29th VEME 2026 Workshop
The 29th International Workshop on Virus Evolution and Molecular Epidemiology (VEME2026) will be held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 6 to 11 September 2026. The workshop will consist of six full days of theoretical lectures, practical sessions, and keynote presentations.
Date: 6 – 11 September 2026.
Location: Bertha Retreat, Stellenbosch, South Africa
This workshop brings together leading researchers from around the world, who will provide in-depth training in both practical and theoretical aspects of bioinformatics applied to virus evolution and molecular epidemiology. Participants will gain skills to address complex bioinformatics questions, contribute to scientific research, and support public health initiatives.
The programme comprises two key modules:
- The “Phylogenetic Inference” module offers theoretical background and hands-on experience in phylogenetic analysis for those who have little or no prior expertise in sequence analysis.
- The “Evolutionary Hypothesis Testing” module targets participants who are familiar with alignments and phylogenetic trees and would like to extend their expertise to likelihood and Bayesian inference in phylogenetics, coalescent and phylogeographic analyses (‘phylodynamics’).
Practical sessions in these modules will involve software such as, PHYML, MEGA, PAML, HYPHY, IQ-Tree, BEAST, SpreaD3, MEGAN, RAxML, Clusterpicker, BEAST2, RDP4, FigTree, Genome Detective, among others.
Participants are requested to bring their own data set to work on during practical sessions and to refer to The Phylogenetic Handbook if they are seeking basic guidance.
The registration fee of $700 covers attendance, coffee breaks and lunch. In each 5-day module, participation is limited to 30 scientists and is dependent on a selection procedure based on the submitted abstract and statement of motivation.
Read here for more information.
Abstract application deadline, 30 April 2026.
