Department of Viral and Human Genome Sequencing

Founded in 2007, the Sequencing Department plays a key role in molecular epidemiology and public health research at the Institute of Virology of the Russian Scientific and Practical Medical and Epidemiological Center for Epidemiology and Public Health. The Department is actively involved in the implementation of national and international projects aimed at studying the genetic diversity of pathogens, tracking phylogenetic relationships and developing effective intervention strategies.

Modern science studying infectious diseases poses challenges for scientific research that even a well-equipped clinical laboratory cannot solve. Just 20-30 years ago, diagnostics of infectious diseases was based on light microscopy methods, and enzyme immunoassay was considered advanced just a few years ago. Today, the fight against infectious diseases is increasingly carried out at the molecular genetic level.

The sequencing method does not carry a diagnostic load in the usual clinical sense, but plays an indispensable role in studying the genetic properties of pathogens, identifying mutations, drug resistance and molecular typing of pathogens.

Main areas of work:

• Analysis of the genotypic diversity of pathogens
• Evaluation of the effectiveness of vaccination
• Monitoring drug resistance of pathogens
• Surveillance of circulating strains of pathogens

Technical equipment:

The department has two sequencing platforms:

• ABI 3500 (Sanger Sequencing)
• Oxford Nanopore MinION (whole genome sequencing)

To date, more than 1,000 nucleotide sequences have been uploaded to the international GenBank and GISAID databases, making a significant contribution to global genomic surveillance.

The department's staff regularly publishes research results in national and international peer-reviewed journals, which facilitates knowledge sharing and strengthens scientific collaboration.

New areas:

Recently, the department has begun work in the field of metagenomic sequencing, which allows for expanded capabilities for pathogen identification in complex clinical and environmental environments.

Contribution to health:

The results of our work contribute to the implementation of national programs for infection surveillance, outbreak investigation, and the development of evidence-based public health strategies.

Yevgeniya Kazakova Ivanovna, PhD

Head of the Department of Viral and Human Genome Sequencing

Education and professional experience

• 2004-2010 - Bachelor's degree at the Tashkent Medical Academy, specialty - epidemiologist.
• 2010-2012 - Master's degree at the Tashkent Medical Academy, specialty - microbiology, virology and immunology.
• 2011-2012 - Research intern at the Research Institute of Virology.
• 2012-2013 - Internship at the Yokohama Institute of Public Health (Japan) in the specialty of HIV infection.
• 2014-2018 - Junior Researcher at the Research Institute of Virology.
• 2018-2020 - Doctoral student of the Basic Doctoral Program of the Research Institute of Virology
• 2020-2023 - Assistance Professor, postdoctoral fellow at Hiroshima University (Japan), Faculty of Medical and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Epidemiology, Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases.
• 2022 - present - Head of the Department of Virus and Human Genome Sequencing Research at the Research Institute of Virology of the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Epidemiology, Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases.