Phylogenetic inference module

Responsible
Marta Giovanetti and Eduan Wilkinson

TIME

CONTENT

SPEAKERS

SUNDAY X AUGUST

17:00
to
18:00

Welcome to VEME

TBA

18:00
to
20:00

Coffee break.

Monday X AUGUST

07:00
to
08:00

Registration.

8:00
to
8:30

Welcome and practical instructions

TBA

8:30
to
10:00

Fundamentals of molecular evolution

E Wilkinson

10:00
to
10:30

Coffee break.

10:30
to
12:00

Constructing a proper dataset: practical

M Giovanetti & LA Santos

12:00
to
13:30

Lunch.

10:30
to
16:00

Alignment algorithms (Theory and Practice)

LA Santos

16:00
to
17:00

Coffee break + poster session.

Tuesday X AUGUST

8:00
to
9:15

Phylogenetic signal and phylogenetic noise: theory

H Schmidt

9:15
to
10:00

Sequence alignments and editing: practical

LA Santos

10:00
to
10:30

Coffee break.

10:30
to
12:00

Phylogenetic signal and phylogenetic noise: practical

M Giovanetti and E Wilkinson

12:00
to
13:30

Lunch.

13:30
to
14:30

Evolutionary models: theory

LA Santos and M Giovanetti

14:30
to
15:30

Testing evolutionary models: practical

M Giovanetti and LA Santos

15:30
to
16:00

Coffee break.

16:00
to
17:00

Free computer time.

All PI instructors

Wednesday X AUGUST

8:00
to
10:00

Methods for phylogenetic tree reconstruction (theory)

E Wilkinson

10:00
to
10:30

Coffee break.

10:30
to
12:00

Hypothesis testing and ML methods: Part 1

H Schmidt

12:00
to
13:30

Lunch.

13:30
to
14:00

Hypothesis testing and ML methods: Part 2

H Schmidt

14:00
to
16:00

Hypothesis testing and NJ and ML methods: practical

E Wilkinson & LA Santos

16:00
to
17:00

Coffee break + poster session.

17:00
to
17:30

Keynote 1:

TBA

17:30
to
18:00

Keynote 2:

TBA

Thursday X August

8:00
to
9:00

Reconstructing ancestral states: theory

E Wilkinson

9:00
to
10:00

Reconstructing ancestral states: practical

E Wilkinson & LA Santos

10:00
to
10:30

Coffee break.

10:30
to
12:00

Molecular Clock and introduction to phylodynamics

M Giovanetti

12:00
to
13:30

Lunch.

13:30
to
15:30

Introduction to Bayesian methods in BEAST

M Giovanetti and All PI instructors

15:30
to
16:00

Coffee break.

16:00
to
17:30

Free computer time

All PI instructors

18:30
to
20:30

Course teachers dinner

Important VEME Update
2025 Workshop Cancelled
2026–2027 Secured

Dear VEME applicants,

We regret to inform you that, due to a global decline in international funding, we will need to cancel VEME2025. Despite our best efforts to secure financial support for this exceptional workshop, we were unable to obtain the necessary commitments to host the event at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) this year.

While this is disappointing news, we are pleased to share that funding has been secured for VEME2026—and most likely for 2027 as well. The 2026 edition is expected to take place in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and the 2027 workshop in Dakar, Senegal. Both events will be supported through the CERI and IPD African Stars Fellowship Program, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. Unfortunately, these funds could not be applied to the 2025 event, as it was reliant on a different funding source.

We thank you for your patience and regret we cannot give you better news. We encourage you to apply again for next year’s VEME. Now more than ever, it is essential that our VEME training continues to prepare the next generation of scientists to respond to global health challenges.

Warm regards,
Xavier, Tulio, Luiz, and Anne-Mieke