Predicting Virus Evolution and Emergence

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic made us, as a society, aware of the need to better understand the evolutionary dynamics of viruses, as well as to comprehend the determinants of viral emergence. This Working Group highlights the complexities and challenges of predicting the emergence of viral diseases, emphasizing the interdisciplinary efforts needed to understand and address these issues. It underscores the importance of integrating experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches to study viral dynamics and evolution. The Working Group focused on these topics, including sessions on molecular mechanisms of viral diversity, evolutionary determinism in viral populations, multi-scale modeling of viral emergence, and evolutionary predictability.