Andrew
Read

Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences,
Evan Pugh Professor of Biology and Entomology

Expertise:

Health & Medicine

Focus Areas:

Drug Resistance
Genetics
Infectious Disease
Pathobiology

In The Media:

Request

About

Andrew Read can speak about the newest sublineages of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, including XBB, BQ.1.1 and BA.2.75.2.
Andrew Read can comment on various aspects of monkeypox virus and its evolution.
Andrew Read is available to comment on various aspects of SARS-CoV-2 mutation and evolution.
He can speak about the likelihood that SARS-CoV-2 could evolve resistance to the COVID-19 vaccines and what may be done to prevent such an outcome.
He can discuss the potential ramifications of imperfect vaccination coverage due to the failure of the vaccine to prevent transmission or of patients to get their second booster shots, for example.
He can comment on how new strains of the virus may affect vaccination strategies and effectiveness.

Andrew Read is an expert on the ecology and evolutionary genetics of infectious diseases, investigating questions such as:

How do public and animal health programs affect pathogen evolution?
How does host resistance affect pathogen evolution?
Will vaccination and chemotherapy prompt the evolution of more virulent pathogens?
Can we make evolution-proof drugs, vaccines, and insecticides?
How should we use drugs to treat patients when drug treatment leads to resistance?

He is a fellow of the Royal Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Microbiology.