Affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Iryna Goraichuk is a molecular virologist and bioinformatician with nearly 20 years of experience in viral genomics, metagenomics, genomic surveillance, and biodefense. She advanced next‑generation sequencing capabilities at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where her research focused on molecular diagnostics, sequencing, and bioinformatics for avian and zoonotic viruses. Her expertise spans influenza viruses, paramyxoviruses, coronaviruses, and the development of genomic approaches for pathogen characterization and surveillance. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, she supported public health laboratories in California with SARS‑CoV‑2 genomic analysis and lineage surveillance. She later contributed to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, applying computational and molecular approaches to wastewater genomic surveillance, measles response, and the detection of viral diversity and low‑abundance variants. Her work bridges molecular virology, advanced sequencing, and public health preparedness.