Q&A with Nídia Sequeira Trovão: Sharing knowledge to improve health worldwide
September/October 2025 | Volume 24 Number 5
Photo courtesy of Nídia TrovãoNídia Trovão
Nídia Sequeira Trovão, PhD, a molecular epidemiologist, leads Fogarty’s Genomic Epidemiology and Evolution of Pathogens (GEEP) section. She earned a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Portugal. Subsequently, she completed a PhD in the field of evolutionary virology while studying in the laboratory of Professor Philippe Lemey at KU Leuven, Belgium. Trovão is part of the Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study, a network of researchers that aims to build analytical capacity in genomic epidemiology research, while establishing long-term collaborations. She is an expert in phylodynamic modeling of other pathogens, including rotavirus, HIV, and cholera.
Please describe your role at Fogarty.
My expertise is in viral evolution and transmission dynamics. Basically, I explore and examine “family trees” of viral sequences (phylogenetics), which can reveal how different viral strains relate to each other and how transmission occurs over time (phylodynamics). So Fogarty’s section on Genomic Epidemiology and Evolution of Pathogens (GEEP) is about understanding the epidemiology, the evolution, and the transmission dynamics of viral diseases using genetic sequences and modeling. Essentially, we want to understand what the mutational mechanisms are that lead to emergent infectious events. We also want to trace the source of events so we can control outbreaks.
GEEP focuses on a very broad spectrum of viruses and viral threats, mostly respiratory viruses, such as influenza, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID 19), and respiratory syncytial virus. Yet we also study other pathogens, including HIV, rotavirus, and measles, and we’re very interested in viruses at the human-animal interface, such as H5N1, where bird viruses spill into dairy cattle and from there into humans.
Besides this research focus, GEEP also has a capacity building initiative. Our goal is to develop the workforce in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), so that scientists can address public health needs and threats within their own nations and regions. I have trained more than 1,000 scientists worldwide during my time at Fogarty through both Fogarty-led workshops and outside seminars.
Do you work in a lab on campus?
We are purely computational, a fully computational biology group, so our lab is our computers. Our colleagues are spread around the world. I have one PhD student in Florida, one in California, a research assistant in Saudi Arabia and another in Pakistan. We do work from the supercomputer called Biowulf, a server run by the NIH, but all we need is our own computer and a connection for Internet access. This is why we were able to continue during the pandemic, because even in lockdown, we could do our analyses.
What does your typical day look like?
If it's a Monday, I’ll be defining the priorities in terms of projects of the week. Phylodynamic modeling is time consuming and computationally intensive, so we need to always address what type of analyses have finished running on the servers, what can we start working on next, and what other important questions should be addressed and prioritized based on public health needs. On most days, I also go to our shared lab channel and see if my students and colleagues have any questions that I need to address so they can continue their projects.
Photo courtesy of National Human Genome Research InstituteDNA Double Helix
My work also encompasses a lot of meetings with collaborators. We always keep in touch so that our work can continue as smoothly as possible. While doing genetic analyses, we often need to ask our collaborators to provide additional information about the pathogen sequences and about the patients from whom they were collected. In genomic epidemiology, it's only when we merge additional data into the genetic analysis that we can answer the more interesting and prominent questions.
Part of this work also involves going through genetic sequences, searching genetic databases, and putting together vast background data sets of genetic sequences so that we can see how our study sequences compare. We ask:
Do our study sequences have additional mutations in particular locations of the genome? What might this mean? Do they cluster or relate to sequences from a particular time or location? These questions help us determine whether there’s evidence of a transmission event. A lot of my day is spent setting up parameters within evolutionary and dispersal models to answer a variety of research questions from very local to global scales.
Usually, I also work on visualizing results so that they are easy to interpret from the public health perspective. And I write papers and create presentations for conferences.
Tell us about your experience as a postdoctoral fellow at Fogarty.
Before Fogarty, I’d mostly worked on human pathogens and viruses, but at Fogarty, most of my postdoctoral work focused on evolution and transmission dynamics of swine influenza viruses. So I learned how viruses affect animals and how various dynamic processes affect viral evolution and transmission. For instance, I learned how the U.S. exports swine worldwide and about swine fairs, such as the World Pork Expo that usually occurs in the Midwest. There are many interfaces where swine flu evolution and emergence events can happen. This opened my eyes to other possible interfaces, such as zoos and dairy farms.
Right now, I'm working on a project on canine influenza viruses. We think dogs coming from different locations to dog shelters may lead to virus transmission events.
Have there been any standout moments or accomplishments in your career?
There are many, too many to list! One is the opportunity to learn so much and at the same time to share my knowledge. I believe that we need as many hands as possible to make health care better and to improve health nation- and worldwide, so it’s been great to work towards building a stronger global workforce to help address public health emergencies. Establishing global collaborations also allows us at Fogarty to study diseases at their origins, instead of waiting for them to appear on our doorstep.
I've had opportunities to be interviewed by media outlets, such as
The Atlantic, which shows me that my research has impact. I'm glad that people can see my research presented in a more approachable way. I also like working with a variety of pathogens and learning how respiratory viruses are different from gastrointestinal pathogens. My respiratory syncytial virus project is exciting. Just last year, a new vaccine was developed, so we’re applying phylogenetics and machine learning to understand how the virus evolves and if the current vaccine will cover the viral diversity that is currently circulating.
Generally, I'm very excited to expand my work using AI. I think it will be very productive and give a lot of insight for further development of vaccines and treatments.
What’s the best part about working at Fogarty?
The people! The environment is fantastic--very collegial, very collaborative. And I have the opportunity to work in global health and learn from scientists around the world. It’s important to see what they deal with in terms of pathogens and to figure out how we can apply that knowledge to strengthen our own public health domestically.
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Updated November 19, 2025
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