, Ph.D.
Program Director
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH
Tomas Cihlar, Ph.D.
VP, Head of Virology
Gilead
Christine Colvis, Ph.D. (Co-chair)
Director, Drug Development Partnership Programs
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Ryan Connor, Ph.D.
Product Owner, COVID-19 SRA Cloud Analysis Tools, SME Viral Genomes, National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
Michael Diamond, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Departments of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology & Immunology
Washington University St Louis
Groves Dixon, Ph.D
Scientist, Bioinformatics
Moderna
Philip Dormitzer, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer of Viral Vaccines
Pfizer
Ken Duncan, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Drugs, Discovery & Translational Sciences
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Ann Eakin, Ph.D.
Therapeutic Concept Accelerator, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Richard Eastman, Ph.D.
Scientist
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Philip Ebert, Ph.D.
Principal Research Scientist
Eli Lilly and Company
Darin Edwards, Ph.D.
Director of Immunology, Infectious Disease Group
Moderna
Emily Erbelding M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Karl Erlandson, Ph.D.
Interdisciplinary Scientist
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, HHS
Ravinder Pannu Eskandary, Ph.D., CSP-PO
Staff Scientist, Program Product Manager
National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
Mark Esser, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Vice President, Head of Microbial Science
AstraZeneca
Clint Florence, Ph.D.
Program Officer, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Barney Graham, M.D., Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Jay Grobler, Ph.D.
Director, Infectious Disease Biology
Merck
Rajesh Gupta, M.D., M.P.H.
Vice President, Global Health Portfolio and Public-Private Partnerships
Vir Biotechnology
Nancy Haigwood, Ph.D.
Director
Oregon National Primate Research Center
Matthew Hall, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Early Translation Branch
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Christy Hebner, Ph.D.
VP, Virology and COO of Research
Vir Biotechnology
Judith Hewitt, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Office of Biodefense, Research Resources and Translational Research
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Lorraine Horgan, P.M.P.
Vice President, Program Management
Brii Biosciences
Bin Hu, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, Bioinformatics, Data Analytics, Computing Infrastructure
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Bolyn Hubby, Ph.D.
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Vir Biotechnology
Kathrin Jansen, Ph.D.
Head, Vaccine Research and Development
Pfizer
Daniel Jernigan, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Influenza Division
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
Samantha Jonson, M.S.
Dissemination and Implementation Strategy Lead
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Nicole Kallewaard, Ph.D.
Research Advisor, Immunology-Translational Sciences
Eli Lilly and Company
Isis Kanevsky, Ph.D.
Director, Vaccine Research Department, Bacterial Vaccines
Pfizer
Jacqueline Kirchner, Ph.D.
Senior Program Officer
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Bette Korber, Ph.D.
Laboratory Fellow|
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Emily Lee, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Jiani Li, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Bioinformatics
Gilead Sciences
Po-E Li, M.S.
Research Technologist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Kent Lloyd, DVM, Ph.D.
Professor, Surgery, Director Mouse Biology Program
University of California, Davis School of Medicine
Chien-Chi Lo, M.S.
Research Technologist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Yueh-Ming Loo, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
AstraZeneca
Cat Lutz, Ph.D.
Senior Director, In Vivo Pharmacology and Mouse Resources
The Jackson Laboratory
Duncan MacCannell, Ph.D.
Director, Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Aron Marchler-Bauer, Ph.D.
Lead Scientist, National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
David Margolis, M.D., M.P.H.
Vice President, Head of Infectious Diseases Therapy Area
Brii Biosciences
Ross Martin, M.S.
Bioinformatic Team Leader
Gilead Sciences
John Misasi, M.D.
Chief, Yeast Engineering Technology and Immunobiology Core, Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Michiel Niesen, Ph.D.
Head of Biomedical Research
nference
Ajay Nirula, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President, Immunology
Eli Lilly and Company
Steve Oberste, Ph.D.
Chief, Polio and Picornavirus Laboratory Branch, Division of Viral Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Rolando Pajon, Ph.D.
Director Clinical Biomarkers
Moderna
L Revell Phillips, Ph.D.
CIV Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) RD (USA)
Department of Defense
Danielle Porter, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Virology, Emerging and Respiratory Viruses
Gilead Sciences
Diane Post, Ph.D.
Section Chief
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Kim Pruitt, Ph.D.
Chief, Information Engineering Branch, National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
Lisa Purcell, Ph.D.
Vice President, Microbiology and Virology
Vir Biotechnology
Jay Rappaport, Ph.D.
Director, Chief Academic Officer
Tulane National Primate Center
Sujatha Rashid, Ph.D.
Program Manager, BEI Resources
American Type Culture Collection
Joni Rutter, Ph.D.
Acting Director
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
Erica Ollmann Saphire, Ph.D.
Professor, Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Migun Shakya, Ph.D.
Scientist
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Steve Sherry, Ph.D.
Director, National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
Venky Soundararajan, Ph.D.
Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer
nference
Jack Stapleton, M.D.
Professor, University of Iowa
Veterans Affairs Hospital
Kimberly Stemple, M.P.H.
Research Resources Project Officer Biodefense Vaccine and Other Biological Products
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Timothy Stenzel, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health
Food and Drug Administration
Katie Streicher, Ph.D.
Director, Head of Translational Medicine
AstraZeneca
Nancy Sullivan, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator, Chief, Biodefense Research Section, Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Jenny Svarovskaia, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Clinical Virology
Gilead Sciences
Carla Talarico, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Senior Director, Lead Epidemiologist, COVID-19 Vaccines
Moderna
AJ Venkatakrishnan. Ph.D.
Vice President of Scientific Research
nference
Kanny Wan, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Division of Preclinical Innovation
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH
David Wentworth, Ph.D.
Virology Surveillance and Diagnosis Branch Chief, Influenza Division
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Chunlin Xiao, Ph.D.
Staff Scientist, National Center for Biotechnology Information
National Library of Medicine, NIH
Li Yan, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Brii Biosciences
David Yarmosh, M.S.
Senior Bioinformatician
American Type Culture Collection
John Young, Ph.D. (Co-chair)
Global Head Infectious Diseases, Vice President
Roche
Roland Zahn, Ph.D.
Senior Scientific Director, Preclinical Immunology, Viral Vaccines
Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
Theo Zainal, M.S., Ph.D.
Commander, AC, M.S.C, Deputy Joint Product Lead Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell (JRAC) Screening and Diagnostics Capability (SDC) Team
US Navy
Qing Zhu, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President
Brii Biosciences