Andrew Rambaut facts for kids

Andrew Rambaut is a British scientist who studies how living things, especially tiny viruses, change over time. This field is called molecular evolution. As of 2020, he is a professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Learning and Studying

Andrew Rambaut went to the University of Edinburgh and earned a degree in Zoology (the study of animals) in 1993. After that, he continued his studies at the University of Oxford. In 1997, he earned a DPhil, which is like a PhD, also in Zoology. His research there was guided by a professor named Paul H. Harvey.

Work and Discoveries

Professor Rambaut worked at Oxford until 2006. Then, he received a special research award called a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. In 2010, he became a professor at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on molecular evolution. His main research looks at how viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals change and spread.

In 2007, Professor Rambaut and another scientist, Alexei Drummond, created a computer program called BEAST. This program helps scientists study how living things evolve by looking at changes in their genetic code. It uses a special math method called Bayesian inference. This program is available for free online.

A year later, Professor Rambaut started Virological.org. This is an online place where scientists can talk about how viruses change and spread. It's like a special forum for experts.

Professor Rambaut has also used advanced methods to track the spread of monkeypox. His research showed that monkeypox cases found outside of Africa were all connected. It also suggested that the virus might have been spreading among people since 2017.

Tracking COVID-19

In January 2020, Professor Rambaut played a very important role when the COVID-19 coronavirus first appeared. A scientist from China, Professor Zhang Yongzhen, sent the genetic code of the new virus to Edward C. Holmes, who then sent it to Professor Rambaut.

Amazingly, it took only 52 minutes for Professor Rambaut to publish this genetic code on Virological.org after he received it! This quick sharing of information was incredibly helpful. It meant that scientists around the world could immediately start working on understanding the virus and developing ways to fight it, like vaccines.

Professor Rambaut was also one of the authors of an important scientific paper called The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. This paper looked closely at the virus's genetic information. It concluded that the virus that causes COVID-19 was not made in a laboratory or changed on purpose by humans. This scientific finding helped explain the natural origin of the virus.

Awards and Special Recognitions

For his important work, Professor Rambaut has received several honors. In 2014, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE). This is a group of top experts in Scotland. In 2022, he was also chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), which is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.

Professor Rambaut also attends meetings of the UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). This group gives scientific advice to the government during emergencies, like a pandemic.