Practical sessions in these modules will involve the software packages listed below.
Phylogenetic Inference:

Virulign (https://github.com/rega-cev/virulign)
Jalview (http://www.jalview.org/Download)
AliView (http://ormbunkar.se/aliview/)
IQ-Tree v1.6.5 (http://www.iqtree.org/#download)
Alistat (https://github.com/thomaskf/AliStat/)
MEGA X (http://www.megasoftware.net/)
FigTree v1.4.3 (http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree/)


Evolutionary Hypothesis Testing:
BEAST1 v1.10.4 (https://github.com/beast-dev/beast-mcmc/releases)
BEAGLE v3.1.0 (https://github.com/beagle-dev/beagle-lib/releases)
Consel (https://github.com/shimo-lab/consel & http://stat.sys.i.kyoto-u.ac.jp/prog/consel/)
IQ-Tree v1.6.5 (http://www.iqtree.org/#download)
MrBayes v3.2.6 (http://mrbayes.sourceforge.net/download.php)
TREE-PUZZLE 5.3.rc16 (http://www.tree-puzzle.de/#download)
SpreaD3 v0.9.7.1 (https://rega.kuleuven.be/cev/ecv/software/SpreaD3)
FigTree v1.4.3 (http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree/)
Tracer v1.7.1 (https://github.com/beast-dev/tracer/releases/)
TempEst v1.5.1 (http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/tempest/)


Next Generation Sequencing:
Uses a VirtualBox image that is prepared by members of the module; hence VirtualBox will be installed on the computers for the NGS module.
Included packages: UGENE, including fastqc, CASAVA, cutadapt, bowtie, BWA, SAMtools, SPAdes, the Tuxedo pipeline, Diamond, Kraken/Clark/WEVOTE metagenomics and MEGAN.
The VirtualBox file is typically around 20 Gb in size, with the imported virtual machine disk taking about 50 to 60 Gb in disk space.
Additional information:
– GUI applications Bandage, Tablet, KNIME (with the SeqAn plugin), and UGENE are installed to the “~/Apps” folder. They can also be run from the Desktop.
– The other tools can be run in the Terminal. They are available in “/usr/bin” and added to the PATH, so just run one of the commands:

  • velvetg, velveth, velvetoptimiser
  • spades
  • blastn, blastp, etc.

Genome Detective (www.genomedetective.com/app/typingtool/virus)

Half-day module 1: Large Phylogenies:
Fasttree v2.1.10 (http://www.microbesonline.org/fasttree/#Install)
IQ-Tree v2.2.0 (http://www.iqtree.org/#download)
PhyloPart v2.1 (https://sourceforge.net/projects/phylopart/files/)
PhyloType v7 (http://web-mab.lirmm.fr/phylotype/)
RAxML v8.2.12 (https://github.com/stamatak/standard-RAxML/releases)
PastML v1.9.34 (https://pastml.pasteur.fr/)

Half-day module 2: Molecular adaptation:
HYPHY v2.3.13 (https://github.com/veg/hyphy/releases)

Half-day module 3: Mechanistic and Phylogenetic Modelling
R v4.2.1 (https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/)
R packages:
pacman, rstatix, psych, ggpubr, readxl, ggtree, treeio, ape, phybreak, here, phangorn, coda, gridExtra, deSolve, tidyverse, cowplot, RColorBrewer

Half-day module 4: Visualization:
FigTree v1.4.4 (http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree/)
R v4.2.1 (https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/)
SpreaD3 RC v0.9.7.1 (https://rega.kuleuven.be/cev/ecv/software/SpreaD3)
RStudio v1.1.453 (https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/)
R package SERAPHIM (https://github.com/sdellicour/seraphim)
Nextstrain (https://nextstrain.org/)

Half-day module 5: Recombination & Networks:
RDP5.24 (http://web.cbio.uct.ac.za/~darren/rdp.html)
Simplot v3.5.1 (https://sray.med.som.jhmi.edu/SCRoftware/SimPlot/)
SplitsTree v4 (https://software-ab.informatik.uni-tuebingen.de/download/splitstree4/welcome.html)

Half-day module 6: Virus Analysis Tools:
Genome Detective (www.genomedetective.com/app/typingtool/virus)

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